When Farhan Ahmad launched Bento for Business, he recognized that large financial institutions do not always see small businesses as the ideal financial services customers. When a small business owner can’t get a commercial card, they often turn to personal finances, and that pattern leads to a greater risk of fraud for SMEs, Ahmad recently told Bankless Times.
According to Ahmad, U.S. businesses see $3.7 trillion in losses every year due to fraud or employee misuse of funds, frequently through the misuse of a corporate card. For SMEs, this is a massive problem.
[bctt tweet=”U.S. businesses see $3.7 trillion in losses every year due to fraud.”]
Bento for Business is a commercial card alternative, allowing companies to set individual budgets and restrictions on cards for employee use.
Ahmad told the site that the solution not only aims to increase employee spend transparency in an effort to cut down on large fraud incidents but also to stop the so-called “leaky faucet” of untracked, unmanaged employee spending — a few dollars here and there — which can add up to significant financial losses for a small business over time.
The solution, Ahmad added, also looks to improve the speed at which a small business owner can detect fraud or card misuse.
With banks charging more for commercial card programs and approving fewer SME applicants, Ahmad told the site that Bento for Business provides a more affordable card product for businesses because it is “hyper-focused” on the tool.
Looking ahead, reports said Ahmad is slated to introduce a social network component of Bento for Business, allowing corporate clients to connect with each other and share financial management lessons. He added that Bento for Business will also focus its efforts on strengthening the company-employee relationship, another way to reduce misspending and fraud.