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Tide account paused? Here’s why

- | query_builder4 min read
Tide update

At Tide, we’re dedicated to protecting your business and your money, and that includes preventing fraudsters from gaining access to our platform. To do this, we have several controls in place – and occasionally it might mean that your account is paused while we make sure everything is as it should be. Below, we’ll address some of the common reasons we need to do this.

Table of contents

Why might my account be paused?

Tide will only pause an account in rare instances. Most of the time, we’ll temporarily pause an account while we carry out our checks – and we’ll aim to complete these quickly, without you losing access to your account.

The most common reason for a pause is if we have questions about the way you’re using your Tide account. We might view this as unusual account activity for a number of reasons. In these cases, we could pause your account to protect your money, to check that it’s definitely you using your account, or to ask for more information about the way you use your account.  We might also pause your account if we need to update your details, as we’re required to have the most up-to-date information for all of our members (this relates to our Know Your Customer obligations).

Unfortunately, the above list of reasons isn’t exhaustive – there may be other reasons why we might pause an account, too. We’re not always able to offer you justification for why your account has been paused (or any follow-up measures we’ve taken), because, as a regulated entity, we’re bound by the rules set by the FCA. Rest assured that whenever we pause an account, we’re complying with regulatory requirements to make sure your money is kept safe at Tide.

What should I do if my account is paused?

We’ll be in touch with you soon after your account’s been paused. We appreciate that this can impact your business, and we want to help resolve things as soon as we can. To help us do this, please be ready to answer our questions fully and clearly, and respond to any requests for documents we might need. We’ll always contact you through in-app chat, so make sure you have your notifications turned on. 

Can Tide’s Member Support team help to unpause my account?

If your account has been paused, the review won’t be carried out by our Member Support team – so if you open a chat with them in your app, they won’t be able to give you any more information on this issue. However, they will be able to direct you to any messages you might have missed that relate to your account review. It’s important to respond to these messages as soon as you can, so you can help us resolve things. We know it’s frustrating to wait, but we ask that you avoid opening multiple new chats or sending follow-up messages to try to speed things up.

My account’s been paused, but I haven’t done anything wrong.

We know that a paused account can be frustrating and we’re sorry for the inconvenience. Just because your account has been paused, this doesn’t mean we’re accusing you of anything. In most cases, this happens because our systems have picked up unusual behaviour from your account, so first and foremost, we’ve paused your account to keep Tide and our members safe. As we explained earlier on, there are many reasons why your account might be paused – from simply updating your business address to more worrying cases such as someone trying to defraud you.

How long will it take to reactivate my account?

All businesses are different, as are the reasons for a paused account, so the time it takes for us to review your case can vary. Often, there’ll be a simple explanation as to why your account’s been paused – with your support, we’ll be able to resolve it and reactivate your account as soon as we’re able to. Other times, we might need documents or information from you before we can take our next steps. We also occasionally have to wait on advice from third parties (such as financial institutes, banking partners or regulatory bodies) before we can reactivate an account.

I’ve seen negative comments and reviews online from members who have had their account blocked.

We understand that a paused or blocked account is the last thing you’ll want when you’re running your business, and we know that the majority of our members haven’t done anything wrong. However, we’ve seen an increase in scams linked to fraud trends in the market at the moment. These include Apple Pay vishing, intercepted emails and APP fraud, and on occasion, these cases have involved our members.   

When an account is paused, we’re doing this to keep Tide safe for our members. We’re sorry if you’re concerned by a negative review that you’ve seen – we listen carefully to all the feedback we get so that we can make Tide even better. Now that we’ve explained things from our side, we hope you’ll understand a little more about why we might need to pause an account. 

At Tide, we work hard to keep your money safe, stop fraudsters from getting access to our platform and detecting them when they do – and we’re grateful for your patience and support.

The fine print

Depending on the type of account you hold with us, either Section 23 or Clause 36 of our Terms and Conditions detail the reasons why we may close an account.