Tide expands to India with £100m investment and RBL Bank partnership
UK business bank Tide has expanded into India, its first international market, with a full launch planned for 2022.
Tide plans a full launch in the country by 2022
The firm, which offers business accounts for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is planning to create 1,000 jobs in India over the next five years. It will invest £100 million into a “hiring surge”.
Tide already has some staff in a Hyderabad technology centre, but it says it now wants to “unleash the true potential of Indian SMEs”.
Part of Tide’s first step into India was a partnership with RBL Bank, which will provide the bank account infrastructure for the UK firm’s platform.
Surinder Chawla, head of branch banking at RBL, said in April the bank has “agile technological capabilities and compelling customer offerings to help Tide build a strong foundation in the country and scale up its business.”
Oliver Prill, Tide CEO, says his firm recognises the ambitions of both the UK and Indian governments to “build India-UK bilateral relationships with an enhanced economic partnership.
“We at Tide are committed to serving India’s SME sector, helping to unleash the true potential of Indian small businesses.”
On top of its business account functionality, Tide will also offer a “comprehensive set of highly usable administrative solutions”.
The firm says it will focus on serving the unregistered and unorganised sector, helping small businesses digitise and “bring them into the mainstream”.
The UK’s minister for investment, Gerry Grimstone, calls Tide part of the UK’s “world leading fintech ecosystem”.
He adds: “The UK and India have ambitious plans to deepen our trade and investment partnership and bring benefits to both economies, and this is a great example of what we can do together.”
