## Tide’s Rising Tide: All UK Small Businesses Now Eligible for Credit
Imagine this: you’re a small business owner in the UK, hustling to keep your dream afloat. You need capital to invest in growth, manage cash flow, or simply cover unexpected expenses. But securing a loan can feel like navigating a stormy sea, riddled with hurdles and red tape. Now, a familiar wave is crashing onto the shores of financial accessibility for small businesses: Tide, the popular banking app, is making its credit product available to all UK small business members. Could this be the tide that finally lifts all boats?
Tide Expands Availability of Credit Product to All UK Small Business Members
Tide, the UK’s leading business financial platform, has today announced that the availability of its convenience credit product, Tide Credit Flex, has been expanded to become a feature product available to all eligible members. Credit Flex is a short-term loan facility integrated into the Tide app to help members with their short-term cash flow needs.
Practical Aspects
Eligible Tide members can immediately access up to £5,000 in credit through Credit Flex. Individual loans have a four-month term, and an interest rate of 3.3% per month. At the time of a new payment, Tide members can use Credit Flex to spread the cost into smaller monthly payments to avoid a balance dip. For previous payments, members can get an instant cash boost by using Credit Flex to pay back over several months.
Analysis and Implications
The expansion of Credit Flex is a significant development for small businesses in the UK, providing them with more flexible and accessible working capital options. The partnership with Fasanara Capital is expected to have a significant impact on the UK SMB lending market, providing more opportunities for small businesses to access credit.
Background
Tide made Credit Flex available to around 5,000 members in late 2023 where it proved to be hugely popular. Earlier this year, Tide secured a £100 million securitization debt facility from Fasanara Capital Ltd, a London-based investment manager to enable Tide to make Credit Flex available to all UK members.
Oliver Prill, Tide CEO, said: “As one of the UK’s leading SME lending intermediaries, we work with more than 120 lenders to enable strategic funding solutions. Additionally, we provide a mechanism (“Tide Credit Flex”) which seeks to make it easier for small businesses to spread the cost of bank transfers into smaller monthly payments to avoid a balance dip. We know flexible, short-term working capital is critical to the success of small businesses where managing cash flow is a constant challenge. With the new Fasanara facility, we are able to extend the Credit Flex mechanism in a way that we believe will benefit more of our members, improving the efficiency and responsiveness of our service provision.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, Tide’s recent announcement to expand its credit product to all UK small business members marks a significant milestone in the fintech company’s mission to support the country’s entrepreneurial spirit. By making this credit product available to a broader range of businesses, Tide is empowering small business owners to overcome cash flow challenges, invest in growth, and drive innovation. The move also underscores Tide’s commitment to democratizing access to financial services, particularly for underserved sectors of the economy.
The implications of this expansion are far-reaching, with potential to stimulate economic growth, job creation, and competitiveness. By providing small businesses with a reliable and affordable credit option, Tide is helping to alleviate the financial burdens that often hinder entrepreneurial success. Moreover, this development signals a shift towards a more inclusive and customer-centric approach to financial services, one that prioritizes the needs of small businesses and startups.
As Tide continues to push the boundaries of financial innovation, it will be crucial to monitor the impact of this expansion and identify areas for improvement. However, it is clear that this move has the potential to revolutionize the way small businesses access credit and finance, and we can expect to see a ripple effect across the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” With Tide’s credit product now available to all UK small business members, the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape is poised for a significant uplift, and we can’t wait to see the impact it will have.