FAQs


U.S. Bank FAQs

U.S. Bank acquired Bento in August 2021. Bento is excited to join the U.S. Bank family and be backed by the fifth-largest commercial bank in the U.S.  Together U.S. Bank and Bento will partner to offer new solutions to the marketplace. Read more about what is to come in our press release.

No, Bento customers do not need to have a U.S. Bank business checking account to continue using Bento or to sign up for Bento. 

You can use your U.S. Bank business checking account or a business checking account from any financial institution to transfer funds into your Bento account. Your business checking account and your Bento account are separate accounts.

The acquisition did not cause any changes to Bento products or service.  We will notify you of any future changes to products or services like we have done in the past.


Customer FAQs

After you sign up, connect your bank account to safely transfer funds into your Bento account. Your very first card is in the Business Owner and company’s name, and is mailed to the Business Owner immediately after signing up. All of your Bento cards use the same account, so you can easily distribute Bento funds to your cards.

The Business Owner or elected Admins can set spend controls for each card, and create additional cards at any time by logging into Bento. 

Bento is a credit card alternative that you can swipe like a credit card at any point of sale.

Yes. Bento uses 256-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to ensure your personal data is protected. Your personal information is stored in highly secure data centers, which utilize state-of-the art electronic surveillance and multi-factor access control systems. Funds held within Bento are FDIC insured to at least $250,000 through The Bancorp Bank, N.A.; Member FDIC.

The Bento for Business card is a Visa® business debit card, which you can use at any establishment that accepts Visa® debit cards. The Bento virtual card can be used online and over the phone where Visa® debit cards are accepted.

You can sign up here

No, employees cannot get cash back on their cards or withdraw cash from an ATM. Bento is designed to allow Business Owners to control company expenses and support employee spending, hence only the Business Owner’s card can withdraw funds from an ATM.

Additionally, Bento does not support direct deposits. Only the Business Owner can deposit money into Bento from their external bank account via banking industry standard ACH transfer or wire transfer.

Bento is free to use for the first 60 days * (up to 50 Cards), starting from the day your application is approved. We’ll notify you when the end of your 60-day free trial is approaching, and you can remove cards at any time. No surprises. No risk. No long-term commitment.

After your 60-day free trial, you will be charged a monthly fee to use Bento. We have four monthly plans you can choose from: Starter, Team, Professional, and Enterprise. View the pricing plans here.

Each new card (plastic or virtual) you add to the account will count toward your monthly subscription plan.

  • No setup fees
  • No load fees
  • No interest charges (this is not a credit card)
  • No card issuance fees
  • No domestic transaction fees (unlimited domestic transactions) 
  • No decline or overdraft fees
  • No cancellation fees (Refund Check Fee of $15.00 per check applies when a balance remains in the account at time of cancellation)

 

Possible Fees: Free trial and monthly plan pricing do not cover fees based on certain account activities. Here is a list  of possible card fees:

  • ATM Withdrawal – Int’l – $3.00 per transaction
  • Card Expedite Fee – $20.00 per card

Using your Bento card as a reloadable gas card or prepaid fuel card has numerous benefits over traditional commercial gas cards:

  • It can be used at any gas station that accepts Visa debit cards; not limited to “in-network” gas stations
  • The Business Owner can enable/disable additional spending categories in real-time as needed: vehicle repairs, meals, car rentals, and any other merchant categories the owner defines.
  • You can set daily, weekly, or monthly spend limits on each card
  • You can turn cards on or off with a single click (as needed)


Because gas stations can put a “pre-authorization” hold of up to $100 when you first swipe your card (this applies to all credit card and debit card transactions and is not unique to Bento), it is always best to have at least $200 accessible by each card that will be used to purchase gas even if you need to buy less gas than that.

 

The total number of cards (plastic and virtual) you have at the end of the free trial will determine what plan you will be billed for the first month following the trial. You can also change your plan at any time in your account settings. Note that if you want to downgrade to a lower plan, you may need to delete some cards from your account. Here are the different plans:

  • Up to 10 Cards – Starter Plan: $29/month
  • Up to 25 Cards – Team Plan: $69/month
  • Up to 100 Cards – Professional Plan: $149/month
  • More than 100 Cards – Enterprise Plan: Contact Us


After your free trial ends, billing will occur on the same day of the month that you signed up for Bento, for the upcoming 30-day period (Example: If you signed up on the 5th, then your billing day will be the 5th of each month). It’s important to note that Bento will charge you from the same cash balance that you use to fund your Bento cards – so there’s no need to pay with a separate credit card, check, or wire transfer.

Bento will notify you before we bill you each month, and send a confirmation after we successfully bill you. You can always log in to your Bento account to view your billing history and see your current plan.

Bento pre-bills for the complete upcoming month of service. There are no pro-rated billing options and Bento is unable to refund for partial months if you downgrade at any time during the month.

Every Business Owner is required to have a card with Bento, and this card is automatically created and shipped to you after your Bento account is funded. One unique feature of the Business Owner card is that it’s the only card on your account that can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs once a PIN is created.

 

You simply use your Bento card at any location where Visa debit cards are accepted. If the card has a PIN created, it can be used as a debit card, as well as a credit card. Any Bento card can have a PIN created by calling the number on the back of the card. There are three ways to use your Bento card:

  • Credit Transactions – Signature based transaction, w/ photo ID verification
  • Debit Transactions – PIN based transaction (owner or cardholder can set PINs)
  • Online Purchases –  3-digit security code required (on back of card)


Please note that only the Business Owner can withdraw funds via ATM with their card (with PIN created) under their name, and this is the only card on the account that can be used at ATMs.

Yes. We want you to fully experience the power and control over spending that Bento offers, so you can have up to 50 Cards (plastic or virtual) at no cost during the 60-day free trial. We’ll notify you before your 60-day trial ends, and at any time you can login to Bento and remove cards. Once you pass the 60-day trial, you can simply continue using Bento at your current number of cards, and be charged a monthly subscription fee according to our pricing plan.

 

Yes, you can. Bento is a debit card product, credit is not extended to your company and we do not run a credit check during the application process. If you are a legitimate, verifiable business and/or individual, then you can qualify for Bento.

You can use your plastic and virtual Bento cards internationally, wherever Visa debit cards are accepted. However, Bento currently only accepts sign ups from businesses registered in the United States.

If you need to remove your funds in your Bento account, the easiest way is to have the Business Owner withdraw funds at any ATM once they create a PIN for their own card. Please note that the business owner card is the only card on the account that can be used at ATMs. If you need to withdraw more than your daily ATM withdrawal limit ($500/day), simply send an email to support@bentoforbusiness.com, and we may be able to make an exception to return funds back into your linked bank account via ACH transfer. In the event we are unable to process your ACH transfer, a check will be issued and a Refund Check Fee of $15 per check will be applicable.

 

If you decide you need to cancel your Bento account, please send an email to support@bentoforbusiness.com. While we would hate to see you go, we understand that sometimes things happen. It’s your money, so there are no penalties, fees or surcharges for closing your account. As part of account closure, we will return any remaining available funds in your account back into your linked bank account via ACH transfer. However, in the event we are unable to do that, we will return your funds via check and apply a Refund Check Fee of $15 per check. The account cancellation process can take between 8-10 business days.

We are always here to answer them. You can reach out to our Support team at support@bentoforbusiness.com or visit our Help Center.