Open a free Tide business bank account in minutes and get £100

Save you time and money managing your finance admin with Tide.

  • Free signup and no monthly or annual fees

  • Free Mastercard usage, at home and abroad

  • Free transfers to Tide accounts

We are delighted to introduce Tide as our exclusive business banking partner to help save you time and money managing your finance admin.

As a Markel Direct policyholder, you can enjoy an exclusive £100 cashback and one year of free UK transfers* when you open a Tide business bank account.

Trusted by over 400,000 UK businesses, Tide are one of the fastest-growing digital business banking platforms, offering free FSCS-protected business bank accounts that can be opened in minutes.

With no credit checks required, and no monthly or annual fees, you can simply manage your account using your mobile.

Try Tide alongside your existing account, so you can spend less time on your business admin and more time on your day job.

To open an account, simply click the button below or use the code MARKEL to sign-up for your Tide account and receive £100 cashback.

OPEN AN ACCOUNT

Tide account features:

  • Free signup and no monthly or annual fees
  • Free Mastercard usage, at home and abroad
  • Free transfers to Tide accounts
  • Register your company for free and open a business account, all in one go
  • A central London virtual office address subscription (for a small monthly fee)
  • Order up to 35 additional Mastercards for team members
  • Make VAT returns a breeze with easy expense management - upload receipts, auto-match them to transactions, add notes and categories
  • In-app support available 24 hours a day, every day
  • Mobile first but not mobile only - manage your account in a way that works for you, whether it’s in the palm of your hand, or from your computer
  • Access direct feeds with Xero, FreeAgent, Sage, Quickbooks, and Kashflow to help you to manage your accounts.

Receive £100 cashback and one year of free UK transfers

Frequently asked questions

  • Who can open a Tide account?

    If you’re the director of a company registered with UK Companies House, you’ll be eligible for a Registered Business account. UK-based sole traders and freelancers with a valid UK residential address who are registered with HMRC are eligible for a Sole Trader account.

    For both account types, you’ll need to be aged 18 or above, have a valid UK phone number, and hold a device registered to a UK App or Google Play store.

    Tide do not offer current accounts to businesses in the following industries:

    • Third-party funds
    • The holding, managing an/or controlling of a third party’s (client’s/customer’s) funds in the Tide account. This includes using the funds on behalf of other individuals
    • Insurance companies (incl. insurance brokers)
    • Trading of cryptocurrencies
    • The wholesale of precious metals and stones
    • Investments (incl. real estate investments)
    • Money services (such as foreign exchange, loan providers, money transfers)
    • Casinos, prize draws and other betting or gambling activities
    • Sale of unlicensed pharmaceuticals
    • Sale or trade of cannabidiol (CBD) products
    • Trading of weapons, explosives or armaments Unlicensed trading and processing of scrap metal
    • Unlicensed waste management
    • Sale, import and export of used vehicles or heavy machinery
    • Escort services and other services in the adult industry
    • Bidding fee auctions
    • Non-profit organizations, including charities
    • CICs and CIOs

  • What ID will I need to open a bank account with Tide?

    Tide require a European National ID card, international driving licence or passport to verify your identity.

  • Is my money safe with Tide?

    Yes - if you have a ClearBank account, then eligible deposits, up to £85,000*, are protected by the UK Government’s deposit guarantee scheme, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

    If you have a Tide e-money account, then the funds in your account are stored and protected. With an e-money account, your money is never invested or loaned out and is safeguarded in accounts that keep your money separate from the money we use to run Tide. As your funds are safeguarded, FSCS protection does not apply.

    *Eligible deposits with ClearBank are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. This limit applies to the total of any deposits you have with ClearBank. Any total deposits you hold above this limit are unlikely to be covered.

*Offer T&C’s

1. To be eligible to receive the Markel promotional offer (the “Offer”), applicants must first successfully open a sole trader or limited company business current account with Tide. Account opening eligibility criteria and customary know your customer checks apply.

2. The Offer includes:

    •  £100 cashback reward – this is subject to Minimum Balance requirements (see paras. 5-6 below); and
    • one year of free transfers to any UK accounts.

3. The Offer is only valid for new accounts and applicants who haven’t previously opened an account with Tide.

4. To activate the Offer, the applicant must use the referral code: MARKEL. The applicant is required to either enter the referral code while applying for a Tide account via the Tide mobile app or the Tide website (https://web.tide.co/sign-up/) or simply let us know through the in-app chat within 1 week of successfully opening the account (e.g. if an applicant successfully opens a new Tide account on Monday, the applicant will have until and including the following Monday to give us the referral code via the in-app chat).

5. The Offer is limited to one £100 cashback reward per applicant. To receive the reward, the applicant must credit the new Tide account with a minimum of £1 (the “Minimum Balance”).

6. The Minimum Balance must be credited by the applicant within three months of the account opening date.

7. The reward will be paid into the applicant’s new Tide account. It can take up to 8 weeks from the date the applicant credits the account with the Minimum Balance for the reward to be validated and paid.

8. We reserve the right to modify these terms and conditions or withdraw this Offer at any time.

9. This Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other Tide offer or promotion.

10. Transfers to non-Tide accounts are free for one year and 20p per transfer thereafter.

Tide is not a bank, but a business banking platform and the leading digital challenger in business banking services. Tide offers bank accounts provided by ClearBank. ClearBank Ltd is Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register number: 754568). Registered Address: 4th Floor, Prologue Works, 25 Marsh Street, Bristol, England, BS1 4AX.

Receive £100 cashback and one year of free UK transfers

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