Tide begins international expansion with launch in India

Tide, the UK’s leading business financial platform has today announced its first steps to expand internationally, as it plans to launch in India in the first quarter of 2021. An initial limited test launch of the platform will be followed by gradual roll-out of the service later in the year.

Having gained significant traction in the UK and developed the right approach and mix of services to meet the diverse and changing needs of small businesses, Tide believes this is the right time to expand. Tide’s platform model acts as the financial operating system for a small business and is ripe for international expansion. The basic needs of small businesses are universal. Tide’s agile structure and globally unified single code technology means that its business financial platform can be adapted and integrated with local product service partners to suit the specific needs of companies in each market.

Tide selected India as its first international market due to the considerable commercial opportunities available. Tide has a long-term ambition to operate in markets accounting for 25% of global SMEs.  With over 63 million SMEs in India – nearly one in 10 of all SMEs in the world – these digitally savvy companies are vital to the Indian economy but are underserved by the banks. Fintech has been thriving in India due to the combination of the Government’s digitisation efforts and high smartphone penetration.

Tide’s India business will be led by newly appointed CEO, Gurjodhpal Singh, formerly of India’s leading Payment Service Provider, PayU. Starting with an Alpha test product, based on Tide’s global technology stack, Tide India is set to go live in the first quarter of 2021. Tide already operates a technology centre in Hyderabad, India, and has a team approaching 100 people, predominantly software developers, working in the country. Gurjodhpal will work to expand this team to deliver the launch, supported by Tide CEO, Oliver Prill and CTO, Guy Duncan, who have both run international businesses with significant experience in India. Tide will adapt the structure of its senior leadership to accommodate this international expansion. With Gurjodhpal Singh as India CEO, Laurence Krieger, who has been integral to building Tide and is currently Chief Operating and Product Officer, will be stepping into the UK CEO role.