Bento Launches Email-Powered B2B Invoices

Business expense management firm Bento is introducing a new solution, Bento Pay, which allows business owners to make payments using only an email address.

In a press release Tuesday (Aug. 13), Bento for Business announced the Bento Pay solution, which allows payment recipients to provide their bank credentials to accept money more quickly. Users connect their email addresses to their bank accounts and routing information within Bento Pay to deposit money within their bank accounts.

Bento Pay is collaborating with ACH payment service provider Dwolla to power the solution, it noted. Prior to the launch of Bento Pay, Bento for Business only supported the receipt of virtual card payments. Working with Dwolla allows businesses to transfer money from their bank accounts to a Bento account along a Bento-branded service.

“We’re excited to partner with Dwolla to launch Bento Pay, and enable our customers to quickly and safely send payments using just an email address,” said Bento for Business VP of Product Jeff Pomeroy. “As a result of integrating Dwolla’s ACH payment API, this new product saves businesses valuable time typically consumed by writing checks or making payments by other means. Our current customers have already gravitated to this new payment method, and adoption has been swift as Bento Pay is recognized as a mechanism for operational agility.”

The solution is the latest offering from Bento for Business, which targets small and medium-sized businesses with a range of expense and financial management solutions.

In June, the company first announced plans to roll out Bento Pay, with Bento for Business Co-founder and CEO Farhan Ahmad describing a direct-to-payee solution that aimed to mitigate friction of fragmented payment workflows and a lack of supplier enablement.

“Unlike other solutions that require account setup and sharing of confidential financial information, Bento Pay users need only the payee’s email address to send payments, thus alleviating security and privacy concerns,” the company said at the time. “Payees, in turn, elect to receive funds via a one-time use virtual card or ACH transfer, safeguarding their information and enjoying fast, seamless transactions.”

In April, the company launched a partnership with Visa to integrate its small business debit card products within the Bento for Business platform.