Tide

tide.co

Tide runs one of the largest business account platforms in the UK and is popular with sole traders because opening takes minutes and the free plan costs nothing per month. The app leans hard into admin: invoice creation and chasing, expense cards for a small monthly fee, receipt matching, integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent, and a partnership route to credit and insurance products. Cash can be paid in at Post Office and PayPoint locations for a percentage fee.

Useful for a UK freelancer who wants invoicing and banking in the same window without a subscription. Two things to weigh: Tide is an e money service rather than a bank, so balances are safeguarded at a partner bank instead of being FSCS protected, and the free plan charges a small fee per transfer, which adds up for anyone paying dozens of suppliers. Paid Plus and Pro plans include free transfers instead.