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About Tide
Tide focuses on building modern business accounts for the self-employed. It offers e-money accounts in partnership with PrePay Solutions (PPS) and business bank accounts in partnership with ClearBank. Although Tide distinguishes itself from a bank, it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
It currently caters to more than 300,000 businesses. Many people find their experience with Tide to be pleasing, as proven by its 4.1 ratings out of the maximum score of 5, based on Trustpilot reviews.
Can I Use Tide for International Bank Transfers?
Yes, but the destination countries are currently restricted to EEA countries. Tide is yet to expand this option to other countries.
Transferring money with Tide can be done either from their Tide app or their website. Any local or international money transfer or payment requires clients to log in to their accounts and enter the account details of the recipient account.
How Long Do Transfers Take With Tide?
It uses Faster Payments services to accommodate its clients’ payment services needs. Although a successful transaction with this service should arrive in minutes, some payee banks may take two to four hours to process the transaction.
If the payment did not arrive after four hours, Tide advises their clients to contact its customer support.
Are There Transfer Limits?
Yes. For a single inbound or outbound transaction, a 50,000 GBP limit is imposed. A 100,000 GBP monthly limit maximum is set for monthly outbound transfers.
If clients need to exceed the said limits, they must contact Tide's Member Support team via the in-app chat for further instructions.
Can I Use a Tide Debit Card When Traveling Abroad?
Yes. Tide offers a contactless MasterCard debit card for any pricing plans a client chooses to avail. No commissions or fees are deducted when the debit card is used in the UK or abroad.
Cash withdrawals done with Tide incurs a 1 GBP fee on top of MasterCard’s automatic exchange rate conversion fee upon each withdrawal.
Tide Exchange Rates and Fees
Tide uses GBP as its base currency due to its customer base. It partners with Xignite to determine exchange rates for its clients. However, they do not display their exchange rates on their website.
Transfer Rate
Tide charges a transfer rate of 0.50% of the total transaction amount. It provides clients a breakdown of international bank transfer fees before effecting the transfer.
Additional Costs
Tide accommodates two types of transfers, which calls for two different additional costs.
For SEPA transfers, Tide adds 0.70 EUR to the total transaction, and for SWIFT transfers, it adds 5 GBP to the total transaction. SWIFT transfers may automatically convert currencies depending on the recipient account. In that case, an equivalent of the 5 GBP in that currency gets deducted from the transfer amount.
Some recipient banks or other third parties may charge additional fees beyond the transfer. Tide clarifies that it has no control nor visibility over those fees, so it cannot inform the client before a transfer is made.
How Do Tide Transfer Fees Compare to Using a Money Transfer Provider?
Wise remains to be the top choice for sending payments or deposits abroad. They consider the total amount sent, a flat fee, and the current money exchange rate for the breakdown of fees. Their breakdown implies that a larger amount sent costs larger fees. A 1000 GBP transfer to a Euro account costs 3.69 GBP for a "low cost transfer" and a 6.67 GBP for a "fast and easy transfer."
Western Union might be a better option for businesses, given how they might send huge amounts of money. Businesses might prefer their flexibility. Western Union allows its customers to remit money via their app, online, or through their branches. They also have their own currency exchange. They also have advantages for huge amounts of transactions, which businesses might be interested to avail.
Tide Pros and Cons
Tide users enjoy more pros than cons when using their services.
- Tide does all its services through its app or website login. It integrates all of the transactions, which can be customized with labels. Money transfers, card activation, and invoice creation can all be done and tracked in the app.
- If the business heavily uses Tide for all their transactions, clients can simplify their business's cash flow analysis by downloading their data as a CSV file and merging it with their other paperwork.
- This option is the most straightforward pricing plan of Tide that features no monthly fee, perfect for those starting freelancers or businesses.
- Tide partners with Hokodo to insure all of the invoices clients make inside the app to protect businesses from non-payments. Hokodo pays for 90% of the value of the unpaid amount. This feature can be set within the app with no additional fees.
- With Tide’s partnership with other businesses, such as The Telegraph, PeoplePerHour, Urban, HotMix, and others, clients can enjoy discounts on their product subscriptions upon confirmation of their association with Tide.
- Tide’s international money transfer service is currently limited to countries in the EEA.
- Only for self-employed and business owners – It does not cater to employees who can also benefit from Tide’s services.
What Customer Support Options Are Available?
There are three customer support options available, all of which are available 24/7.
In-app Messaging – The support icon found at the bottom of the Tide app enables their clients to reach Tide directly by sending a new message. From there, the Tide Member Support team can be reached.
Email – Through [email protected]
Online feedback form – The form contains three required fields that help a client reach Tide remotely.
Summary
Tide is a UK-based business financial platform and was founded in 2015 with the vision of easing the minds of small businesses when it comes to monetary tracking and expenditures. It has expanded its services to thousands of business owners and freelancers in mere six years, resulting from its well-organized and user-friendly app, member perks, and straightforward pricing plans. Its clients are guaranteed insurance for their issued invoices made through the app and up to 85,000 GBP worth of deposits.
Despite the drastic effects of COVID-19, Tide has been well-equipped to adapt to the post-pandemic world with their Mastercard-powered contactless business card.
