London-based Tide, a challenger bank for businesses, has announced that it has cornered 1% of the UK SME banking market. According to the company, another SME joins Tide every 8 minutes, and it has more than doubled its user base in 2018.
Founded in 2015, the startup anticipates that by the end of 2018, 56,000 out of a total of 5.6 million UK SMEs will have switched to Tide.
In addition to mobile and web banking, Tide offers SMEs administrative solutions such as accounting and invoicing tools. The startup doesn’t charge monthly, weekly, annual, or card usage fees, and unlike traditional banks, an account can be set up in just three minutes.
Tide has raised €22.8 million to date, including a seed and Series A round, from major backers including Anthemis, Augmentum, Creandum, LocalGlobe and Passion Capital as well as angel investors, which will help it to continue its growth in the UK market.
Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide, said: “2018 has seen Tide begin to fulfill its mission to deliver a wholesale rethink of SME banking in the UK. We are a now a scale challenger to the oligopoly that has dominated and failed the UK SME market for too long. Our members come to us because they want a dedicated and focused partner that will help them grow their business. They are tired of the terrible customer service and bureaucracy of the high street banks and handing over their hard-earned money in unnecessary, and often hidden fees. There is a revolution underway. 2019 is set to be another year of growth as more and more SMEs choose Tide and we look to add to our portfolio of products and services.”
