Tide Business Account Review: Pros, Cons & Features

Tide business accounts can help a range of businesses manage their finances online, including sole traders, freelancers, small businesses and limited companies. Currently, Tide offers a business account with no monthly fee, as well as three paid options: Tide Smart, Tide Pro and Tide Cashback.

These come with a variety of features to suit different business needs, but all allow you to schedule payments, create and send invoices, and manage expenses from your smartphone. Most Tide business accounts will be open within minutes, plus there’s the opportunity to earn £100 in cashback.  

» COMPARE: Best business bank accounts

Tide Business Account – Free

3.9 NerdWallet's ratings

Monthly Fee
Free

UK Card Purchase Fees
Free

UK Bank Transfer Fees
Free

Offer
Get £100 cashback when you open a Tide business bank account + 12 months free bank transfers

Eligibility Criteria

• For registered business accounts: Must be a director of a UK company registered with Companies House.
• For sole trader accounts: Must be a UK-based sole trader or freelancer with a valid UK home address and be registered with HMRC
• For all accounts: you must be aged 18+, have a valid UK phone number and address, and hold a compatible device registered to a UK App or Google Play store

NerdWallet's Review Summary

Tide business bank accounts include a raft of features designed to make running a business easier. There’s various payment collection options to help better serve customers, while to keep on top of spending there’s expense cards for your team, and virtual cards for spending online. Payroll and accounting tools, plus an interest-paying savings account, are offered too. 

Tide key features: 

• Super-fast opening: The majority of Tide business accounts are set up and ready to use in minutes. 
• Payment collection: Take payments online or in-person using a variety of point-of-sale tools, plus deposit cash at Post Offices and PayPoint. 
• Expense management: Issue expense cards, set spending limits and see categorised spending.    

NerdWallet's Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Tide offers a business account with no monthly fees.
• Wide range of payment collection options.
• Highly-rated mobile app.
• Make and receive international payments .

Cons:

• No branch access.
• All transactions with Tide’s Free account carry a fee.

See Deal

This product may be one of a range offered by this provider. Always check terms & conditions for suitability before applying.

The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert, research-based opinions and an exclusive survey of UK business owners and decision makers. The survey was conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in December 2022 to identify the business bank account features that people feel are most important. This was subsequently reinforced by an additional survey in 2024. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal and business circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.

Tide business account full review

Tide was founded in 2015 and has been offering business banking since 2017. A digital fintech platform, it aims to make opening and managing a business account faster and more user-friendly compared to traditional banks, with its use of mobile technology.

Tide offers sole traders, freelancers and limited companies a range of business accounts, including a free account and more advanced paid accounts that allow businesses to upgrade as and when they need to. All accounts allow free UK card transactions, cash and cheque deposits for a fee, plus access to expense cards and a virtual debit card.

All also offer access to payment collection options including payment links, instant checkout, Tap to Pay on iPhone, and Tide’s card reader. They also offer accounting software integration, including QuickBooks, Sage and Xero, scheduled payments, and free invoicing to different limits. 

Free business bank account

Tide’s free business account has no monthly fee and allows five free transfers to and from other bank accounts each month before costing 20p each. You can send three invoices each month, use Tide’s payment acceptance tools and connect third party accounting software. In addition, customers get access to basic member perks and an instant saver account. Customer support services are limited to in-app chat support.

Smart business bank account

Tide’s Smart plan costs £12.49 + VAT each month, comes with 30 free transfers per month and includes one expense card. This account also offers priority support via its app, customer support over the phone, a 24/7 legal helpline, support with trademarking and disputes, enhanced access for a team member, better interest rates for your business savings and exclusive member perks. 

Pro business bank account

The Tide Pro plan has a monthly fee of £24.99 + VAT and offers all of the same features as the Smart account, plus unlimited free transfers. It also comes with Tide’s Accounting package, reduced fees on international transactions, better savings rates and two additional expense cards.

Max business bank account

The Tide Max account costs £69.99 + VAT per month. It includes unlimited free transfers and invoicing, plus free access to Tide’s Admin Extra package, three expense cards, and a dedicated team of account managers. There’s also 0.5% cashback on purchases made with your Tide debit card.

Tide business account features: at a glance

Tide business account pros and cons

Where Tide business account stands out

• No monthly fees: Tide’s Free business account has no monthly fee.
• Taking payments: Tide offers extensive payment acceptance tools, including tap-to-pay functionality for smartphones, payment links, payment terminals, online checkouts and more.
  Paid extras: Optional paid extras, dubbed ‘Toolkits’, include Tides’ Invoice Assistant and Accounting packages. These packages can help you to file for VAT, prepare for tax deadlines, view cash flow reports and much more.
  Customer support: Paid accounts have access to a priority phone number as well as a 24/7 legal helpline.
• FSCS protection: New business bank accounts with Tide are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If you’re a sole trader and have a personal, savings and business account with Tide, the £120,000 limit for FSCS protection will be the total you can claim across all your accounts.

Where Tide business account falls short

• No branch access: Tide is a digital-only business banking provider. It has no high-street branches, so it might not suit your business if you would prefer to speak to someone face-to-face to manage your account.
• Transaction fees: All transfers in or out cost 20p with Tide’s cheapest account.
• Partnerships, charities and non-profits: Tide does not offer accounts to business partnerships, charities and non-profits. 

Tide business account customer reviews

Tide has received generally positive reviews on different review sites. OnTrustpilot, Tide has an ‘Excellent’ rating of 4.4 out of 5, based on more than 31,000 reviews.

Tide’s mobile app also rates highly among users: 

• Apple App Store: 4.8 out of 5 rating, based on over 80,000 reviews
• Google Play: 4.7 out of 5, based on over 23,000 reviews.

This information is correct as of 4 March 2026.

Tide business account eligibility 

To be eligible to open a Tide business account, you must:

• be at least 18 years old
• have a valid UK phone number
• own an Apple or Android device

If you’re a sole trader or freelancer, you’ll need to prove you have a UK residential address. If you run a limited company, it must be registered with Companies House and you need to be a director to apply.

Tide currently will not open business accounts for charities or business partnerships. 

How to apply for a Tide business account

To apply for a Tide business account, you need to:

1. Click ‘See Deal’ at the top of this page to be taken straight to the Tide website.
2. Apply directly with Tide – you don’t need to fill out anything for us. 
3. Submit your application and wait for approval from Tide. 

» COMPARE: Best business bank accounts

About the Authors

Tim Leonard

Tim is a Lead Writer and Content Strategist at NerdWallet who has been writing about all aspects of personal and business finance for over 25 years. Throughout his time working…

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