Tide vs NatWest: business bank account options
Tide and NatWest both provide a free business bank account, which we’ll be comparing in this post. But first, let’s start by taking a look at the other business accounts each provider offers.
Tide account plans
Tide provides a number of paid plans that give you access to enhanced features to support your growing business.
You can upgrade your account at any time to one of three paid plans:
To benefit from free transfers, company expense cards, and phone support, these plans are worth considering.
Note: Members, on any plan, can call the Fraud Rapid Response team by calling 159. Use +44 20 4587 0366 if you’re calling from abroad. Lines are open 24/7.
NatWest business accounts
NatWest offers a Business account for larger and more established businesses that have:
a turnover above £1m and have been trading for under or over a year, or
a turnover below £1m and have been trading over a year
This account has no monthly fee but there are charges for certain transactions and services, similar to Tide’s paid plans.
For the self-employed and those operating a ‘side hustle’, Mettle by NatWest offers free banking. This is also a part of the NatWest group.
You can check out our Tide vs. Mettle by NatWest comparison blog post for more details.
Comparing the free business accounts
There are two main differences between Tide’s free business bank account and NatWest’s start-up business account:
Neither provider charges a monthly fee. With Tide you’ll pay for transactions and ATM withdrawals from day one whereas NatWest gives you 2 years of free banking with no charges if you switch to them. But after this period, you’ll start to pay for automatic and manual payments, cheque and cash deposits, and ATM withdrawals.
With Tide, there is no trading limit on applying for a free business bank account. Whereas at NatWest, you must be in your second year of trading or your turnover needs to be less than £1m to be eligible for free banking with the start-up account.
So, let’s compare the basics:
Feature | Tide | NatWest |
|---|
| | |
| | |
Fee for electronic payments in/out | | |
| – £2.50 for deposits up to £500
– 0.5% of cash amount for deposits over £500 (at Post Offices)
– 3% (at PayPoints) | |
| 70p per cheque + 20p transaction fee | |
FSCS protection up to £85k | | |
information correct as of April 2025
Tide’s free business bank account is open to sole traders, freelancers and limited company owners. There are no monthly fees, and your business is eligible irrespective of how long it has been trading – provided you meet our member criteria.
FSCS protection
Tide is not a bank, however our business bank accounts are provided by ClearBank, which is FCA-regulated. Up to £85,000 of your deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
NatWest’s start-up business account is only available to customers over the age of 18, who have the right to be self-employed in the UK. While there’s no monthly fee, you will be moved onto the standard tariff after the initial free 18-month period.
NatWest is a large retail and commercial bank. It’s also FCA-regulated, and up to £85,000 of your deposits are protected by the FSCS.
Opening a free business account
Opening a Tide business account
Applying for your free business account with Tide is a breeze after you’ve downloaded the Tide app. All you need to provide is:
a valid form of photo ID
a selfie to verify your identity
If your account takes an hour to open, it may be because we require more information from you. For example, proof that your business is trading. You’ll receive your debit card within 2-4 business days.
Applying for a NatWest start-up business account
You can apply for a NatWest start-up business account in as little as 10 minutes, however, it can take up to 10 days for your account to be open.
Feature | Tide | NatWest |
|---|
| | |
| | |
| | – Up to 10 days for new customers
– Within 24 hours for existing customers |
| | 3-5 working days (once your account is open) |
information correct as of March 2023
Making and receiving electronic payments
Electronic transfers between Tide accounts are free. It costs £0.20 each time you send or receive money from another bank account.
With NatWest, it’s free to make electronic payments for the first 24 months if you switch to them. After this period, you’ll be charged £0.35 per item for any automated banking payments.
Depositing cash and cheques
Tide accepts cash deposits at Post Office branches and PayPoints.
We charge £2.50 for cash deposits of up to £500 at Post Offices, and 0.5% for deposits over £500. But if you’re using a PayPoint, Tide charges 3% of the deposit amount.
Cheques can be deposited digitally using the Tide app, and there is a 70p fee per cheque, plus our 20p transaction fee (total fee 90p per cheque).
With NatWest you can deposit cash and cheques at any of its branches, Royal Bank of Scotland branches, or Post Offices. However, after the first 24 months (if you’re a switcher), there’s a charge of 70p per item.
Using your card in the UK
Tide and NatWest both offer free card transactions in the UK, and both debit cards have a £100 contactless spending limit.
There’s a £1 fee to withdraw cash at an ATM with Tide, whereas with NatWest they charge a £0.35 withdrawal fee after 24 months.
Feature | Tide | NatWest |
|---|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | Free for 24 months if you switch (then £0.35) |
information correct as of April 2025
Using your card abroad
If you want to use your Tide card abroad, you will be charged a fee of 1.75% of the transaction’s value for card transactions and ATM withdrawals on our free plan, but if you upgrade to any of our paid plans we do not charge this transaction fee.
When using your NatWest card, you’ll be charged a Non-Sterling Transaction Fee of 2.75% of the transaction’s value.
Tools for managing your money
Tide’s free business bank account comes with a variety of tools to help you keep your finances in order:
Accounting integration ‒ connect to Xero, Sage, Quickbooks and others to manage your finances seamlessly
Automatic categorisation of your transactions ‒ learn more about your cash flow and financial habits
Create, track and send customised invoices ‒ get paid on time hassle free
View-only access for team members‒ share information safely and securely to get your finance jobs done
Multi business ‒ hold up to five business accounts
NatWest’s start-up business account helps you manage your money through:
Business Builder ‒ a digital learning and events platform designed to move your business forward
FreeAgent ‒ free accounting software to manage cash flow, invoices and expenses
Mentor Digital ‒ a digital hub that offers you free guidance and resources
24/7 messaging support
Multi-director access
Instant payment notifications and business spending categories
Independent service quality survey: February 2023
As part of a regulatory requirement, an independent survey was conducted to ask approximately 1,200 customers of each of the 15 largest business current account providers if they would recommend their provider to other small and medium-sized enterprises.
Here’s how Tide and NatWest compared in February 2023.
Overall service quality
Customers were asked how likely they would be to recommend their business current account provider to other SMEs:
Online and mobile banking services
Customers were asked how likely they would be to recommend their provider’s online and mobile banking services to other SMEs:
Relationship and account management
Customers were asked how likely they would be to recommend their provider’s relationship/account management to other SMEs:
Find out more about the Business banking service quality survey at the BVA BDRC website.
Summary: businesses are everything to Tide
As you’ve seen, Tide and NatWest both provide business bank accounts with similar features, for no monthly fee. Although NatWest’s account has no charges for the first 24 months, provided you switch to them, you will be expected to pay the standard tariff after this period.
Overall, we think our free business account has the edge for now. Here’s why:
You can open an account in minutes with Tide
You can download the app and get your account up and running in just a few minutes. New business customers at NatWest can apply for an account in 10 minutes but can wait between 5-10 days for it to be opened.
We’re 100% focused on founders
We don’t offer personal current accounts like at NatWest. We’re here solely to help you work for yourself – whether you’re a sole trader, freelancer or a limited company owner. Saving business owners time and money is our core mission.
Sources used for this article:
All sources checked March 2023. The beforehand information is provided for reference purposes only. We give no warranty of any kind nor accept any liability whatsoever in connection with the sources, nor any third party’s products or services.
