Tide Logo

Start Your Business

Business Accounts

Credit

Business Tools

Support

Tide Logo
Tide Logo
Tide Logo

Setting up & using your Tide Card

Learn how to activate your card, start making payments, and stay in control if your card is lost.

Your card overview

You can have a Physical, Virtual, and Online debit card. The network provider for all Tide cards is Mastercard.

All three cards types are available to both Sole traders and Registered Businesses.

 
null
Physical card
null
Virtual card
null
Online debit card

Maximum cards per Admin

1 per account

5 per account

1 per account

Maximum cards per Team member

1 per business

5 per business

cancel

Physical card delivery time frame

Up to 5 business days

cancelcancel

Digital card delivery time frame

Instant

Instant

Instant

Add to your digital wallet immediately

check_circlecheck_circlecancel

Card colour

Blue (if you're on a Lite plan or have Team Card holders), Black (if you're on a paid plan)

Blue, Green, Purple, Orange, and Pink

Turquoise

Setting up your physical card

Setting up your physical card

When you join Tide, we’ll send you a physical card in the post and you’ll have digital access to it in your Tide app immediately.

Activate your digital card

While waiting for your physical card to arrive, you can see your digital card details by tapping Manage cards > select your card > View details.

  • You can add it to your phone's digital wallet instantly, and use it to make digital wallet and online payments

  • You'll have to activate your physical card first to make contactless payments, ATM withdrawals, card payments over the phone, and card payments by post

Your card delivery

Your physical card will arrive within 5 business days of your account being approved.

  1. Check your card's delivery address Tap Accounts > Cards > select your card

  2. Change your card's delivery address Tap Replace this card > choose a new address > order it for free

Your stylish matte black card

If you upgrade to a paid plan (Smart, Pro, or Max), you can keep your current blue card or replace it with a stylish matte black card. In your app, tap: 

  1. Upgrade in the top-left corner of your app > select your new plan

  2. check New black card please to get yours

We'll deliver it to your trading address within 3 to 5 working days.

When we issue your new black card:

  • We'll upgrade your subscriptions to it

  • You'll have access to it in your Tide app and can start spending

Whether you downgrade from a paid plan to a Lite plan or later return to a paid one, we won't send you a new card. You can continue to use the one you currently have.

View your details and activate

View your details and activate

To activate your physical card for contactless and magstripe payments:

  1. View your card's PIN by tapping Manage cards > select your card > View details

  2. Insert your card into a POS terminal or ATM and make a Chip & PIN transaction to complete activation

Start making payments

Start making payments

Make payments at home

You can make payments at home, using either contactless, magstripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Chip & Pin.

You may occasionally need to enter your PIN when making contactless payments, just to help keep your card secure.

Make payments abroad

You can use your cards abroad just as you would at home.

We recommend that you're charged in the local currency, as our Mastercard conversion rate is generally far better than the conversion rate a merchant or ATM will charge.

There are certain fees that apply, and there are certain countries which have restrictions. Learn more about these below.

Earn Cashback

Your Tide Card automatically qualifies for Mastercard Business Savings, a cashback programme for selected payments. You'll receive your cashback within 5 days of making a purchase, and will show as RBT on your statement.

You can also earn even more cashback through Tide's Max Plan.

Trouble making card payments?

This could be because:

  • Your account has insufficient funds 

  • There’s an issue with the merchant’s system 

  • There are some purchases, such as for gambling and crypto, which you can't make. If this is the case, you'll see a notification which says ‘declined due to merchant category blocked'

  • You’ve reached your payment limit. To check, tap Accounts > Details > Account limits 

  • You’ve reached your contactless limit and need to make a payment with your PIN to use contactless again

  • Your card is frozen. If so, tap Accounts > Cards > Unfreeze 

  • Your card's PIN is blocked. Enter your card and PIN at any ATM, choose an option usually called 'PIN services' or 'unblock PIN', and follow the onscreen instructions to unblock it.

  • Your card is faulty. If so, use the steps on this page to order a new one for free

Tide Card fees

 
null
Free
null
Smart
null
Pro
null
Max

Purchase in GBP in UK

Free

Free

Free

Free

Purchase in GBP abroad

2.75%

Free

Free

Free

Non-GBP purchase

2.75%

Free

Free

Free

GBP cash withdrawal in UK (up to £500)

£1

£1

£1

£1

GBP cash withdrawal in UK (over £500)

0.25%

0.25%

0.25%

0.25%

GBP cash withdrawal abroad (up to £500)

ATM fee £1 + FX fee 2.75%

£1

£1

£1

GBP cash withdrawal abroad (over £500)

ATM fee 0.25% + FX fee 2.75%

0.25%

0.25%

0.25%

Non-GBP cash withdrawal (up to £500)

ATM fee £1 + FX fee 2.75%

£1

£1

£1

Non-GBP cash withdrawal (over £500)

ATM fee 0.25% + FX fee 2.75%

0.25%

0.25%

0.25%

ATM balance enquiry

Free

Free

Free

Free

*Extra fees may be charged by certain ATM providers

*UK cash withdrawal over £500 is only available to ClearBank accounts

Manage your Tide Card

Manage your Tide Card

You can freeze, cancel and reorder your Tide Card for free.

If you lose your card, you should freeze or cancel it immediately. This helps prevent anyone else from using it.

In your app, go to the Accounts tab, tap Cards, select your card, and then:

  • Freeze your card By tapping Freeze. You can unfreeze it here as well

  • Cancel your card By tapping Cancel without replacing

  • Order a new card By tapping Replace this card. You can choose a new delivery address using the steps above

Countries with restrictions on your Tide Card

Countries with restrictions on your Tide Card

You can use your Tide Card in most countries.

You won't be able to use your card's mag stripe in some countries. The mag stripe is a type of security that was common before Chip and PIN. You can still use contactless payments in these countries.

Countries where you can't use your card's mag stripe

Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Mexico, Moldova, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.

Countries where you can't use your card at all

Afghanistan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, Dafur region of Sudan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North), Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritea, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine sanctioned regions (Donetsk, Crimea, Kerson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzia), Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe.