U.S. Bank said Thursday it would buy Bento Technologies Inc., a provider of an easy-to-use expense management system for small- and mid-sized businesses and their employees.
Terms weren't disclosed.
U.S. Bank picks up a company, known commercially as Bento for Business, that since starting out in 2014 has sought to take the pain out of keeping track of corporate expenses for employees and to smooth out cash management for employers.
Last year, Bento's main product added a feature that matched employees' credit card transactions with photos of receipts snapped on a smartphone.
U.S. Bank said Bento's payable-based service will complement the accounts receivable products it offers to business customers.
"Our goal is to make money management easier for them so they can spend less time on administrative tasks, and more time on doing what they love — serving their customers," Tim Welsh, vice chairman of U.S. Bank, said in a statement. "This is why Bento Technologies is a great fit for U.S. Bank."
Bento raised $18.5 million from investors in four funding rounds over the years, according to Crunchbase, and it operated from offices in Chicago and San Francisco.
Farhan Ahmad, who founded Bento Technologies, said in a statement that he was proud that the firm had saved small businesses millions of dollars by preventing unauthorized transactions and improving cash management.
"We are now very excited to join U.S. Bank in order to accelerate our vision of creating a one-stop financial operating platform to help small businesses that serve communities across the country," Ahmad said.
