UK fintech Tide is expanding its business financial platform to Germany as part of plans to boost growth in continental Europe.
Tide currently offers finance and admin solutions to small businesses in the UK that don’t have a finance function. Designed to save members time and money the solutions range from business current accounts to accounting. Tide serves over 575,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, more than 10% of the market.
In a statement, Tide said members will initially be able to access Tide’s Business Account and card products, with Tide’s full platform capabilities, which includes solutions from invoicing to cash flow forecasting, being rolled out step by step. It’s app will become available in the coming months but potential members can join the waiting list now, it said.
The German financial sector is rapidly evolving. Germany is Europe’s largest economy with nearly three million small businesses, of which the vast majority employ less than 10 people. The German SME sector employs 5.9 million people who are increasingly turning to digital solutions to manage their finances.
Like the UK previously, SME financial services in Germany is dominated by large traditional banks. The company’s move into Germany follows Tide’s launch in India, the world’s largest SME market, in December 2022.
Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide, said: “As in the UK, small businesses are the backbone of the German economy, Europe’s largest. Our success in the UK has been built on having a deep understanding of the pain points of small businesses, the self-employed and freelancers. Our goal is to help reduce the financial and administrative management burdens with our advanced business financial platform.”
He added: “Looking at what is on offer for SMEs in Germany, we believe there is a huge opportunity for Tide. Across all our markets, we continue to add to the services and products we offer to our members, as part of our mission to be the leading international financial platform for small businesses.”
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