What are the pros and cons of signing up with Tide, a specialist business bank used by 400,000 UK SME’s. Let’s find out.
Tide Business Account: Overview
At six years old, Tide has proven itself to be an efficient, popular and competitively priced bank for British SME’s. Focussing on tech-first user-experience via its APP, and with zero-monthly fees, 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.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Tide’s bank APP is amongst the best for functionality and ease of use
- No monthly or annual fees
- Connects with virtually every accounting software on the market
- Easy invoice creation
- Free replacement card if you lose one
Cons
- £1 charge for ATM withdrawals
- 20p charge for transfers between accounts
- Post Office deposits cost £1
- 3% charge for cash deposits at Paypoints
About Tide Business Banking
Founded by banker George Bevis in 2015, Tide gained investment from Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman, serial fintech investor and Wonga founder Errol Damelin.
Tide is a digital business platform rather than a bank, having received the Financial Conduct Authority’s permission to provide financial products and services in February 2016.
While Tide functions almost exactly like a bank, it’s e-money accounts are provided by PrePay Solutions (PPS), and its business bank accounts by ClearBank.
For Tide bank accounts, eligible deposits are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), while the e-money accounts do not offer protection.
Requirements
What is the eligibility criteria for opening a Tide bank account?
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 are registered with HMRC
- 18 years or over
- have a vaid UK phone number
- 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/non-profits.
Rates & Fees
| Account Name | Tide Business Account |
|---|---|
| Account Application Fee | Free |
| Cash deposits (through PayPoint) | 3% of transaction value |
| Bank transfers | Free |
| Overseas card transaction fees | Free |
| FSCS protected | Yes, up to £85k (except e-money accounts) |
| ATM Use (UK) | £1 |
| Cash Deposits (Post Office) | £2.50 for deposits up to £500 or 0.5% of the total deposit amount for deposits over £500 |
| Overdraft | Not currently offered |
| Sending money abroad | SEPA transfers – 0.70 EUR SWIFT transfers – £5 (or currency equivalent) |
Contact Number
As a digital first business Tide don’t advertise a public contact number. Rather they suggest you send them a message in the app, or email hello@tide.co with your contact number and a few details about what the call request is regarding. Their Member Support team are happy to give you a call back.
Tide Business Bank Account Reviews
Tide boasts excellent reviews overall. As of August 2022, they have over 11,500 Trustpilot reviews of which 69% are excellent, and 8% great.
Over the roughly 20% of reviewers who labelled their experience ‘bad’, wait times are a common reason, others had difficulty actually speaking to people.
