Bento For Business Review

Bento for Business is more than just a debit card — it’s a full expense management suite that can help businesses track where and how they spend their all-important cash. With this Bento for Business review, we hope to help you understand whether Bento’s card-focused management suite is right for your business.

The Bento Card is a Visa debit card, so you can’t carry a balance, nor does it offer a rewards system or other common credit card perks. On the plus side, you’ll get robust tools to track and manage your employees’ spending (something many small business credit cards lack), and you won’t have to deal with an in-depth application process like you might see with a credit card.

Bento For Business At A Glance

Bento for Business Visit Site	Annual Fee: $29-$149 per month   Purchase APR: N/A (this is a debit card)
Required Credit: N/A Welcome Offer: None Intro Purchase APR: N/A Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A Foreign Transaction Fee: 3% Rewards: None Featured Benefit: Virtual cards for single-use situations and specific vendors More card details (click to expand) Hide

Eligibility

As Bento isn’t a credit card, it doesn’t have any specific credit requirements for using its service. However, Bento does consider “basic business and personal information,” and you may be approved instantly after your ID is successfully verified. Bento has a list of restricted business types, so you’ll likely have your account terminated before long if you fall into any of these categories.

You must also operate an existing, verified checking or savings bank account, as Bento is not a bank account itself.

Rewards For Spending

Bento aims to save businesses money, not to help businesses earn money while spending.

No Rewards

Bento likes to market that its product helps save businesses money. It claims its expense management solutions have saved customers tens of millions of dollars. As such, there are no spending rewards to go along with Bento’s Visa debit card.

While a lack of rewards isn’t surprising — after all, Bento isn’t a credit card — there are a few debit cards out there that let users rack in cash back or points whenever they use their card for a purchase.

Redeeming Rewards

With no rewards to speak of, this section will be short.

Nothing To Redeem

Since Bento for Business doesn’t come with rewards for spending, there’s nothing to redeem. Instead, any savings from using Bento will come more passively and depend on how effectively your business can take advantage of Bento’s expense management software.

Card Benefits

Bento packs in a few benefits for businesses that use its services.

Virtual Cards

Bento offers the ability to set up virtual Visa debit cards for single-use phone/online purchases, vendor-assigned card numbers, and increased visibility for subscriptions or “other budget-line items.”

Bento says its virtual cards can be issued, edited, and used instantly. That means virtual cards can be used while you are waiting to receive a physical card through the mail.

Employee Spending Controls

Besides the ability to issue employees Bento debit cards, you’ll also be able to set spending controls. With such controls, you can turn cards on and off for specific trips or enable usage on only certain days of the week. On top of time-centric controls, you can also enable specific cards to be usable only on specific categories (such as gas stations or restaurants) as well as toggling international spending on and off. Controls further include the ability to allow/deny online or phone purchases on a per-card basis.

Beyond those rich control features, budgeting tools within Bento can also help enforce your business’s expense policies. It’s also worth mentioning that spending controls exist for both physical and virtual Bento cards.

Note that employees cannot withdraw cash from an ATM; that feature is reserved for the business owner associated with the Bento account.

Business To Business Payments

Bento for Business features a fairly simple invoicing perk that allows users to pay vendors straight from their Bento funds. You’ll simply need to enter the vendor’s business name, email, payment amount, and invoice/PO number/payment description right in your Bento account. Bento will then email the vendor, who can choose to deposit the funds as they see fit.

This feature can help your business manage its payments right alongside card payments, potentially giving you a better snapshot of your finances all in one place. You also won’t have to worry about cutting a check or sharing card info over the phone.

Security Features

Bento uses 256-bit SSL encryption to store personal data. This personal data is then saved in “highly secure data centers,” according to Bento.

Additionally, funds held within Bento are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 through The Bankcorp Bank. Plus, as touched on above, international transactions can be toggled off — potentially combating foreign scammers.

Real-Time Reports

Bento includes a solid slate of tools to aid your business’s financial health. Perhaps most noteworthy is Bento’s real-time reports that enable you to see how your business is spending money and who is spending it. You can also manage your expense budget while taking advantage of automatic controls that aim to “reduc[e] organizational friction.”

Looking past real-time reports, Bento can also tap into your accounting system while its mobile app lets users upload receipts via photo. Additionally, adjustable administrative privileges can be given to specific team members.

Rates & Fees

After a 60-day trial period, Bento will come with a cost. There are a few standard fees to watch out for as well.

4 Pricing Plans

Bento is free to use for the first 60 days (provided your business requests 50 or fewer cards). After those 60 days, your business will be slotted into one of four plans. Previously, Bento was free forever so long as your business needed only one or two cards. That is no longer the case. With pricing being based on the number of cards your business requires, here’s the new Bento for Business pricing scheme:

• Up To 10 Cards: $29/month (“Starter” plan)
• Up To 25 Cards: $69/month (“Team” plan)
• Up To 100 Cards: $149/month (“Professional” plan)
• Over 100 Cards: Contact Bento for custom pricing (“Enterprise” plan)

Other Bento Fees

There are no startup, load, or card issuance fees to worry about. Plus, because this isn’t a credit card, you don’t have to consider interest rates or overdraft fees.

There are a few other Bento fees to keep in mind, however. Here’s a quick rundown of what you might get dinged for outside of your monthly rate:

• International ATM Withdrawals: $3 per transaction (Bento doesn’t charge for domestic ATM withdrawals)
• Card Shipping Fee For Expedited Delivery: $20 per card (standard speed card replacements don’t cost anything)
• Refund Check Fee: $15 per check
• Foreign Transaction Fee: Up to 3% of each transaction
• Expedited Check Fee: $30 per check

Is Bento For Business Right For You?

The Bento Card is neither a business credit card nor a normal debit card. Instead, Bento for Business simply allows for granular employee spending controls and adjustable virtual cards. This could make Bento a great option for businesses just looking to get a better handle on how their employees spend company cash. However, businesses seeking to build credit or want to take advantage of the cash-flow controls credit cards offer should look for other options.

You might want to apply if…

• You are in the market for an expense management suite
• You need employee spending controls
• Your business needs a debit card service and doesn’t need rewards for spending
• Your credit is too low to qualify for a credit card

You might want to look for a different card if…

• You are looking to build credit
• Your business needs to carry a balance
• You want some type of spending rewards
• You’d rather not pay a monthly fee for spend management

Featured Free Corporate Card

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Ramp offers a free corporate card for virtually any business. Start earning rewards with your corporate spending today. Get your free card.

Featured Free Corporate Card

Ramp	Apply Now Read our Review

Ramp offers a free corporate card for virtually any business. Start earning rewards with your corporate spending today. Get your free card.