The Tide Card Reader is a low-cost card reader available for UK businesses. As a budget card reader connected to a bank, it also offers an affordable and easy option for startups and small businesses.
In addition, with no monthly fees and a business banking service, this card reader comes with everything you need to start providing merchant services. This review looks at features, the banking app, pricing structure, and what you get for your money.
So, let’s take a look! Is the Tide card reader the right choice for your business?
Tide Card Reader: What You Need to Know
The Tide card reader includes a physical card reader with a digital screen, lifetime free 4G connectivity, and a business bank account.
Tide itself is an Electronic Money Organization rather than a bank, or an “e-bank”. Here, it offers free business bank accounts with merchant services. Unlike most traditional banks, Tide stands out with flat-rate pricing, no monthly fees, and built-in services.
Key Features
- No monthly fees
- Card readers cost £79-£199
- Printer accessories available
- Transaction rates of 1.5% for all cards
- Free business bank account
- Accounting services built-in
- Tap-to-pay on iPhone
- 1 to 3-day payouts
As an all-in-one service, a Tide card reader means your business has everything you need in one account. That means a business bank account, business spending card, and card reader so you can start taking payments.
Card Readers
Tide offers two primary card readers. In addition, if you have an iPhone, you can accept contactless payments from your phone with the Tide app.
- Tide Card Reader – Get your first card reader for £59 plus VAT and additional readers for £159 plus VAT. This reader connects over secure 4G (free with the device). It also features a 4” touch display. You can accept contactless, chip & pin, and digital wallets. You can also send digital receipts. This card reader is fully mobile and has a one-day battery life.
- Tide Card Reader Plus – For £79 + VAT for your first device and £199 + VAT for all additional devices, you can get the Tide Card Reader Plus. This device features a larger touch screen (5.5”), a larger battery life, and the option to connect a printer for instant receipts.
- Tap to Pay – If you want a free way to accept contactless payments, Tide offers Tap to Pay on iPhone. This means you can accept digital wallets and contactless payments up to £100 with nothing but your iPhone.
All three Tide card reader options come with the same rates. You’ll pay a standard 1.5% transaction rate and nothing else.
Simple Fees
Tide offers bank accounts starting from free. In addition, you’ll have a startup cost of £59 to £79 to buy your card reader. You can also start for completely free if you want to use the iPhone Tap to Pay reader while you get started.
Tide charges a flat rate of 1.5% for all cards. That greatly simplifies rates because many traditional banks charge a different rate per card. In addition, Tide often offers discounts down to 0.79% per transaction for starters, meaning you can get your first 3-6 months even cheaper.
Business Bank Account
The Tide card reader is only available with the Tide business bank account. Here, you get a business bank account complete with payments, savings accounts, and a merchant account.
Accounts start free but go up to £69.99 per month, giving you options to scale your banking with your business.
User Reviews of the Tide Card Reader
Tide is an extremely popular business banking service, used by over 650,000 UK small businesses. That means there are plenty of user reviews online, so you can easily see what other people think about the service. For example, on Trustpilot, Tide rates a 3.9.
User reviews overwhelmingly cite positive customer service, personalized support, and ease of use.
- Customer Service – Reviews cite helpful customer service and support, professional service, and speedy responses. Negatives include that some users occasionally have issues getting through to Tide.
- Ease of Setup – Tide accounts are very easy to set up, with reviewers citing quick know your customer and fast verification processes. One reviewer shares that they were able to start accepting payments with Tap to Pay within one business day.
- Low Fees – With no account fees and processing fees at 1.5%, Tide offers one of the lowest cost card reader solutions in the UK. Reviewers cite peace of mind over high street banks with unpredictable fees and rates.
In a nutshell, Tide card reader reviews look like this:
| Site | Trustpilot | Apple | Android | Capterra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 3.9 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
Tide isn’t the best reviewed card reader in the UK. However, with over 20,000 reviews on Trustpilot alone, it is extremely popular. In addition, despite having so many reviews, the vast majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive.
Alternatives to the Tide Card Reader
Tide is just one option for small business card readers in the UK. That means you’ll have plenty of alternatives.
Comparing those will give you a good idea of what your options are and how well they fit your needs. For example, Tide’s biggest competitors are SumUp, Square, TakePayments, Tyl by Natwest, and Lopay.
Let’s take a look:
| Provider | Tide | LoPay | TakePayments | SumUp | Tyl by NatWest | Square |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card Reader Cost | £79-£199 | £24-£49 | Custom | £34-£349 | Included in Monthly | £19-£599 |
| Monthly Fee | £0 | £0- £15 | Yes | £0- £19 | £9.99+ | £0-£29+ |
| Transaction Fee | 1.5%-1.95% | 0.79%-1.79% | 0.3-2.5% | 0.99%-1.69% | 1.39% + 5p-1.99% + 5-=p | 1.75%-2.5% |
| Accepted Payments | Chip & Pin, Contactless, Digital Wallets | Chip & Pin, Contactless, Digital Wallets | Chip & Pin, Contactless, Digital Wallets | Chip & Pin, Digital wallets, contactless | Chip & Pin, Digital wallets, contactless | Chip & Pin, Digital wallets, contactless |
| Connectivity | WiFi, 4G, Bluetooth | WiFi, Bluetooth | WiFi, 4G, Bluetooth | WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G | WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G | WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G |
| Payouts | 1-3 Business Days | Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Instant | Next day | Next day | Daily | 1-2 Business days, Instant |
| Tap-to-Pay | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trustpilot Rating | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.2 |
Here, Tide stands out with free 4G on its card readers, an included business banking app, and no extra fees payouts.
Why Choose the Tide Card Reader?
The Tide card reader is a low-cost and small business friendly portable card reader solution.
Great for Small Business and Freelancers
With flat-rate fees, low startup costs, and a full-feature and portable card reader, Tide is a great solution for small and micro businesses.
The all-in-one service with a bank account also makes this stand out for startups – though that’s definitely going to be a downside for established businesses that aren’t looking to swap bank accounts.
- Sole traders
- Service industry and food industry
- Appointments
- Retail
Overall, this is one of the best solutions for startups, because you’ll get everything you need to start accepting and processing business payments with one account.
Portable
Tide’s card reader is a fully portable card reader with a touch screen. You get the option for a full point of sale solution running Android 9 or 10, with portability.
Both the Tide Card Reader and Tide Card Reader Plus have a 1-day battery life.
Flat-rate Fees and Transparency
Tide charges a single transaction fee for all cards. In addition, you can opt for a free account or a paid business account depending on your needs.
Whatever you choose, you’ll get transparent and flat-rate prices. At 1.5%, that rate is competitive. However, if you have a high transaction volume of primarily UK-based cards, you might find that it’s cheaper to go with a different solution.
Still, for most small and micro businesses, the slightly higher cost for local cards more than offsets the no fees for 4G, no monthly fees for the card reader, and predictable charges.
Not a Budget Card Reader
The Tide Card Reader may be affordable but it’s not a budget model.
Even if you go with the £59 model, you’re getting a premium touchscreen card reader, capable of functioning as a POS. That’s a big difference from the budget card readers offered by SumUp, Square, etc., where the cheapest model doesn’t even accept chip and pin.
You’ll get a high quality and fully functional card reader that will serve your business as long as you need it because it offers everything you need.
Summary: A Low-Cost Card Reader and Merchant Account for Small Business
Tide is a strong contender for one of the best budget card reader options in the UK. Flat rate pricing, a great touch screen card reader, and integrated bank account all make this card reader simple to set up and to use.
However, there are cons and it’s not for everyone. For example, you’ll have to set up a Tide business bank account (which starts at free). If that’s not for you, consider comparing some of Tide’s competitors like SumUp, LoPay, Square, and more.
Use the form below to request a comparison and quote and we’ll get back to you with a list of the best options that meet your business needs.