Firstly, it’s worth checking your credit score by getting copies of your business credit reports. You can review these for any errors and question anything you believe to be inaccurate with the credit agency. The best next step is to start to increase your creditworthiness. This can be done by using a credit card, or opening a line of credit. There are also sources of funding available, such as Start-Up loans, which help new businesses with no credit history to fund their growth. Alternatively, equity and grant finance may be available that provide you with business loans based on the potential of your company, rather than your creditworthiness.
We also offer Tide Credit Builder – designed specifically to help small businesses grow their credit worthiness and open up future options for funding.
Be a minimum of 18 years old
Have a valid UK mobile phone number
Have a device that's registered to a UK App or Goggle Play store.
Sole traders or freelancers must also
Have a valid UK home address
Directors of limited companies must also
Have a valid home address in the UK or overseas
We’re on a mission to help business owners spend less time on money admin.
However, there are a number of high risk industries that we can’t take on, as this would mean not being able to focus our time and energy on the rest of our members.
We don’t currently offer current accounts to businesses in the following industries:
The holding, managing and/or controlling of a third party’s (client’s/customer’s) funds in the Tide account. This includes using the funds on behalf of other individuals
Insurance companies (incl. insurance brokers)
Trading of crypto/virtual currencies
Operating as a pawnbroker
Extraction of precious metals and stones
Investments (incl. real estate investments)
Money services (such as foreign exchange, loan providers, money transfers)
Banking services (incl. BCAs, loans, digital wallets, etc.)
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
Unlicensed animal breeding
Sale, import and export of used vehicles or heavy machinery
Escort services and other services in the adult industry
Bidding fee auctions
Non-profit organizations, including charities
Operating as, but not limited to, CICs and CIOs, PLC, LLP, Partnership, Trust.
You can read more about this in our blog post: Providing financial security for our members.
