Why I refer my clients to Tide
I found myself standing outside a popular high street bank and, out of curiosity, decided to see how one might go about opening a business bank account.
By way of introduction, my name is Ben Nacca, and I’m the Founder and CEO of Cone Accounting, a UK-based accounting firm.
We work with a plethora of small businesses and entrepreneurs, all doing amazing things for their communities, families and themselves.
The standard perception of accountants is that we’re here to deal with taxes and compliance. And whilst we do take care of those things, we focus on so much more when it comes to helping your business grow. Being able to support a business realise its actual potential and become a success is the motivation behind what we do. Part of this is making sure that clients are getting the best experience from their business current account, and that managing their finances is friction-free. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with every banking provider.
We work with a plethora of small businesses and entrepreneurs, all doing amazing things for their communities, families and themselves.
I walk into the high street bank. A customer service representative comes over, asks how I’m doing and what I need help with, hoping to usher me towards the self-serve machines so as to continue scrolling through (presumably) his Instagram feed.
I ask if I can open a business current account.
“Oh. Well, you’ll need to call our business support team, and they’ll book you in to start the process.”
I must have been looking back at him quizzically, as he quickly reassured me that “it only takes about 2 or 3 weeks to get your account open”.
I took the leaflet he handed me with more details (i.e. the phone number) and promptly walked out of the popular high street bank.
So, this is why I refer our clients to Tide.
Tide is a breeze to use. Download the app or straight from the website, you’ll start the sign-up process instantly and finish in a few minutes. Our clients get a sort code and account number straight away and a Mastercard within a few days.
Better yet, Tide integrates with our favourite cloud accounting platform, Xero. The integration makes our lives so much easier – all transactions link directly into Xero, and there are no forms or lengthy waiting times to get the integration up and running.
Our clients love Tide too – most have already experienced my opening anecdote with a high street bank, and it’s refreshing to see business banking flipped on its head.
Sometimes, we’ll get questions about Tide – concerns over whether a new banking service is secure and reliable. But we’re happy to reassure our clients that Tide never reinvests the funds you put into your account, and funds are held in an FCA-regulated ring-fenced account to keep your money safe.
Our clients love Tide too – most have already experienced my opening anecdote with a high street bank, and it’s refreshing to see business banking flipped on its head.
Ultimately, we’re thrilled to have partnered with Tide and it’s helped us better serve our clients in what was previously a minefield of long wait times, hidden charges and slow service. Tide has already transformed the negative experience of business banking and I’m excited to see how the offering continues to evolve and improve!
