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L S

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Review of the Tide, Business Banking:

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Good, but with limitations

Good points: - Perfect solution for Sole Traders - Incredibly smooth account step-up and onboarding process - A great all-in-one stop from those setting up a new business inc. a discounted London business address through Hoxton Mix Easy invoicing process (although the template email needs improvement) - App is easy-to-use, with pleasant visual design - Frequent improvements and new features show that Tide care about Pain points: - Customer service chat response times can be veeeery slow. Personally, I don’t think access to basic service levels should be hidden behind a paywall. Monetisation strategies are a real challenge for new challengers to the market, but this is very short-sighted. Frustrated customers don’t become brand advocates! - If their app isn't working, there is literally no way of getting contact, even in an emergency! I resorted to messaging a member of Tide staff via LinkedIn (they were really helpful though) - Because Tide is not a UK registered bank, you cannot make Directors Pension contributions into a SIPP by card payment. For some SIPP providers, this is the only payment option. Thankfully, certain SIPP providers (such as Hargreaves Landsdown) allow you to make contributions by bank transfer from within the Tide app, but you have to make the request by email. When I asked Tide for information, they told me flatly that I was wrong! This was because they didn't understand the difference between Directors Pension Contributions, into a SIPP, Personal contributions into a SIPP and Workplace Pension Contributions. I had to work all of this out for myself. As specialists in Business Banking, they really need to brush up on this knowledge as it has massive tax implications for Ltd company directors, and customers may be misinformed if they don’t hire an accountant. Neutral - For Ltd companies, the categorization of transactions/expenses isn’t specific enough. Even as a sole Director with no employees, I still have to use 3rd party accountancy software to correctly work out my profit etc. The full list of categories in Intuit Quickbooks (full version, not the light ‘self-employed’ version) is a good reference point. Result: I'm sticking with Tide for now, as I like to champion an underdog. It's still a very new company. Fingers crossed they become a UK Registered bank soon, and I hope my feedback helps them to improve. Reviewed on: 11th April 2023

Review of the Monzo, Current Account:

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Life-changing

Switching from a trad bank to Monzo 5 years ago was one of the best decisions I ever made. My finances have transformed from being in debt, to having an emergency fund, a deposit for a house and a little extra saved away. Easy to use, accessible and customer-centric, Monzo were a breath of fresh air. Now my husband has an account, we have a joint account, and a business account. I made the mistake of opening a business account with a competitor, resulting in unnecessary stress. My only criticism is that the innovation seems to have halted. I'd like to see them venture into new areas, as Revolut has. Reviewed on: 11th April 2023

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