How to Open a Tide Business Account

Tide supports over 700,000 UK registered business owners, sole proprietors and freelancers with Business accounts, tools and services which can be accessed and managed digitally. Tide isn’t a bank, but offers smart products like the Tide Business current account¹ which is a safe way to manage your company finances - essential whenever you need to make or take payments for your company.

This guide covers all you need to know about how to open a Tide Business account including account features, fees and extras. And because Tide isn’t right for everyone, we’ll also touch on Wise Business as a low cost, flexible alternative - especially for companies with international customers, suppliers and contractors.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

Tide business account overview

Tide offers business current accounts which come with different plan options covering features and fees to suit a range of customers. You can either get a free plan which has no monthly fees to pay, or upgrade to an account with ongoing fees and more features².

All customers with a Tide Business account can also open a savings account to earn a return on their excess funds³. While the features of your Tide account may vary depending on the account tier you get, you can expect some of the following benefits:

• GBP account with linked debit card for spending and ATM withdrawals
• Free invoicing and accounting integrations to save time
• Easy ways to schedule payments to streamline processes
• Options to add team members to your account with read access
• Higher tier accounts may also offer cashback on card spending
• 24/7 support if you ever need help

Check our Tide Business review

Tide Business account highlights

Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect with Tide - read on for more about how to open a Tide Business account, and what you’ll need to pay.

🆓 Free account available?	Yes
💰 Starting plan fee	Account plans available from £0 to £49.99 per month
💱 Currencies supported	GBP
💲 Exchange rate	Network rate available for card spending
🏧 ATM withdrawal fee	£1
🔗 Accounting integrations	Available for providers including Xero, Sage and FreeAgent
✅ Credit check details	Credit checks are not required for a UK current account - your identity will be verified by a third party but checks do not impact your credit score⁴

Types of Tide Business accounts

Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll pay - and what features you’ll unlock with different Tide Business account plans:

Services	Free plan	Plus plan	Pro plan	Cashback plan
Monthly fee	No fee	£9.99	£18.99	£49.99
Tide Business card	Available	Available	Available	Available
Expense cards for team members	£5 per month	1 free card	2 free cards	3 free cards
Transfers in and out	£0.20	20 free monthly	Unlimited - no fee	Unlimited - no fee
ATM withdrawals	£1	£1	£1	£1

All account tiers get extras like invoicing solutions, accounting integrations and team member read-only access. Cashback plan holders also get 0.5% cashback on card spending, and a dedicated team of account managers for support.

How to open a Tide Business account?

You can open a Tide Business account quickly online or in-app. Many customers can get their accounts up and running in just a few minutes - although for more complex scenarios or business entity types, it may take a couple of days.

You can open an account if you’re got a UK registered company and a UK mailing address - or if you’re a sole trader or freelancer, living in the UK and registered with HMRC. The account opening process is all done digitally, and the Tide team is there to support you if you have any questions. Here’s how to open a Tide Business account in a few simple steps:

1. Download the Tide app and click Open an account
2. Follow the prompts to enter your personal and company information
3. Get verified by uploading an image of your ID and a selfie

In many cases this is all that’s needed - but sometimes Tide will require additional documents or information based on your sector and business type. If this is the case for you, Tide will reach out to inform you of what’s needed.

What do I need to open a Tide business account in the UK?

All Tide customers need to complete verification steps, which can include proving both your ID and address, and also providing information and documents relating to your business. The exact documents needed do vary depending on business entity type, and you’ll also need to prepare ID such as a passport, driving licence or national ID card⁵.

When you start to set up your Tide account you’ll be prompted to enter your personal and company information, and then to get verified by uploading an image of your ID and a selfie

Tide accounts can be opened by UK registered business owners, sole traders and freelancers, who are resident in the UK. Not sure which business entity type will suit your needs?

Read more on how to incorporate a company in the UK here.

How long does it take to get a Tide business account?

Tide is proud that the online process for opening an account and for verification is pretty slick. In fact, over 50% of Tide customers can set up their account in just 10 minutes, and over 80% get everything sorted within 48 hours⁶.

To make sure the account opening process runs smoothly for you, be sure to check exactly what documents and details are needed in advance and make sure that all your documents are up to date.

Does Tide have a UK banking Licence?

Tide is not a bank. However, Tide is fully regulated by the UK’s FCS for all the services it provides. When it comes to Tide Business Accounts, services are offered through a partnership between Tide and ClearBank. This means that Tide works with ClearBank to offer account services, and also to provide FSCS protection on savings up to the legal maximum of 85,000 GBP⁷.

Is Tide a trustworthy bank?

Tide isn’t a bank, but it’s a trustworthy, reliable and regulated service. In terms of security, Tide was built with many smart features to keep accounts safe - plus all customers must pass verification checks, and customer funds are safeguarded to ensure accounts are protected even in the unlikely event that Tide should fail.

Looking for reviews from previous customers on sites like Trustpilot can be a good way to get a feel for how reliable Tide is. On Trustpilot, Tide has a 4.1 out of 5 star, Great rating, from over 19,000 reviews. As Trustpilot aggregates live reviews you can check out the latest details before you sign up⁸.

Wise Business - Alternative to Tide Business account

The UK market offers plenty of options for business owners and sole traders who need to manage their business finances digitally.

Alongside the Tide Business Account, why not take a look at Wise Business which offers smart, low cost ways to send, spend, receive and convert foreign currencies on behalf of your business, with the mid-market exchange rate, low fees, and fast payment delivery times.

Open your Wise Business online or in-app to hold and exchange 160+ countries and get paid in 8+ currencies conveniently.

Accounts also offer linked debit and expense cards you can use in 150+ countries, with no ongoing costs or minimum balance requirements. As well as being packed with international features, Wise business accounts come with cloud accounting integrations, multi-user access, and time saving features like batch payment solutions.

Looking for more? Use Wise Interest to earn a return on balances held in GBP, EUR and USD, paid daily. There’s no penalty for making withdrawals, so you can just turn on the interest feature and use your account without interruption while earning a variable return.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

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Tide Business accounts present a good solution for some business owners in the UK, with various different account types and tiers depending on your needs. However, they don’t have options to get paid by customers, marketplaces and PSPs directly in foreign currencies, or to hold and exchange overseas payments conveniently. If you’re running a business with international connections - or international ambitions - you might be better off with Wise Business.

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Sources used in this article:

1. Tide Business current account
2. Tide pricing
3. Tide business savings account
4. Tide FAQ - credit checks
5. Tide FAQ - What ID do I need?
6. Tide FAQ - How long does it take to open a Tide account?
7. FSCS
8. Tide - Trustpilot

Sources last checked 24/05/2024