Closed for new applications from 31 March 2021
Update: The Bounce Back Loan Scheme is closed for new applications from 31 March 2021. For more information, please visit the British Business Bank website. If you have any questions about a Bounce Back Loan taken out with Tide, please contact the Member Support team in your Tide app.
We were accredited by the British Business Bank to deliver Bounce Back Loans to our members from 19 May 2020. Since then, we’ve lent millions in Bounce Back Loans, mainly to existing members.
Unfortunately, due to the design of this Government support scheme, we’re currently not able to offer more Bounce Back Loans. Our CEO has explained why in full in this letter to members.
Our waiting list for Bounce Back Loans is currently closed
If you’re currently on our waiting list and have a question, or if you have a Tide Bounce Back Loan and need support, we’ve answered many of your queries in the FAQs below.
View the list of all lenders who offer Bounce Back Loans:
British Business Bank: all accredited lenders
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) was a support scheme from the Government, which added to the existing support for small businesses affected by coronavirus.
The scheme has been closed by the Government, so Tide doesn’t offer it anymore.
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) was separate from, but similar to, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Both loan schemes lent money to businesses via lenders accredited by the British Business Bank.
Small businesses could be eligible for both schemes, but the Bounce Back Loan Scheme aimed to help small businesses borrow smaller amounts more quickly, and with more generous terms.
You can read more about the difference between CBILS and BBLS on the British Business Bank’s website.
Like all Bounce Back Loans, you didn’t need to pay any interest for the first 12 months because the Government would pay it for you.
After that, the interest rate was fixed at 2.5% p.a.
The maximum you could borrow was 25% of your annual turnover in 2019, up to a maximum of £50,000.
No. Tide exists to support small businesses so when, in March, the Chancellor announced support for SMEs in the Budget, we immediately expressed our interest in becoming an accredited lender for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). We pursued this application until the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) was announced in April. This scheme is much better suited to our members so we switched our application.
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was a Government initiative open to all eligible small businesses. We believe it isn’t fair to discriminate against new customers so that’s why any small business owner could apply for an account with us, and if they wished, register interest in getting a Tide Bounce Back Loan.
We’ve gained some new members but in fact almost 90% of the businesses who joined our waiting list were existing rather than new members.
Message us by email (hello@tide.co) or in the app and we’ll be able to help.
We’re sorry you’re not happy – did you give us a chance to sort it out? Please message us in the app or by email hello@tide.co
We set out our complaints handling procedures and the rights you have to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service in our Tide Terms.
Read more: FAQ: How do I make a complaint?
The Government has announced Pay As You Grow options for Bounce Back Loan borrowers to help businesses get back to regular trading. Pay As You Grow could give you more time and flexibility to pay back your loan.
Pay As You Grow options will be available to you once you start to repay your Bounce Back Loan, from 12 months after it was first approved, subject to lender’s discretion.
Using these options won’t affect your credit score, though it may influence how we assess your creditworthiness in the future and your loan may cost you more overall.
Read more about What options are available under the Pay As You Grow Scheme?
The options available to you when you are due to make your first payment after 12 months, subject to lenders discretion are:
1. If you expect to be in a better position to repay in the future
a) You could reduce your monthly repayments for six months by paying interest only.
i) This option is available up to three times during the term of your Bounce Back Loan.
OR
b) You could pause repayments for six months.
i) This option is available once during the term of your Bounce Back Loan.
2. If you’re only able to repay a smaller amount:
You could request an extension of your loan term from six years to 10 years at the same interest rate of 2.5%.
If you’re considering this option you should think carefully about your ability to repay over a longer timeframe, taking into account such things as if you intend to cease trading or retire within the revised term of your Bounce Back Loan.
Please note for all three options that the total amount you owe will go up. This is because your interest costs increase as you’re repaying your loan over a longer period.
You can use options 1 and 2 together if you need to.
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is Government-backed, but not Government funded. This means the organisations that offered the BBLS had to provide the funding for the loans themselves. For banks, this was straightforward, as they have access to the Bank of England’s funds, but for non-banks, like Tide, we had to raise our own funds to lend.
The same principle applies to the Pay As You Grow Scheme (PAYG), Tide would have to finance the extension of BBLS repayment terms itself, without access to Bank of England or other Government funding. For this reason, the provision of the PAYG is down to the discretion of the lender.
Due to the nature of the way the BBLS and PAYG are funded, Tide has taken the difficult decision to not offer PAYG, as we would be unable to fund an extension for all BBLS members.
If you have more questions, tap Support in the Tide app to send us a message – we’ll be happy to help.
Reminder of your Bounce Back Loan terms and conditions
When you applied for your Bounce Back Loan, you declared that you understood that:
If you’re worried about your finances, the British Business Bank has a range of guidance and resources available to all businesses, including content on managing your cashflow and a list of independent advice services.
In addition, the Government has various options for financial support you can get for your business. Free debt advice is also available from numerous charities and non-government organisations and we’ve linked a UK Finance leaflet that provides practical information and helpful advice to businesses who are facing financial difficulty.
If you’re concerned you won’t be able to make a repayment on your Bounce Back Loan, let us know as soon as possible by emailing: collections@tide.co We’ll talk over the options and work out a repayment plan.
We’re here to help
You can also contact the following organisations for free debt advice:
About the Bounce Bank Loan Scheme
The Bounce Bank Loan Scheme (BBLS) is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of and with the financial backing of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy (BEIS). British Business Bank PLC is wholly owned by HM Government and is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Full details on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and the list of participating lenders can be found on the British Business Bank website: www.british-business-bank.co.uk
Our commitments to you
While you have the loan with us, we will:
Missed or late payments
If you don’t make a required loan repayment on time, you’ll have a reasonable amount of time to make the payment.
We will not treat the missed payment as an event of default under the loan if is remedied by you within this period.
After this deadline, we may:
A failure to make payments under the loan when these are due may impact your credit score, which may reduce your ability to access further lending in the future.
Your information rights
We promise to make sure we give you the information you need throughout the lifetime of your loan and in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading.
In particular, we’ll give you:
Complaints
We set out our complaints handling procedures and the rights you have to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service in our Tide Terms. You can also read more in our FAQ: How to raise a complaint.