Commercial Payments International

In a bid to assert themselves in a commercial payments space crowded by fintechs, banks are acquiring other commercial payment and expense management platforms.

This week, US Bank has entered into an agreement to acquire Bento Technologies which is popularly known as Bento for Business. The company provides users with payment and expense management services to SMBs. It also provides businesses with tools to ‘better manage card-based payments and other expenses via spend tracking and card transaction controls’.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, US Bank is the fifth-largest bank in the US by assets.

In the press release, US Bank referred to this acquisition as part of the vision wherein the bank would ‘bring payments and banking services together to simplify cash flow and money management for small businesses’. It also noted that Bento’s accounts payable-based software complements the bank’s existing Elavon and talech accounts receivable software solutions which will provide the bank’s clients with a ‘holistic one-stop experience for both their accounts payable and accounts receivable needs’.

Last month, Visa announced the acquisition of Currencycloud while Banco Santander acquired Wirecard’s assets late last year.

Under this acquisition, the expense management tools from Bento Technologies will blend with other US Bank services which are offered to businesses ranging from credit, deposit and card accounts, to modern and secure payment acceptance and digital money movement.

The financial details of this acquisition were not disclosed in the press note. The agreement was signed on August 11th, 2021 and is expected to close in September.