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Tide raises $14M to ride the fintech wave into small and midsized businesses
For small and midsized companies, banking presents the same hurdle they often face in the technology market, namely a lack of access to the conveniences available to large enterprises. Tide Holdings Ltd. now hopes to even the playing field.
The British startup Tuesday announced it has raised $14 million from a consortium led by London-based fund Anthemis Group to deliver a web-based banking platform specifically designed for small and midsized businesses. It’s cut from the same cloth as the consumer-oriented services that N26 GmbH and other financial technology startups have brought to market in recent years. They all hope to carve out a niche for themselves by providing a friendlier user experience than traditional banks, but Tide is taking a different approach with the implementation.
One of the startup’s main focus areas is speed. Tide claims that its platform enables companies to create a business account in minutes rather than the weeks it often takes with traditional banks. From there, they receive ability to issue corporate credit cards with comparatively low fees as well as a variety of management features meant to ease bookkeeping.
Among other things, Tide organizes transactions by type to reduce accounting overhead and provides built-in invoicing tools. The startup will use the new funding to add more advanced features, including the ability to automatically follow-up on outstanding payment requests. Business Insider reports that Tide expects to nearly double its headcount by the end of the year as part of the effort.
The startup’s platform is only available in the U.K. for the time being, but it plans to expand to other regions over the coming years. This growth initiative will likely be aided by the fact that Tide doesn’t hold customers’ money directly but relies on an external banking partner in a bid to minimize compliance obligations. The startup should consequently be able to move into the U.S. and other major markets faster than with a conventional operating model that would require more regulatory approvals.
Image: Tide
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