Tide Business Bank Accounts’ Review

With over 550,000 customers in the UK, Tide serves 10% of the SMB market with their competitive bank accounts. But are they right for your business?

I’ll cover the pros and cons of signing up with Tide in my detailed review. How much does one of their accounts cost per month? What features are included within the different accounts?

The purpose of this review is to help you make a more informed decision on whether Tide offers the best choice for your business.

You can go straight to the setup process on the Tide website by using our brief table below, or read on to learn more from our full guide on the different bank accounts and services that Tide offer.

Tide Free £50 cashback when you open a Tide account *

Monthly Fee

£0

Bank Transfers

20p

Card Purchases

Free

Overdraft

• Our top rated account for small business
• No monthly or annual fees
• Connects with virtually every accounting software

Access

APP & Online

See Deal

More info

Great For

• One of the best Apps in the sector
• No Monthly or Annual Fees
• Easy Invoice Creation Functionality

But be aware that

• Post Office Deposits Cost £1
• 20p charge for transfers between accounts
• 3% charge for cash deposits at Paypoints

Eligibility Criteria 

You must be 18 years or over, a UK resident, and have a valid UK phone number.

To qualify for Tide’s Black Friday Deal and get £100 cashback, all you need to do is spend £500 or more via your new account with them within the first 90 days of opening. This deal is valid from 20/11/2023 – 30/11/2023.

* Thanks to our partnership with Tide and to get your business off to the best start this year, Tide will give you £50 when you open a business account via the link above! To qualify, all they require is for you to deposit £50 into your new account with them within the first 30 days of opening. This deal is valid from 01/05/2023 – 29/02/2024. Just click ‘See Deal’ and be sure to use the code: ‘EXPERT£50‘ when applying for your business account to get the deal.

How to Choose the Right Tide Bank Account for Your Business?

There are four business current accounts with Tide at the point of writing this article, plus their recently launched savings account. These four accounts include the Free account, the Plus account, the Pro account and the Cashback account.

The Free account provides fewer features, as you would expect. Meanwhile, paid accounts steadily provide more features for businesses as the accounts scale up.

You can use our Tide accounts’ comparison table below to help you with your decision-making process.

Pros and Cons of Tide Business Banking

Some Background on Tide Bank

Tide is not actually a bank; they are an award-winning financial business platform. Yet, they are the leading provider of digital business banking services within the UK.

Tide’s ethos is “helping people follow their dreams” which is why they place the average small business owner at the forefront of their focus when creating their financial products and services.

The company, ‘Tide Platform Limited’, was incorporated on 18^th May 2015. Since then, it has proven itself to be an efficient, popular and competitively-priced financial platform for British SMEs. It focuses on tech-first and user experience via its APP, and with a zero-monthly fee option and 450,000 businesses already signed up, it’s easy to see why Tide is one of the fastest growing Fintechs in the UK.

Tide prioritises fast account set-up, offers seamless integration with common accountancy software, and the quality of the APP means you can manage your entire business finances from your smartphone. Tide is making a name for itself as a strong player in the business banking field and charges no monthly fees.

What are Tide’s Business Account Features?

All accounts with Tide have the following features:

• You can register a new company and open a bank account for free

• You can be set up on the same day you start

• New customers can now opt for a virtual office address via Tide

• Easy VAT registration service also included

• Auto-categorisation of transactions to help keep track of cash flow.

• Paperless receipts feature cuts down on clutter in the office and keeps them all in one place

• Wide integration with accounting platforms such as Sage, Xero, Crunch, FreeAgent, ClearBooks, or QuickBooks

• Get paid on time by setting up Direct Debit payments with the GoCardless integration

• Up to 35 expense cards per account for your team, and the ability to set individual spending limits

• Tide Business Mastercard, which you can also use internationally

• Freeze a lost card straight from the APP

• Use any Post Office Branch to deposit cash for free, or at a PayPoint (you’ll be charged 3% of your deposit)
• After opening any of their accounts you can now apply for a business loan of up to £150,000 and get a decision within just 24 hours.

The following features are exclusive to Tide Paid Accounts (Plus, Pro, or Cashback):

• Member perks

• 24/7 Access to advice on any legal issue: business or personal

• Phone support, plus priority support within the Tide APP

• Dedicated account manager

• 0.5% Cashback on eligible purchases

• Support with trademark filing and disputes

How Easy is it to set up a Business Account with Tide?

The setup process with Tide is very simple, and they claim that it takes less than five minutes from start to finish. Having been through the process ourselves, we can confirm that this is true, and it does take less than five minutes to set up an account with Tide.

Below are the simple steps to get set up with an account:

1. You first download the app to your phone.
2. Then you complete the information about your company in the app.
3. You then scan your ID and take a selfie in the app.
4. The majority of accounts are approved within minutes, but they may ask for more information at this stage.
5. That’s it! Tide then arrange for your new bank account card to be sent to you in the post which takes up to a couple of days.

» MORE Read our full article on How to Open a Business Bank Account with Tide

Who can Open a Tide Bank Account?

The eligibility criteria for opening a Tide bank account is below:

• You should be either a director of a company registered with UK Companies House, or;

• A sole trader with a valid UK residential address who is registered with HMRC;

• 18 years, or over;

• Have a valid UK phone number;

• As well as hold a device registered to a UK App, or Google Play store.

NB: Certain higher-risk businesses can’t open a Tide account. These include cryptocurrency, investments, casinos, but also charities and non-profits.

Tide Business Banking Rates & Fees

What Tide’s Customers Are Already Saying

Tide boasts excellent reviews overall. As of January 2024, they have over 18,500 Trustpilot reviews, of which 73% are 5 stars and 6% are 4 stars. It has a ‘TrustScore’ of 4.3 out of 5 stars.

Over the roughly 17% of reviewers who labelled their experience 1 star, wait times are a common reason, while others had difficulty actually speaking to people.

What’s the Tide Phone App like?

I find the Tide app intuitive and with all of the handy features you’d expect from a top banking app. Create and send payment links, issue invoices, send money from the Payments tab to manage your Direct Debits, schedule payments and manage your approvals.

I liked the fact you can easily tag your transactions into categories, but it doesn’t yet do this automatically (as some banks offer) However, Tide note that they are working on this for a future iteration.

Also, you’ll need to be on iOS 13 and Android 9 or above.

Getting an Expense Card with Tide

Tide’s expense cards are a nice addition: you can issue up to 50 cards per account, with each card costing £5 plus VAT. Each card can have individual spending limits, and there’s no need for expense claims since your team can scan and upload receipts directly. All transactions are automatically categorized in the Tide app, making it easy to track and manage expenses, plus easily integrated with your accounting software. Easily freeze, cancel, or order replacement cards as needed.

Tide Free £50 cashback when you open a Tide account *

Monthly Fee

£0

Bank Transfers

20p

Card Purchases

Free

Overdraft

• Our top rated account for small business
• No monthly or annual fees
• Connects with virtually every accounting software

Access

APP & Online

See Deal

More info

Great For

• One of the best Apps in the sector
• No Monthly or Annual Fees
• Easy Invoice Creation Functionality

But be aware that

• Post Office Deposits Cost £1
• 20p charge for transfers between accounts
• 3% charge for cash deposits at Paypoints

Eligibility Criteria 

You must be 18 years or over, a UK resident, and have a valid UK phone number.

To qualify for Tide’s Black Friday Deal and get £100 cashback, all you need to do is spend £500 or more via your new account with them within the first 90 days of opening. This deal is valid from 20/11/2023 – 30/11/2023.

Tide Business Accounts FAQs