Before you apply
For full details on the current Tide REFER200 cashback offer, including reward amounts, qualifying conditions and deadlines, read the full offer page. This page covers the mechanics of opening the account itself.
What to have ready
- Photo ID — passport or UK driving licence.
- Your company number, if you trade through a limited company.
- Business address and a description of what your business does.
- A phone you can use for the identity and liveness check.
The stages
- Start on the campaign page so the campaign is attached from the outset.
- Choose your legal structure and check Tide’s current eligibility guidance before applying.
- Enter your personal details and confirm your address history.
- Complete the identity check in the app: photo ID plus a short liveness video.
- Answer the business activity questions honestly and specifically — vague answers cause manual review.
- Submit, then wait for the approval decision.
How long approval takes
Many applications are decided within minutes. Some are referred for additional checks, particularly for newly incorporated companies or unusual sectors, and then take longer and may involve a request for extra documents. A referral is not a rejection.
If your application is referred, expect a request that is usually specific — proof of address, a clearer photo of a document, or clarification of your business activity. Respond promptly and exactly to what is asked, since a partial or unclear response is a common reason a review takes longer than it needs to.
Common reasons an application takes longer than expected
- The company was incorporated very recently and has little public information available to cross-check.
- The business activity description is vague or does not clearly match the registered SIC code.
- A director's ID document is close to expiry or an image submitted is blurred or partially obscured.
- There is a mismatch between the address on the application and the address held at Companies House.
- The business operates in a sector that requires additional due diligence.
Immediately after approval
Note the opening date, order and activate your card, add it to your phone wallet so you can spend before the physical card arrives, and set up your first payments. If you are pursuing the campaign, the seven-day Instant Saver window has already started.
It is also worth spending ten minutes setting up the basics that make ongoing use easier: naming any spending pots you plan to use, checking notification settings so you see transactions in real time, and adding any team members who need card or approval access. None of this is required for the campaign, but it avoids a second setup session later.
Choosing a plan
You do not need a paid plan to open the account or to pursue the campaign. Start on Free unless you already know your transfer volume justifies an allowance, and revisit once you have a month of real data. Our plans page sets out what each tier actually changes.
A sensible approach for most new applicants is to run the account on Free for the first month, note how many transfers and card transactions you actually make, and only then compare that against what a paid plan would need to save you in fees to be worth switching to. Switching plans later is generally straightforward and does not affect anything already validated under the campaign.
What happens if you are declined
A decline is not always final or fully explained in detail, since regulated providers are limited in what they can disclose about the reasons behind a decision. If you believe the decision was based on incorrect information — a wrong address, an outdated document, or a data mismatch — it is reasonable to contact Tide support to ask whether anything can be corrected and reconsidered. If the decline stands, our alternatives page covers other UK business account providers worth comparing.