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This sucks. I've recently started contracting in the UK and opened a business bank account with HSBC. I was initially tempted by Tide (https://www.tide.co/ http

This sucks. I've recently started contracting in the UK and opened a business bank account with HSBC. I was initially tempted by Tide (https://www.tide.co/ https://www.tide.co/), a new entrant with an attractive business banking product, but unfortunately they are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so I thought twice... Maybe I should still open an account with them just in case... Wonder if anyone here has tried Tide here?

sthen 9y ago
FSCS is to give (limited) protection from a bank's bad investment/lending decisions. Tide operate using an emoney license which requires deposits to be held in a ring-fenced account and doesn't allow them to be lent/invested in that way. I'd be interested in other opinions but my understanding is that the risk FSCS protects against in the case of a bank can't happen under an emoney license anyway. (FSCS doesn't protect you from the problem this article was about either, and that seems much more likely to happen than one of the large banks being allowed to fail..) Their accounts are super easy to setup, if their fee structure fits how you work then it's probably worth having one even if it's "just in case" to keep your options open.
ENadyr 9y ago
Have been considering Tide, as we are applying for an HSBC Business bank account currently gulp. As Prepay Technologies Ltd is used to store the deposits I believe small companies ARE eligible for compensation under FSCS should Tide/PrePay run into problems.
mprev 9y ago
We have a Tide account, alongside a more conventional business bank account with a high street bank. Tide is not without its issues. For example, there's no way to accept payment from a non-UK account (no IBAN, BIC, SWIFT). It's also tied to a single person's mobile phone (even log-in to the web banking requires that one person's phone), even though we're a limited company, making it somewhat awkward for book-keeping purposes. The traditional banks are far from perfect but Tide is not right for every business just yet.

sthen 9y ago

FSCS is to give (limited) protection from a bank's bad investment/lending decisions. Tide operate using an emoney license which requires deposits to be held in a ring-fenced account and doesn't allow them to be lent/invested in that way. I'd be interested in other opinions but my understanding is that the risk FSCS protects against in the case of a bank can't happen under an emoney license anyway. (FSCS doesn't protect you from the problem this article was about either, and that seems much more likely to happen than one of the large banks being allowed to fail..) Their accounts are super easy to setup, if their fee structure fits how you work then it's probably worth having one even if it's "just in case" to keep your options open.

ENadyr 9y ago

Have been considering Tide, as we are applying for an HSBC Business bank account currently gulp. As Prepay Technologies Ltd is used to store the deposits I believe small companies ARE eligible for compensation under FSCS should Tide/PrePay run into problems.

mprev 9y ago

We have a Tide account, alongside a more conventional business bank account with a high street bank. Tide is not without its issues. For example, there's no way to accept payment from a non-UK account (no IBAN, BIC, SWIFT). It's also tied to a single person's mobile phone (even log-in to the web banking requires that one person's phone), even though we're a limited company, making it somewhat awkward for book-keeping purposes. The traditional banks are far from perfect but Tide is not right for every business just yet.