What it is
Tide's international payments feature lets you send money from your business account to an overseas recipient in a foreign currency, without needing a separate specialist FX provider for occasional transfers. You initiate the payment in the app, specify the currency and recipient details, and the payment converts and routes to the recipient's bank, typically through an underlying payment partner rather than Tide holding foreign currency accounts directly.
Who can access it and on which plans
International payments are generally available across plans, but the FX margin applied — the difference between the rate you get and the underlying market rate — often varies by plan, with higher tiers typically offering better rates as part of their overall value proposition. If you pay overseas suppliers with any regularity, this is one of the clearest cases where plan choice can matter more than transfer allowances. Check current FX terms by plan on our plans and fees page.
How it works step by step
- Select international payment in the app and choose the destination currency and country.
- Enter the recipient's bank details, which vary by country (IBAN, SWIFT/BIC, or local equivalents).
- Review the exchange rate offered and the total cost, including any explicit fee and the FX margin built into the rate.
- Confirm and send the payment.
- The recipient typically receives funds within a few working days, depending on currency and destination.
Current cost and allowances
Cost has two components: any explicit transfer fee, and the FX margin embedded in the exchange rate you're offered, which is often the larger cost and the easier one to overlook. Both can vary by plan and by currency. Check current fees and typical margins on our plans and fees page, and compare the total cost — not just the headline fee — against a specialist provider before committing to a regular payment route.
A worked example
A small importer buys stock from a supplier in the EU roughly once a month, paying around €3,000 each time. Using Tide's international payment feature is convenient — no separate account or app needed — but the importer periodically checks the effective exchange rate received against the live market rate to gauge the margin being charged. When the margin proves consistently wider than a dedicated specialist would charge on the same transfer size, it becomes worth setting up a secondary account with that specialist for these specific payments while keeping day-to-day banking with Tide.
Limitations and exclusions
Tide doesn't offer the depth of currency risk management tools — forward contracts, rate alerts, multi-currency holding accounts — that dedicated FX and international payment specialists provide. For very large or frequent international payments, the cumulative FX margin can become material even if each individual transfer feels reasonable. Availability of destination currencies and countries may also be more limited than a specialist with global reach.
How it compares with alternatives
Wise Business and similar specialists are built specifically around minimising FX margin and offering transparent, close-to-market rates, and are generally the stronger choice for businesses paying abroad regularly or in large amounts. Tide's advantage is convenience for occasional payments — no second account, no separate onboarding — which suits a business making the odd overseas payment a few times a year rather than one running significant volumes through multiple currencies weekly.
Relationship to the REFER200 offer
An international payment made using an expense card, if that's how it's routed, could in principle count towards qualifying card spend, but most international payments of this kind are typically bank transfers rather than card transactions, in which case they wouldn't count towards the £100 step. Check the current definition of qualifying transactions if you're specifically trying to use international payments to help meet the threshold — it's not a reliable route to assume works.