Tide is a fintech app which offers business accounts to small businesses and freelancers, hoping to relieve them of some of the financial stress that comes with a growing company.
Tide’s business accounts come with a number of features that address some of the most stressful aspects of working for yourself and offer all of this for free.
24/7 customer support
Categorised spending
FCA regulated
Quick set-up
No monthly fees
Easy to manage accounts and track payments within the app
Ability to set up direct debits and standing orders
Tide is a fintech app which offers business accounts to small businesses and freelancers, hoping to relieve them of some of the financial stress that comes with a growing company.
Like many other fintech online-only business apps, the majority of Tide’s features are found on your smartphone. The card you’re sent in the post is the only physical aspect of your Tide account.
The Tide app offers a number of resources to help freelancers nurture their businesses and organises them into a series of easily accessible pages.
The app at its core is simple and streamlined, with some more advanced and decorative features present to help exaggerate its convenience. The pages of features include:
Accounts: The introductory screen for your Tide app. Here your paired accounts are featured, along with their balances, card details and a description of their uses.
Easy accounting: Each card has a record of its transactions. File these transactions under a selection of different categories, e.g. travel, insurance, health, food.
Invoice: Manage invoices, see a description of the job and its pricing, see which invoices are active or paid and create new invoices. Invoices can be issued in minutes.
Pay: You get issued a virtual card immediately upon registration, then you will be posted a physical card with which to make payments.
Help: Issue enquiries and requests to the Tide team. This page also displays several questions frequently asked by users.
More: Manage your personal and security details and learn about more Tide services including accountancy software, direct debits and customisable invoice templates.
How can Tide help your business? CEO Oliver Prill answers
Using Tide abroad
Your Tide card has the same fees whether you use it in the UK or abroad. This means that any transactions or withdrawals you make while you’re overseas will only be subject to exchange rates, and no extra charges.
The only international hurdle you will face will come from bank transfers, which as of yet are not possible with the standard Tide account.
Tide fees and limits
One of Tide’s other big selling points is it’s competitive, and at some points non-existent, fees. The main charges come in the form of:
A 20p charge on all transfers in or out of your Tide account. Tide-to-Tide transfers cost nothing.
ATM withdrawals also cost £1.
Post Office deposits come with a fee of £1. PayPoint deposits are charged for 3% of the transaction value.
Card transactions cost nothing.
International fees are exactly the same but with the currency exchange rate on top.
Tide now offers a service that allows new customers to register a limited company at the same time as opening a Tide business account. Tide pays the £12 incorporation fee on the customer’s behalf, with the certificate of incorporation arriving from Companies House in around 3-6 hours.
The streamlined process means both applications can be carried out at the same time, with business owners able to choose their limited company’s name at the time of sign-up. Tide is only able to process applications from single company shareholders, although it notes that you can add additional shareholders and directors to your limited company at a later date by contacting Companies House directly.
Is Tide safe?
Unlike some of the other fintech current accounts, Tide doesn’t lend, invest or move your money around, meaning its always accessible and always yours. Not only do you have to authenticate your account using a password, you also have to authorise all payments through your phone. Tide also requests a selfie every time you log onto a new device to make sure it’s actually you.
Tide customer reviews
Out of 5, Tide has a rating of 4.7 from more than 21,000 reviews in the App Store, whereas over on Google Play it has a score of 3.6 from around 2,500 reviews.
On consumer review platform Trustpilot, Tide has recorded 3.7 out of 5 stars and a rating of Average, based on more than 5,000 reviews. The quick account opening process and easy-to-use mobile banking app were a hit with the Tide users providing feedback on Trustpilot, although some complained about slow response times when contacting customer support.
Pros and cons of Tide
Pros
Pair your other bank cards to the app and see their balance, details and a spending record for each one.
Sort your transactions into a number of categories.
Competitive fees and charges.
Connect your account with external accounting technology.
Invoice directly from your Tide app.
Safe and secure.
Registered with the FCA and PRA.
Cons
No international money transfers.
App can be clunky on certain phones.
Lack of face-to-face contact can turn people away from mobile banking.
No personal current accounts.
A traditional bank account is still necessary for many of your financial needs.
Our verdict
Tide is specifically built for small businesses, which means you’ll get a lot of features to help you manage your finances and keep on top of everything even if you don’t have a big accounting team. It’s also easy to use and set up.
The fees are pretty reasonable, all things considered (especially if you don’t often need to withdraw cash). However, keep in mind that if you use your account a lot and make several transfers and withdrawals a week, you might be better off with an account that only charges a fixed monthly fee. Also, the downside of Tide’s expertise in business current accounts is that you don’t get any other products such as credit cards or personal current accounts.
All in all, Tide is a sound option for a small business owners. It’s comparatively cheap, has plenty of useful features, can be used both from the app and from desktop, and it helps you track your spending and manage your business finances, saving you from spending an age studying your current account statement.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
Tide has a few approaches to making money, these include:
Interchange fee: Every time you make a transaction, Tide takes a small fee for processing the payment.
Fees and limits: Any time you transfer, withdraw or deposit money Tide earns small returns. While they don’t amount to much on their own, together they are a noticeable sum.
Credit loans: Tide sets an interest rate on any credit loans they make, meaning they will receive more money back than when they loaned it out.
It is easy – transfer money into your Tide account for free via bank transfer, or deposit it through the post office or a PayPoint for a small charge.
That depends on your situation. We have actually written a guide comparing Tide against Starling.
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Charlie Barton is a publisher at Finder. He specialises in banking and investments products, including banking apps, current accounts, share-dealing platforms and stocks and shares ISAs. Charlie has a first-class degree from the London School of Economics, and in his spare time enjoys long walks on the beach.
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Thanks for getting in touch! Tide account is not available for multiple users but you can Team Cards. It is an app available to iOS users where you’ll be able to order a Tide Mastercard for up to 35 team members per account. Team Cards will be managed through a single app belonging to the main account holder. They’ll be able to fully manage access for the team – freezing and cancelling cards, and sharing and holding PIN codes. And they’ll be able to see who has spent what, straight through the app.
You can find more information about this when you visit the Tide App.
Hi!
I’m a Sole trader and need an account like Tide for small day-to-day transactions. I also need to be able to transfer to/from my Santander current account and all with low fees and allow iZettle payment receipts. Can you advise, please?
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
The Tide app allows you to do money transfers from your account to another bank account and vice versa. For this reason, moving funds to and fro Santander current account could be possible with Tide.
Regarding, iZettle payment receipts, while Tide mentioned they simplify issuing and recording receipts, I can’t find specific mention of iZettle on their website. Best is to directly ask Tide’s customer support to learn more about the app.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
Yes, the Tide app allows you to add files like photos of receipts and documents. You can add files by visiting the particular transaction in the app, or by ‘sharing’ a file in your phone storage with Tide.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
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Can a Tide account be set up with two people having access to the business account
Hi Simon,
Thanks for getting in touch! Tide account is not available for multiple users but you can Team Cards. It is an app available to iOS users where you’ll be able to order a Tide Mastercard for up to 35 team members per account. Team Cards will be managed through a single app belonging to the main account holder. They’ll be able to fully manage access for the team – freezing and cancelling cards, and sharing and holding PIN codes. And they’ll be able to see who has spent what, straight through the app.
You can find more information about this when you visit the Tide App.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Nikki
Hi!
I’m a Sole trader and need an account like Tide for small day-to-day transactions. I also need to be able to transfer to/from my Santander current account and all with low fees and allow iZettle payment receipts. Can you advise, please?
Hi Barry,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
The Tide app allows you to do money transfers from your account to another bank account and vice versa. For this reason, moving funds to and fro Santander current account could be possible with Tide.
Regarding, iZettle payment receipts, while Tide mentioned they simplify issuing and recording receipts, I can’t find specific mention of iZettle on their website. Best is to directly ask Tide’s customer support to learn more about the app.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Does the app allow me to add files such as photos of receipt or paper invoice?
Hi Paul,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
Yes, the Tide app allows you to add files like photos of receipts and documents. You can add files by visiting the particular transaction in the app, or by ‘sharing’ a file in your phone storage with Tide.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Is a tide account suitable for receiving credit card payments?
Hi Steve,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
At the time of this writing, it is not possible to receive credit card payments through your tide account.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua