Who is Tide?

Tide is a business financial platform and offers one of the leading and most popular business bank accounts in the UK for small businesses. Founded in 2015 they have grown to over 475,000 businesses in the UK banking with Tide.

Their business accounts are designed for all kinds as well as sizes of businesses from freelancers to startups to fast growing businesses to those that have been established for years.

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What you’ll get as a Tide customer

Tide customers will get instant access to their business account once they’ve been accepted, this is done through the Tide app which is really intuitive, well designed and a pleasure to use, you can also access the account via your desktop/computer. 

Within this you can do all of the things you’d expect from a business bank along with your bank account, Tide will send you a free business Mastercard, so you can use this in person when purchasing items, some of the benefits of the card include no fees and commission in the UK as well as abroad (Note there are charges for withdrawing from ATMs, check the Tide site for exact fees as well as the ATM you use).

Smart features of the card mean you can freeze and unfreeze your card from the app as well as the option to cancel it in the case of it being lost or stolen, as well as the ability to re-order another.

Tide referral code

If you’re looking for a Tide referral code, you’re in luck, if you use the referral code: FOUNDERPASS you’ll be able to get £50 credit when you sign up and open a new Tide account and deposit £50 (within the first 3 months of account opening).

This £50 cashback credit will be applied to your account within 8 weeks (often quicker) and is a great way to get a bonus when signing up for a new business bank account. 

What we love about Tide

We’re big fans of business bank accounts that work the way that businesses want, from quick and easy sign up to being able to access and make payments quickly, below are just a few of the main features that we love. 

Speed of opening an account

Traditional business bank accounts can take many days if not weeks to open and are a slow and frustrating process, Tide on the other hand make this process much more efficient and you can have a business account open in minutes.

Free Business Bank Accounts

One great thing about Tide is that you can get a free business bank account with no monthly fee. Traditional business banks often charge a fee each month just for having an account but Tide has a free account plan that doesn’t. 

There are other plans which you can sign up for within Tide that do charge a monthly fee but these have added extras which you’ll get over the free account such as a number of free transfers in and out, phone support, legal helpline and more. 

The Tide Banking App

Being a company with a focus on small businesses, Tide knows that it’s essential for many companies to have banking easily available on their phone in an intuitive app and their app does not disappoint. Designed to be easy to use, efficient and have everything you need at your fingertips, we’re big fans of the design of the app and how easy it is to use whether you’re a first time user or use the app on a daily basis.

The app has an ‘Auto-Categorisation’ feature which will automatically tag money coming in as well as money going out and categorise it for you. For example, it can tag a payment going out for email marketing software as ‘Software’ and it can tag a payment coming in as a ‘Sale’. You can also customise the labels to suit your business. 

Additionally you’ll find features including:

• Notifications - You can turn on (or off) notifications in the app which tell you of incoming and outgoing transactions, this is great for tracking your money
• Direct Debits and Standing orders - you can easily set up, add or remove direct debits and standing orders within the Tide app. 
• Apple Pay - You can set up Apple Pay and use your Tide card with Apple Pay like you would other cards
• Multiple Tide business accounts - You can open multiple Tide business accounts If you run multiple businesses and you can access all of them through your one app. (Remember you can enjoy £50 signup bonus on each account using code: FounderPass, just deposit £50 within 3 months of opening) 
• Access statements - You can quickly access your business statements in the app or via the desktop/website
• Business loans - You can apply for startup loans via Tide
• Access your pin or change it - You can quickly and securely access your pin in the app as well as change it when you need to
• Tide Credit Builder - this nifty tool allows you to start building up your business’ credit score. 

You can form a company on Companies House for free with Tide

Another feature that we love is that Tide is an approved formation agent with a secure Companies House integration meaning you can quickly and safely create and register a limited company through Tide and it’s free. Normally Companies House take a £12 fee to start a company but Tide absorbs this fee on your behalf as a customer of theirs.

Register a new Ltd company for free here and you’ll also get a free business bank account with £50 added to it when you deposit £50 within the first 3 months. 

Please do remember however that opening a limited company means there are certain legal requirements that you will have to meet once you open one, so please do consider this before creating one and if you’re unsure seek advice.  

You can get a virtual office company address

For those that register your company through Tide, you’ll be able to get a virtual office address, this central London address means you don’t need to use your home address. Tide customers will get the first month for free, then a small monthly fee is charged (you can cancel at any time)

• Central London registered address
• First month is free
• Tide scan and email any post to you
• You can cancel at any time

Tide and VAT registration

If you’re closing in on the VAT threshold or simply need to register for VAT then Tide can help you, this is open to both new and existing Tide customers via an online service. Currently costing £39.99 + VAT you’ll be able to get:

• VAT registration
• Support with HMRC queries from Tide partner Quickfile
• Registration typically takes 7 business days

Does Tide offer company expense cards?

Yes, with Tide you can get up to 50 expense cards for you and your staff, allowing you to keep a track of spending from your team, you can also create sub-accounts which allow you to put money into those accounts purely for expenses. Some of the Tide plans give you a number of free expense cards but there may be a fee for additional ones or a fee for one if you’re on a certain plan. 

We all know that tracking your expenses can be a task that often gets left behind or you simply get a receipt, pop it in your pocket and forget all about it. The Tide app lets you track and make a record of expenses super easily. You can simply upload your receipts within the app and they will be automatically matched to the transactions and stored digitally, you can also add notes to them for your reference in the future. 

Syncing accounting software with Tide

In today's business landscape, digital accounting software has become the go-to choice for most companies and the exciting part is that Tide can seamlessly integrate with these software options, providing invaluable assistance in streamlining your business's accounting processes.

Currently Tide will integrate with the following: Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Sage, KashFlow and Reckon.

Tide Desktop Access

Apps are great, we love them, but there comes a time when you need to view your bank account on your laptop, pc or desktop and an app just doesn’t cut it. Tide has this covered as you can login via the web to your bank account by scanning a QR code on the Tide website via your app. 

This gives you access to your bank account allowing you to browse through transactions and use all the tools and services on offer. 

What protection do Tide customers have?

In terms of protection as a customer, all of Tide business bank accounts are FSCS protected and supplied by Clearbank, meaning that eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Tide Pricing

Tide pricing is really competitive, there are various plans available starting with the Free plan at no monthly cost. 

The additional plans you can choose from cost anything from £9.99 + VAT a month up to £49.99 + VAT a month. The plans offer various new features and benefits from free expense cards to unlimited free transfers in and out and much more. 

We recommend checking the Tide website for the most up-to-date Tide pricing and costs associated with each Tide plan.

Many of the more traditional banks (think bricks and mortar banks) charge monthly fees for business banking, so it’s great that banks such as Tide cost very little or free for their services.

Is Tide a good business bank account?

The answer of course will be subjective, but with over 475,000 UK businesses using Tide they are doing something right. Having experienced banking with Tide for over 2 years as well as having experience of business banks with some of the traditional brick and mortar banks we love the fact that you can open an account in minutes all through the app, have instant access to the account and a business card sent your address in a matter of days.

We love how intuitive the app is and of course the fact that the account is free to open and that it has no monthly fee to use. 

From a business perspective, these features are great but ultimately the bank needs to perform in a business context and that is what Tide have designed from the ground up. From transactions being automatically labelled and categorised to being able to instantly get access to statements and so on, many businesses have opted to use Tide and continue to do so. 

Ultimately if you’re asking is Tide a good business bank account the answer will come down to looking at the features and plans on offer and comparing to other business bank accounts to see which suit you and your businesses needs the best.

How to open a Tide business account?

With the new breed of banking that has come around in the last 5-10 years has meant there has been a lot of innovation. Gone are the days where your only option to open a business bank account would involve travelling to your nearest bank with a handful of paper documents and waiting a few weeks for approval. 

Tide, like other banks, have made the process of opening an account really easy, opening an account now involves downloading the Tide app, having a form of ID on you and a few minutes of your time. 

An idea of the signup process can be seen below

1. Download the Tide app or visit Tide.co 
2. Enter your personal details (Make sure to add the Tide referral code: FounderPass to get an additional £50 when you deposit £50)
3. Enter details of your company (these will things such as are you a sole trader or limited company etc) 

Note: Tide also offer a free limited company formation service, saving the cost of doing this yourself as companies house of £12)

4. Take a photo/scan of your ID as well as follow the instructions to take a selfie (photo of yourself)
5. Submit and await approval

The above process can take a matter of minutes and approval time is often within minutes but can take longer out of hours. 

Once approved you’ll have instant access to your business account and will be able to see your sort code and account number, you’ll be able to instant start banking whether this is depositing money or sending payments. 

You’ll be sent a free business Mastercard in the post after approval, this normally arrives within a week. 

Who is Tide bank for?

Tide is aimed at all kinds of businesses and businesses of all sizes as well as freelancers, those who run a hobby business, limited companies, sole traders and more. The only caveat is that you must be UK based. 

There are certain businesses that won’t be eligible such as those that deal in crypto, insurance, CBD etc. If you’re unsure if your business will be eligible to apply then we recommend checking the Tide website or speaking to them to check.

Can you open multiple Tide bank accounts?

The answer is yes, Tide multiple accounts can be opened and you can access them within the same app. You’ll have to apply each time with each business you want to have a bank account with, but once approved you’ll be able to access them all from within the same app.

Switching between the multiple accounts in Tide is quick and easy. Don’t forget you can benefit from the £50 cashback when you sign up here using the referral code: FounderPass each time you open a business account. 

Tide for Non-profits

Sadly at this time, Tide do not offer Tide business accounts for non-profits. 

Tide for Charities

At this current time, If you’re looking for a Tide business account for a charity this is not something that they can offer. 

Can you use Tide abroad?

The simple answer is yes you can use your Tide card when abroad, as the business card you get from Tide is a Mastercard debit card you can use this wherever this type of card is accepted

How much does Tide charge when abroad?

Tide doesn't charge you when spending on your card in the UK and they don’t charge you when spending abroad either, so you’ll see no fees and no commission. ATM withdrawals will cost £1 and some ATMs do charge additional fees. 

What is Tide customer service like?

Customer service for Tide users is done via the app, where you can chat with one of the Tide team who will help answer any of your questions, the support is available 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. This is great as any business owner will know that business never stops.

The plans which have a monthly fee you'll be able to get priority in-app support as well as phone support.

Generally, reviews of support across the board are positive, if you want some more in depth feedback from existing customers you can view over 14,000 Tide reviews on the trust pilot website here

Tide competitors

The most similar companies and therefore Tide competitors are Starling and Monzo, they all offer very similar services and have similar features as well. Pricing and cost wise there is also not much between them.

Although Tide offer a payment card it is not a business credit card, therefore if you require one for your business you may want to check out our Capital On Tap promo code which gives you a £75 bonus when you sign up for their business credit card.

As with all business and decisions in general, it’s worth looking into all of your options and deciding what is best for you and your business.  

Disadvantages of Tide over other businesses

The main disadvantage of Tide over more traditional banks is that they have no physical branches, therefore you can’t talk to someone face to face. For some people, this may be crucial for their business and therefore this may rule Tide out as an option. However, it’s worth remembering that many of these bank branches of other companies closing down the bank near you that you visit may also one day close and therefore that advantage may disappear in the future. 

If you’re worrying about the ability to pay cash in, Tide gives all of its customers the ability to have cash paid in through either a Post Office or a Paypoint location, please note that there are fees associated with this. 

An overview of Tide business accounts

Overall, if you're looking for a business bank account to open quickly, to have an intuitive app and to have no monthly fee or cost to open then Tide is certainly worth exploring.

Don't forget that if you are happy and ready to sign up for a Tide account then you can get £50 deposited in your account when you sign up here using code: FOUNDERPASS (£50 cash is added to your account when you deposit £50 within the first 3 months, the £50 cash will be added within 8 weeks of this criteria being met)