Tide: business account score and facts

Tide is a London company that sells business accounts and admin tools to small firms, and it is not a bank. Tide Platform Limited is authorised by the FCA as an electronic money institution under reference 900843, granted on 1 May 2018, while the current and savings accounts are provided by ClearBank, so eligible balances are covered by the FSCS up to GBP 120,000. Tide said it crossed 2 million members worldwide on 27 May 2026, with 900,000 in the UK and a stated 15% of the UK small business market, more than 1.1 million in India, and smaller operations in Germany and France. The Free plan costs nothing per month and includes 5 bank transfers, and paid plans run from GBP 12.49 to GBP 69.99. Tide refuses accounts for crypto firms, money service businesses, gambling, adult businesses and charities.

Legal name: Tide Platform Limited
Regulated by: FCA (UK) as an authorised electronic money institution, FRN 900843, PRA and FCA via ClearBank Ltd (FRN 754568), which provides Tide current and savings accounts, FCA via PrePay Technologies Limited (FRN 900010), which issues legacy e-money accounts and some Tide cards, RBI (India) via Transcorp International Ltd, the regulated prepaid payment instrument issuer behind the Tide Expense Card
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 2015
Website: www.tide.co

Scores, 0 to 10

8.5United Kingdom

Tide states 900,000 UK SME members and a 15% share of the UK market, with ClearBank-provided current accounts on Faster Payments, Direct Debit and CHAPS and FSCS cover to GBP 120,000, but holds no banking licence itself. · source

8.5Fast digital onboarding

The account is opened in the app with no hard credit check and may be approved within minutes. Every applicant needs a UK mobile number and a device registered to a UK app store; sole traders and freelancers also need a UK home address, while directors of UK limited companies may hold a home address in the UK or overseas. · source

7.5Lowest fees

The Free plan costs GBP 0 a month and includes 5 bank transfers, but each further transfer costs 20p, ATM withdrawals cost GBP 1, CHAPS costs GBP 15 on Free, and Post Office deposits over GBP 500 cost 0.99%. Smart is GBP 12.49, Pro GBP 27.49 and Max GBP 69.99 a month. · source

7.5Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot shows a 4.4 TrustScore across 38,111 reviews, and Trustpilot's own summary of recent reviews notes business accounts frozen for compliance checks and delays in resolving urgent issues. · source

7.0Best interest on business balances

Tide Instant Saver pays up to 4.00% AER for the first four months, then 2.00% AER up to GBP 75,000 on Free, 2.50% up to GBP 100,000 on Smart, 3.00% up to GBP 150,000 on Pro and 3.25% up to GBP 1 million on Max, with 0% paid above each threshold. · source

6.5Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

Tide Expense Cards are Mastercards for up to 50 people per account at GBP 5 per seat, each seat with one physical and up to five virtual cards and individual spend limits, with a 2.75% FX fee on the Free plan, 0% on paid plans and GBP 1 per ATM withdrawal. · source

5.0Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Tide India reports over 1 million business owners with Udyam and GST registration and a RuPay expense card issued by Transcorp International Ltd, an RBI-regulated prepaid payment instrument issuer, but offers no Indian bank account of its own. · source

5.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Tide sells invoicing, payment links, Tap to Pay on iPhone and a card reader for in-person payments to UK merchants, but holds no foreign-currency collection accounts and offers no marketplace payouts. A direct Xero feed plus Sage, FreeAgent and QuickBooks through Open Banking and virtual cards for subscriptions and ads spend, but balances are GBP only and euros received on the SEPA details are converted to pounds minus a 1.50% markup. · source

4.5Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Tide launched a free business current account in Germany on 14 May 2024 with German IBANs issued through Adyen banking-as-a-service and deposits covered to EUR 100,000 by the statutory European scheme, and launched credit in France in September 2025, but lost its own EEA passport in January 2021 and holds no EU licence. · source

4.5Startups & VC-backed companies

Tide registers new UK companies and opens accounts for pre-revenue businesses without a hard credit check, but offers no venture debt, cap table tools or investor network. · source

4.0Financial strength & stability

Tide carries no credit rating and posted a GBP 14,238,000 net loss for 2024 with net assets of GBP 7,674,000, though it raised over USD 120 million at a USD 1.5 billion valuation in September 2025 and member funds sit at ClearBank under FSCS cover. · source

3.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Only GBP is held in the UK and EUR in Germany, and incoming SWIFT payments can be collected in more than 30 currencies but convert to GBP on arrival. Published FX markups run 1.50% on Free down to 0.50% on Max, SWIFT payments cost GBP 10 on Free falling to GBP 3 on Max, USD goes out over ACH at GBP 1 on Free and free on Pro and Max, and international card payments carry a 2.75% FX fee on Free. The UK account holds GBP only, extra business current accounts are capped at 3 on the Max plan and cost GBP 4.99 a month beyond that, and there is no cash pooling, hedging or host-to-host connectivity. · source

3.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Every applicant needs a UK mobile number and a device registered to a UK app store, sole traders need a UK home address, and only directors of Companies House limited companies may have a home address overseas. · source

2.5Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Tide brokers invoice finance, asset finance and working capital loans through Partner Credit Services, which neared GBP 2 billion of lending arranged in 2025, but issues no letters of credit or guarantees. · source

1.0Crypto-friendly bank

Tide's membership rules say it cannot service businesses issuing or exchanging virtual currencies, including any interaction with crypto assets and crypto exchanges. · source

1.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Tide states it cannot service money service businesses or regulated and unregulated financial, loan, foreign-exchange or banking businesses whose accounts would receive third-party client money. · source

1.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

The membership page lists gambling and betting, the adult industry including pornography, escorts and webcam services, cannabis and CBD production and virtual currencies among business types Tide does not service. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Tide's membership rules, checked in September 2026, say it cannot serve businesses issuing or exchanging virtual currencies, and it offers no crypto wallet or custody. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

Tide excludes any interaction with crypto assets and crypto exchanges, including all transactional activity, so its card and payment tools offer no crypto acceptance. · source

1.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Tide's rules exclude all transactional activity with crypto exchanges, and its help centre says payments to businesses outside its acceptance criteria are paused and not processed. · source

1.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Because Tide rules out any interaction with crypto exchanges, a member cannot receive exchange proceeds into a Tide business account. · source

1.0Bitcoin

Tide offers business current, savings and investment accounts but no bitcoin trading or holding, and its rules forbid dealings with crypto assets. · source

1.0Ethereum

No ether product exists at Tide, and its membership rules exclude businesses with any crypto asset activity. · source

1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Tide accounts hold sterling through ClearBank and offer no stablecoin balance or payout, and crypto asset transactions are outside Tide's acceptance criteria. · source

Tide

Scores, 0 to 10

Sources