£60M to transform the UK’s business banking market

A few weeks ago, we announced that we joined forces with ClearBank to transform UK SME banking market.

Today, we’re delighted to announce that our partner ClearBank® have been granted £60 million from RBS Alternatives Remedies Package.

The grant is one of three from Pool A of the Capability and Innovation Fund that forms part of the £775 million package, backed by the UK Government, and overseen by Banking Competition Remedies Ltd.

ClearBank’s next-generation infrastructure and Tide’s market-leading proposition for SMEs is set to transform the UK’s business banking market. The grant will be used to challenge the oligopoly that currently dominates this marketplace by providing SMEs in the UK with the option of a dedicated and focused banking partner that will help them grow their business.

“Tide fully supports the Banking Competition Remedies’ objective of changing business banking for the better. This is why we are so thrilled that ClearBank’s application was successful. We can start work today. The funding will help Tide accelerate its strategy to capture a significant share of the market, and we plan to match this with further investment of our own. As well as growing awareness of our existing offer, we have exciting plans to expand the products and services we offer our members under the Tide brand, which we will announce soon.”

Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide

The combination of ClearBank’s world-class payments infrastructure and Tide’s unrivalled digital banking platform means entrepreneurs and small business owners will have a genuine scale alternative to the poor customer service, high costs and bureaucracy of the high street banks.

“We are delighted that the BCR has recognised the strength of our partnership with Tide in awarding us this grant. We both have the ambition to revolutionise banking services provided to the SME market. ClearBank is committed to improving SME outcomes in the UK by leveraging innovative partnerships with leading technology and financial service providers in accordance with our banking as a service model. Our partnership with Tide will provide the SME banking market with an innovative and compelling client proposition, using our highly agile technology.”

Charles McManus, Group CEO of ClearBank

We launched in January 2017 with the mission to deliver a wholesale rethink of SME banking in the UK. Just over two years later, we are the fastest growing business banking service provider in the UK with around 65,000 members and a 1.14% share of the market.

The grant and our investment plans will allow us to accelerate our growth and provide SMEs in the UK with the option of a dedicated and focused banking partner that will help them grow their business.

We want to thank the BCR for the confidence they have shown in Tide and ClearBank which we intend to repay many times over.