UK business banking platform Tide is embarking on international expansion, beginning with a limited test launch in India in the first quarter of 2021.
Founded in 2015, Tide has nearly 300,000 SME members and almost 340,000 business accounts in the UK, processing £10bn in transactions with revenue growth of 150%.
Tide has a long-term ambition to operate in markets accounting for 25% of global SMEs and India is seen as an ideal testbed, with over 63 million SMEs.
The business will be led by newly appointed CEO, Gurjodhpal Singh, formerly of local payments processor, PayU.
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.
Says Prill: says: “India was selected as our first market outside the UK due to its vast SME population With investment and the expertise Tide already has in the country, we can help underserved SMEs thrive."
The company is shuffling its leadership team to support its expansion plans, appointing chief operating officer and product officer Laurence Krieger as UK CEO.