Revolut Business vs Tide

Managing your business finances shouldn’t have to be a complex process. And with the right bank account, it doesn’t have to be. Today, we’re taking a look at Revolut Business and Tide to help you choose the best option for you.

Revolut positions their business account as an international solution that allows you to “do business globally”. Tide, on the other hand, is on a mission to save small businesses time and money with their “powerful yet simple approach”.

We’ll have a look at both options, and see how various features like integrations, international payments, and customer support stack up. We’ll also look at the safety and security features of each account, as well as the general reliability, ease of use, and the account opening process.

So, to summarise:

• Your funds with Revolut are safeguarded, while Tide offers FSCS-protected deposits.

• Revolut offers in-app live chat support with limited phone and email options, while Tide offers all of the above.

• Neither Revolut nor Tide offer interest-bearing savings accounts.

• Neither Revolut nor Tide offer overdraft options either. But Tide does offer business loans and a credit line feature via their partners.

• Both Revolut and Tide offer a wide range of integrations, but Revolut comes with custom integrations, while Tide has an Open Banking feature.

Revolut describes itself as a “British neobank” that offers financial services. The fintech company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in London. Since then, it has grown exponentially, launching its business banking offering back in 2017. It has since attracted more than 500,000 business users and supports over 200 countries across 29 currencies.

While Revolut doesn’t have a UK banking licence just yet, it’s working towards one. The company has a European Central Bank licence and is expecting to hear back about its UK banking licence application later in 2023.

Established in 2015, Tide was one of the first digital-only platforms to provide business bank accounts in the UK. Since then, the company which is headquartered in London, has built a reputation for providing affordable banking services for businesses of all sizes.

Tide isn’t actually a bank. Instead, it’s a business financing platform that offers a business bank account product through its partnership with ClearBank. That being said, accounts opened through Tide are still FSCS protected, and the company is FCA regulated.

Tide and Revolut offer a range of features to ensure your funds remain safe. Let’s explore some of them here.

Deposit protection

Tide’s business bank accounts are FSCS protected up to a total of £85,000. It offers bank accounts through ClearBank which is able to offer this protection.

Revolut Business, offers deposit protection through a process known as safeguarding. In practice, this means that Revolut keeps customer deposits separate from operational accounts (the money they use to keep the business running). This pot of money is safe from creditors making claims against the company in the event of insolvency.

Fraud prevention

Both Revolut and Tide take fraud prevention seriously. At Revolut, their anti-fraud system includes features like flagging suspicious transactions, asking for additional verifications, and 3D secure cards. Plus, you can also build your own secure checkout experience using their Merchant API.

Tide offers similar features too. For instance, it comes with two-factor security to ensure all new payees are verified through your phone. Plus, limits on transaction sizes ensure your funds are kept safe. If these don’t work for you - no problem! It’s easy to request a change to your limit.

There’s also help available if you’re worried about fraud or theft. With Revolut, this is mainly via their in-app chat. But, you can report a card stolen via their automated call line, or email their dedicated fraud team. With Tide, you can call or get in-app help if you’re worried about fraud. Plus, you can also use their phone line to get your card cancelled if you’re worried.

Protecting user data

When it comes to user data, Tide has strict policies in place. ClearBank provides the business account that you get through Tide. So both Tide and ClearBank need to process your information. However,  they play by very similar rules when it comes to protecting your data.For example, they employ a “need to know” policy on accessing information, plus they also pseudonymise and encrypt your data where possible. Also, if Tide needs to transfer your data outside of the EEA area, they take steps to only share it with organisations that agree to play by the GDPR’s rules.

Similarly, Revolut may also need to transfer your data outside of the UK and EEA area at times. Like Tide, they take steps to protect your data appropriately, and even set up contracts with strict data protection safeguards to ensure your data is “sufficiently protected”.

Like Tide, they also have strict staff policies in place to ensure your data is handled properly. Also, they take a variety of physical and technical measures to keep your data safe. All in all, both providers take your data protection seriously.

Revolut and Tide both have high review scores across a few different platforms. It’s worth noting that Revolut offers both personal and business accounts, which is probably why it has more TrustPilot reviews than Tide, for instance.

Revolut has separate business apps, which, like its personal app, come with high scores across the Google Play and App Store. Tide has a similar number of reviews and similarly high scores. Its Google Play score is the only “anomaly” at 3.5/5. It’s possible that if you’re an Android user, Revolut may offer a better experience than Tide based on these reviews.

With an aggregate score of 4.7/5 for Revolut and 4.4 out of 5 for Tide, both companies have high scores and, purely based on their reviews, suggest high customer satisfaction.

Both Tide and Revolut are “award-winning” providers. Most recently, Tide won the World Future Awards’ Best Mobile Banking Solutions category. Back in 2021 it won UK FinTech’s Banking Tech Award too.

Revolut won company of the year in the 2020 UK Tech Awards. Plus, in 2019, it bagged first place in Deloitte’s UK Technology Fast 50 awards.

Both Revolut and Tide offer free accounts to get you started. With Revolut, the fees vary between their freelance and business bank account options. Paid accounts come with extras like API integrations. On the business end, features like managing your team’s payroll are included. Plus, if you opt for the £100/month “Scale” option, you’ll also get a dedicated account manager. There are customer “Enterprise” options available for larger businesses.

Tide offers a tiered paid plan too. Its most expensive option costs £49.99 per month + VAT but comes with cashback offers, plus a dedicated account manager. The free version itself comes with several integrations and invoicing. But if you pay up, you get access to a 24/7 legal helpline too, plus quicker in-app support.

Revolut supports international payments, unlike Tide. If you have a paid plan, some free international payment credits may be included. But, typically, you’ll pay £3 per payment.With Tide, you won’t be able to make international payments through your account just yet. Instead, you’ll need to use another account like Wise if you have international clients. But, the company is working on this functionality so don’t let that deter you if you love the sound of Tide.

At the time of writing, all systems were operational at Tide and Revolut alike. Revolut doesn’t include data on past issues, but Tide has a log of previous incidents. For instance, Tide faced issues with adding payees in March, which have since been resolved.

The fact that both websites are reporting that all systems are “operational” is a good indication that they’re generally reliable.

Revolut says the fastest way to get help is through their helpdesk or through the in-app live chat option. Like Revolut, Tide also offers live in-app support. Typically, your queries will be prioritised if you’re on one of the paid plans.

Tide offers email support for all queries and feedback you may have too. With Revolut, email support is limited to reporting account access issues, fraud, and lost cards. Revolut prioritises in-app support for all other queries.

You can’t “speak to a human” via Revolut’s phone lines. But you can block your card quickly if you’re worried it’s been stolen. Tide, on the other hand, allows you to “request a callback” via the app if you’re stuck. With Tide, you’ll also get a 24/7 legal helpline if you opt for one of their paid plans.

Overall, both companies have decent customer support options. If you’re happy to mostly communicate via live chat, you can’t go wrong with either. If you prefer a wider range of options, including email and phone calls, then Tide may work better for you.

When it comes to international payments, Revolut has the edge. This is simply because you can make international payments with Revolut, but not Tide. Tide is working on this functionality, but it’s not currently available. You’d need to use a third party provider to send and receive international payments in the meantime.

Revolut, on the other hand, allows you to send payments to more than 100 countries in 28 different currencies. Transfer times range from 3 to 5 working days depending on your chosen payment method. There are exceptions to this; for instance, some wire transfers to US bank accounts could be received on the same day.Revolut charges a flat fee of £3 for all international payments over your free limit if applicable (i.e. if you’re on a paid plan). And it’s £8 per additional transfer to a US local account if you use the wire transfer option. There’s also a 0.4% on all foreign exchange fees once you exceed your free FX allowance. Incoming transfers in currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, and CHF are free though.

All in all, if international payments are a major part of your business, then Revolut might be the “easier” option, simply because you won’t have to go through a third party provider to make payments in the first place.

Both Revolut and Tide scored pretty high on the Google Play store and App store alike. The Google Play reviews suggest Tide’s iPhone app is better than its Android offering though. It scored 3.5/5 based on user reviews on the Google Play store.We ran an accessibility audit on Chrome to check both providers’ accessibility. Revolut scored 96/100 on mobile, while Tide scored 92/100 on mobile. And on desktop, Tide’s accessibility score was 92/100 while Revolut’s was 98/100.

Revolut and Tide alike can be used both in-app and on your desktop. So if you prefer to do your banking on the go, that’s not a problem. But if you like looking at your accounts on your desktop, you can do that too.

Revolut offers a savings account to its “personal” customers under the Saving Vaults scheme. This was introduced back in 2022 to its Metal customers, and was then rolled out to other non-business users. There is no indication this will be rolled out to business account holders, however. So, as of right now, Revolut doesn’t offer business users savings accounts.

Tide also doesn’t offer a savings account. However, they have a feature called sub-accounts. These can help you manage and budget your funds.

You could create sub-accounts to help you save for your tax bill, expenses, or employee wages. Keeping the money separate ensures they’re there when you need them for a specific purpose.

You can’t earn interest with these accounts. But features like instant transfers and the ability to make and receive payments make them decent options if you’re looking for a budgeting tool.

So, to sum up, neither option gives you an interest-earning business account. But you have slightly more functionality with Tide’s sub-accounts, if budgeting tools are of interest.

Revolut doesn’t offer overdraft or credit options to its customers at the moment. If this is something you’re interested in, you’ll need to look at third party credit options.

Tide also doesn’t offer overdrafts. However, they have the Tide Credit Line feature which works similarly to a credit card. You can withdraw money, use it to fund your business, repay, then withdraw again when needed.

Plus, Tide offers business loan options, including start-up loans, business cash advance, and invoice finance. The loans are tailored for businesses that are looking for loans to address specific pain points.

So, all in all, there are more borrowing options with Tide. However, neither bank account offers overdrafts.

With Revolut, you can either apply for a “corporate” or “company” business bank account, or a “freelancer” business bank account. It’s meant to be fairly quick too. The application shouldn’t take you longer than 10 minutes.

Here are some of the bits you’ll need to complete your application:

• Your business’ address

• A short blurb about your business

• Your national ID, passport, driving licence (for verification purposes)

• Proof of right to reside in the country where your business is located (if you’re not a citizen)

• Basic incorporation details, plus details about shareholders and directors (if you’re opening a company account)

Once submitted, the Revolut team will review your application and get back to you if they need further info. But they do say that the on-boarding process can be quick if your company isn’t too complex, so that shouldn’t take too long.

As with Revolut, with Tide you’ll also apply on the basis of being a freelancer or company. There’s two separate applications. The requirements to get going are pretty simple too. You’ll need to:

• be aged 18 or above

• have a valid UK phone number

• have a mobile phone to complete identification checks

Tide’s pretty quick when it comes to opening bank accounts too. The verification process involves you scanning your ID of choice and taking a selfie.

The company boasts that the majority of applicants opened their account in under 10 minutes. And 7 in 10- applicants did so in under an hour, with about 81% successfully opening their accounts within 48 hours.

All in all, both business accounts have seamless application processes that are designed to be quick and easy.

Revolut Business does not allow cash deposits or cheque deposits. The provider reasons that digital payments are safer and more convenient. Customers with cheques are requested to ask their clients to pay via bank transfer instead. This is a bit of a stumbling block for cash-heavy business owners, but may work fine for businesses that deal solely in digital payments.

Tide, on the other hand, allows cash deposits. Customers can deposit cash at Post Office and PayPoint locations. At the Post office, you can expect to pay a flat fee of £2.50 for deposits up to £500 and 0.5% for deposits over £500. Using PayPoint will incur a 3% fee on the total deposit value.

Monthly limits for cash deposits apply. At the Post Office, it’s up to £25,000 with an annual deposit of £300,000. At a PayPoint location, you can normally deposit between £10 to £500 per day. Like Revolut, Tide doesn’t offer the functionality for cheque deposits. But, they’re working on introducing this down the line.

Tide doesn’t publish ATM withdrawal limit information, and, as with its other banking limits, this may vary based on the account you hold with them. But, a user reported they were allowed to withdraw £500 per day max from an ATM in 2020, so that should give you some indication as to the maximum withdrawal limit.

With Revolut, your daily ATM withdrawal limit is £3,000 within any 24 hour period for all cards linked to a particular account. You’ll be charged a 2% fee to withdraw cash regardless of the amount.

So, all in all, if you’re a cash heavy business, Tide might work out better. But if you’re mostly interested in digital payments, then either provider can help you out.

With Revolut, your transaction limits will vary depending on the type of business account you hold. A freelancer will typically have lower limits than a company account. For instance, while the daily limit on the total value of payments for freelancers is £500,000, for companies it’s £30 million per day.

If you need to go over these limits, you’ll be able to do so via a SWIFT transfer, which may take up to three working days. So there is still a way to make higher value transactions, it might just take a little longer.

Next up, Tide. As with Revolut, your transaction limits will depend on whether you’re a sole trader or a limited company. You’ll be able to see your individual limit by tapping “Accounts” in the in-app “More” menu. You can request an increase if needed too. So while you have a limit, you also have some control over what that limit looks like.

The method of payment you use might come with limits too. If you use Tide Payment Links, for example, there is a monthly limit of £20,000. This won’t apply to other methods though.

Overall, while both providers impose limits based on your account type, you can make larger payments with both. This might just take a little longer than payments under the limit.

Both Tide and Revolut offer a range of integrations. Revolut offers integrations with lots of popular apps like:

• Shopify

• Zapier

• Xero

• QuickBooks

• Coconut

These are just a few options. You can explore the full range on their website. Plus, Revolut’s Business API offering means you can build custom integrations to meet your business needs too. If your company has its own apps, they can be linked with your Revolut Business account as well. Bear in mind, however, that this customisation is only available to paid plan customers.

Tide integrates with lots of different apps too. This includes popular accounting software like:

• Xero

• Sage

• Coconut

• Kashflow

• QuickBooks

• Crunch

• Reckon

This list is constantly growing, so if your accounting software of choice isn’t supported just yet, it might very well be in the future.

Tide also offers the possibility to work with services like GoCardless and iZettle too. Plus, Tide’s Open Banking feature  means you can connect to a range of third party products and financial tools, meaning there’s some scope for further integration.

All in all, both businesses offer integrations with big name accounting software. If you’re interested in more custom integrations, then Revolut might be the way to go. But if you’re happy to just connect your accounting software and go, then either Revolut or Tide can help.

Revolut and Tide alike offer award-winning business accounts that are committed to offering a great experience with robust safety features in place too. While Tide is FSCS-protected, your money with Revolut is safeguarded.

But which one’s better for you? If you deal with lots of international clients, then Revolut might work better. This is purely because they actually offer international payments. Tide doesn’t have that functionality just yet. But, if your business is particularly cash heavy, then you might want to take a look at Tide. Revolut doesn’t allow you to deposit cash or cheques, so finding work arounds might get difficult.

Either option could work well for you depending on your business needs. Both come with high reviews and similar fees, so you know you’ll be in good hands either way.

If there are other business bank accounts on your radar, our detailed comparisons will help you decide which one is best for your business:

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• Revolut Business vs Tide
• Revolut Business vs Starling Business
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• Starling Business vs Monzo Business
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