The announcement marks the company’s first market outside the UK, with Tide aiming to onboard half a million of India-based SMEs within the following 24 months.
The Tide Business Account and the RuPay-powered Tide Expense Card, which is delivered in collaboration with Transcorp as an issuer, will enable the tracking of spending and business expenses. Furthermore, it will allow transactions at all RuPay-accepting merchants, helping businesses save time and money.
When signing up for the Tide Business Account, SMEs will be provided with access to contactless services and will be given the option of using the Tide Expense Card free of cost to withdraw cash, carry out in-store purchases – including contactless tap and pay, and ecommerce purchases, in addition to other payments.
Being a digital only service, the Tide Business Account can be opened anytime, no matter the location. The Tide app is available for download for Android devices on the Google Play Store.
As per information found in the company’s press release, India has 64 million SMEs accounting for a wide majority of its economy and providing services, jobs, and growth. Having this knowledge at its basis, Tide believes there is a vast untapped small businesses segment in the region and is committed to having a large section of this market introduced and included into the formal economy.
When it comes to onboarding small businesses, Tide will do so only based on a full know your customer (KYC) process, looking to reduce the cost of due diligence and prevent illegal activities of the likes of money laundering and financial fraud, complying with traditional banking practices. As a result, SMEs can take advantage of the business account’s benefits from the first day.
The relationship between the UK and India is continuously strengthening, with the UK carrying negotiations on a future-facing trade agreement with India, as stated by the Minister for Trade Policy, Greg Hands, in the company’s press release. Furthermore, with the middle-class in the region being set to reach 250 million by 2050, it is believed that deals that enable businesses a more simplified way of reaching the consumer market could potentially unlock benefits for UK companies of the likes of Tide.
Tide is looking to support entrepreneurs when it comes to their growth journey, with company representatives stating that as they scale in India, they are set on expanding their product offering for entrepreneurs not only to manage their finances, but also to help them when starting out, be it as a freelancer, sole trader, contractor, or small business owner. Tide aims to build a product that offers a comprehensive set of administrative solutions in addition to business accounts and other banking related services.
The company is working on introducing a host of features to be offered to India-based small businesses which will include a Business Savings/ Current Account in partnership with a bank, QR code for payments, bank transfers, invoicing, GST, pay by link, and credit services.
In the UK, Tide has approximately 475,000 SME members, with over 8% market share, with India having been selected as its first international market in 2020. As of now, the company has over 450 employees in India, with the majority being based in its Hyderabad technology centre and, following this announcement, the company is working towards scaling its operations and adding new solutions to its product suite targeting the Indian market.
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