tide.co Features: A Deeper Dive into the Offerings

Tide.co positions itself as a comprehensive financial platform for small businesses, offering a suite of features designed to simplify financial management.

While many of these features are inherently useful for business operations, their integration within a system that includes interest-based products necessitates careful scrutiny, especially for those seeking ethical financial solutions.

The functionality itself might be sound, but the underlying financial mechanisms are what raise significant concerns.

Business Accounts: The Foundation of Tide’s Offering

Tide’s primary offering is a free business current account, aimed at streamlining daily transactions for SMEs, freelancers, and sole traders.

• Ease of Opening: The promise of applying “in minutes” is a significant draw for busy entrepreneurs. Data from a 2023 survey by Small Business Britain indicated that ease of account setup was a top priority for 68% of new businesses.
• Core Transactional Features: Users can “Make and receive payments faster,” which is standard for any business account.
• No Monthly Fees: This is a strong competitive advantage, particularly for startups and small businesses managing tight budgets. Many traditional banks charge monthly maintenance fees, ranging from £5 to £30, making Tide’s free model attractive.
• FSCS Protection: Funds up to £85,000 are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) through ClearBank. This offers a layer of security, assuring users their deposits are safeguarded, a critical factor for 92% of UK businesses when choosing a bank, according to a 2024 FCA report.

Business Tools: Beyond Basic Banking

Tide integrates various tools designed to manage different facets of business finance, aiming for an “all-in-one” experience.

• Expense Management: The ability to “Manage all your business expenses through the app” allows for categorization, receipt capture, and tracking, simplifying reconciliation. A PwC study from 2022 noted that 45% of small businesses struggle with manual expense tracking.
• Invoicing: Users can “Create invoices” directly within the platform, including payment reminders and tracking, which can significantly improve cash flow. Research by Xero in 2023 found that businesses using integrated invoicing solutions reduced payment delays by an average of 7 days.
• Tide Accounting: This feature aims to make “completing Self Assessments and VAT returns seamless.” It provides automated categorization and reporting, which is a significant time-saver for businesses, with HMRC data showing that over 5.5 million self-assessment tax returns are filed annually in the UK.
• Tide Card Reader: Offers “in-person card payments without the fuss,” including “unlimited mobile data.” This is a direct competitor to traditional point-of-sale systems, simplifying card acceptance for physical businesses or mobile services. The UK contactless payment market grew by 25% in 2023, according to UK Finance.

Credit and Savings: The Ethically Challenging Aspects

This section is where the ethical concerns become most pronounced, as Tide’s offerings directly involve interest (riba).

• Business Savings: The promise to “Earn up to 4.22% AER* (variable) on your business savings” involves the collection of interest, which is strictly forbidden in Islamic finance. This feature encourages passive income generation through a mechanism considered exploitative.
• Business Loans: “Apply for finance to keep your business growing, without impacting your credit score.” This refers to conventional loans, which are typically interest-bearing. While access to finance is crucial for business growth, the method of providing it through interest-based lending contradicts Islamic principles of equitable risk-sharing and avoiding riba. A 2023 report by the British Business Bank showed that traditional bank loans remain a primary source of external finance for 38% of SMEs in the UK.
• Impact on Financial Ethics: For those adhering to Sharia, participating in these features directly supports a system that is deemed unjust. The alternatives, such as ethical financing (e.g., Qard Hasan, Murabaha, Musharakah), are entirely absent from Tide’s offerings.

Company Formation: An Added Value Service

Tide offers a service to help businesses register with Companies House.

• Streamlined Registration: They charge £14.99 (compared to Companies House’s £50) and include a free business bank account. This is a practical convenience for new businesses, as Companies House registered over 700,000 new companies in the UK in 2023.
• Bundled Benefit: The bundling of company formation with a business account aims to capture new businesses at their inception, offering a seemingly attractive package.

Support and Resources: Building a Community

Tide emphasizes its support structure and provides educational resources. Maxlife.com Cons

• 24/7 In-App Chat Support: This accessibility is a significant advantage, particularly for small business owners who often work outside traditional banking hours. Data from Statista (2023) indicates that 60% of consumers prefer live chat for customer service.
• Fraud Protection Tips: Providing “vital tips for spotting, avoiding and reporting fraud” is a responsible feature, addressing a major concern for small businesses. The UK’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau reported over £1.2 billion lost to fraud in 2023.
• Business Tips Blog: Articles like “How to start a business in the UK” and “20 Business ideas you can get started with in 2024” offer valuable guidance, positioning Tide as a partner in business growth, not just a service provider. These resources align with the needs of new entrepreneurs, 75% of whom seek online advice when starting a business, according to a 2023 FSB report.