Tide account eligibility criteria
Thinking of joining us?
We currently offer business accounts to directors of limited companies and sole traders. You must be 18+ to open an account with us.
Limited companies
Your company must be registered with Companies House. If you haven't done this yet, we can register your company for you.
We'll handle the process and you'll only have to pay £24.99 of the £50 fee charged by Companies House. We'll cover the rest.
Sole traders and freelancers
You must have a valid UK home address and be registered with HMRC. To register with HMRC, you just need to get in touch at gov.uk and follow the site navigation to let them know you're now self-employed.
Our mission
We welcome everyone to apply for a Tide account. Our mission is to empower diverse and often under-represented small and medium business owners who lack access to financial services. We don’t discriminate against anyone on the basis of political beliefs, religion, race, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Why we calculate risk factors
Unfortunately, we can’t provide services for everyone.
When someone wishes to join Tide, we calculate their risk factors (including business type, how money is made, and industry). If this risk is too high for us to support, we won’t accept their application.
This is to ensure we keep Tide members safe, that we have the resources to fully support them, and that we support ethical business practices in line with our regulatory requirements.
Industries we cannot currently support
We are unfortunately unable to accept businesses in the following industries:
The holding, managing and/or controlling of a third party’s (client’s/customer’s) finances in the Tide account
Insurance companies (incl. insurance brokers)
Trading of cryptocurrencies
The wholesale of precious metals and stones
Investments (incl. real estate investments)
Money services (such as foreign exchange, loan providers, money transfers)
Casinos, prize draws and other betting or gambling activities
Sale of unlicensed pharmaceuticals
Sale or trade of cannabidiol (CBD) products
Trading of weapons, explosives or armaments
Unlicensed trading and processing of scrap metal
Unlicensed waste management
Sale, import and export of used vehicles or heavy machinery * Escort services and other services in the adult industry
Bidding fee auctions
Non-profit organisations, including charities CICs and CIOs
Businesses funded by regular donations
We can’t accept anyone whose business is funded fully or in part by regular donations, as these carry specific risks that we are not currently able to service. This is especially true if we or the business owner is unable to trace where these finances are coming from.
Questions?
We understand that this won’t be good news for some people. But we have to do this so we can fully support the financial strength and safety of our new and existing members.
You’re always welcome to get in touch with us at hello@tide.co if you have any questions or comments about this.