Tide adds clarity to government cash for businesses with Eligibility Tracker

  • Banking
  • 09.04.2020 04:52 pm

Tide, the UK’s leading business banking platform[1], has today announced the launch of its Coronavirus Government Support Eligibility Checker to help SMEs get access to the financial aid they need during this time of crisis.

With over 150,000 SME members, Tide has been contacted by a huge number of business owners stating they are confused about the financial support the government has announced, what they are eligible for and how they can apply. The Coronavirus Government Support Eligibility Checker will help SMEs to cut through the noise and identify the financial help available to them, as well as pointing them in the right direction to access that support.

The Eligibility Checker is available for free on the Tide website and via the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)’s website, as an addition to FSB’s established commitment to increasing its members’ access to finance.

Tide’s research has revealed that three quarters (75%) of the UKs SMEs had already been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis by  the  end  of  March 2020, with a quarter (24%) stating that their revenue has dropped by 100% since the government lockdown came into force. Rapid access to funding is therefore crucial to these businesses' survival.

Oliver Prill, Tide CEO said: “The COVID-19 crisis will have a severe and potentially long-term impact on the UK’s SME community and so it is crucial that we do all we can to help as many small businesses weather this storm as possible.

The UK government has announced a very generous package of measures to give financial support to SMEs, however the distribution of these funds is unclear and is not happening quickly enough. Tide is dedicated to serving the SME sector and so we hope the COVID-19 Business Support Finder will help business owners to get the help  they need.”

Tide has submitted an Expression of Interest to become accredited as a provider of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to deliver cash directly to members and is still waiting to be invited to make an application. Tide has also been sharing news and insights with members via a Coronavirus assistance hub.

[1] Tide is not a bank, but a business banking platform and the leading digital challenger in business banking services. We believe that a platform approach is the future of business banking, allowing us to offer both financial and admin services to SMEs saving them time (and money) to allow them to focus on what they love: running their businesses.

Related News