Tide Bank Review: I started a new business a few months ago (more on that to follow on this blog) but I needed a new business bank account. After doing a bit of research and deciding I didn’t want to go with one of the boring old high street banks – I found TIDE which seemed to offer everything I needed.

What I knew before joining up was that unlike a majority of the high street banks I could be setup with a new account and have an account number within minutes of getting verified and all directly from the app! I usually bank with a one of the major high street banks and when I contacted them I was told I needed to make an appointment and bring all my documents and it would take at least a week to get everything arranged. Nope – that just wasn’t for me.

The referral code provided by my colleague definitely helped persuade me ? – I mean there are a number of challenger ‘online only’ banks who offer similar services but my blog is centred around finding referral codes for you and I to use – So I had to go tide bank with Tide right? You can use my referral code: REFER75 to get £75 bonus within 6-8 weeks of joining ! You only need to complete £300 of card transactions within 3 months of account opening to activate. Be careful of websites offering £100. I nearly joined using a £100 referral code only to find they were hiding the fact that it was really only £50 and I needed to complete £500 of debit card transactions.

TIDE REFERRAL CODE: REFER75

Did I mention the extremely cheap banking fees? There are very few banks that offer free banking for business users but I found that although TIDE are not free the prices they charge are minimal. For me it was ideal as I only have a handful of transactions going through my account so from a cost perspective this account suits me just fine. You should work out how many transactions you are expecting on a yearly basis to work out if the basic package at Tide is for you. The code REFER75 actually gives you free transfers for a year included which is a definite bonus.

For those of you with larger businesses or more specific banking needs – Tide is still the bank I would recommend. Their offering goes way beyond what you can get from your high street branch. Some of these are paid for services but most are actually FREE. The below graphic shows what is included in the paid packages at Tide. I myself haven’t upgraded to the Tide plus card because for a single employee with relatively simple banking needs the basic free package is more than sufficient but for larger businesses out there the paid for packages could be more cost effective with the added bonus of cashback and expense cards for your teams.

One thing I should point out and probably should have done at the outset is the Tide app – which is definitely a success story in itself. Everything I need from Tide is in the app and in over 12 months I have had not needed to speak to anyone at Tide, go into a bank branch (they don’t have any actually branches on the High street) or needed something that wasn’t already available. They really have thought of most things! The user interface is simple and easy to use (something the old guard could learn from) and access to the desktop app is quirky, simple and very secure and logs in through a QR code scanned on your phone. If in the unlikely event you do need to speak to someone then you can contact directly through the in app chat feature and you should be able to speak to someone in minutes.

Moving forwards I can only see Tide getting better. They have been adding more and more services to Tide over the last 12 months I have been a customer and I expect this to continue into the future. They have a very active community forum and they love to keep everyone updated on what they have planned and always seek feedback from users on what we would like added next. As of today you can now get account integration with some of the most popular accounting software packages, read access for your employees, send/pay and track invoices and get best of all for me at least is getting your account setup in minutes.

TIDE REFERRAL CODE: REFER75

Overall I am very impressed with TIDE :-). I get everything I need from a bank that has been built from the ground up to be an online bank – the functionality and user experience are fantastic. If you need a business bank account you should check them out. Not sure what else I can add really. If this review hasn’t made you want to join Tide if you are looking for a free business bank account – I’m not sure what will….

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Tide Business Account Overview

• £75 signup bonus by entering the code REFER75 (payable within 6-8 weeks of account opening)
• Sign-up in as little as 10 minutes on a mobile device or via the web. You can also choose to register your company at the same time (for free) saving valuable time in getting your company and/or account set up to operate without having to visit any branches.
• No credit check required to open an account, therefore there is no risk in trying out Tide alongside an existing account
• Free sign-up, with no annual or monthly fees
• 1 Year of FREE UK bank Transfers
• Free Mastercard usage (at home and overseas)
• Access to all Tide Platform product features to manage their business admin such as the Company Registration tool, Virtual Office Address, Receipt Importer, VAT Manager (which links to HMRC), Expense Management, Expense Team Cards, Accountancy Software Integrations, Invoicing Tool, Invoice Protection, Invoicing by Direct Debit (with GoCardless), and Apple Pay

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the Tide Business Banking app referral code?
Use referral code: REFER75 to get £75 FREE cash added to your balance, FREE bank transfers for 1 year and FREE LTD company formation if required

How do you open an account with TIDE business banking?
You can register directly at the tide.co website or you can download the ios or android app and register directly in app. Don’t forget to use the Referandsave EXCLUSIVE referral code: REFER75 to get £75 for opening an account.

What is the criteria to get your £75 free cash at Tide banking?
You must use referral code: REFER75 when registering or within 1 week of registering by contacting through the in app chat feature. You must then complete £300 of card transactions within 3 months with £1 to receive your £75 bonus cash. It can take 4-6 weeks to receive your bonus payment.