Tide vs Monzo
short answerBoth are traditional neobanks. Tide is built for SMB & startups; Monzo holds its own banking license and is the larger platform (~12M users). Compare custody, license, FX markup and fees field by field below.
Tide: 1M+ SME members (UK + India).
Monzo: 12M+ customers; UK license; US expansion.
Side by side
| Tide | Monzo | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | traditional | traditional |
| Audience | SMB & startups | general |
| HQ | London, UK | London, UK |
| Founded | 2015 | 2015 |
| Custody | Custodial | Custodial |
| Regulation | E-money institution | Licensed bank |
| License detail | E-money; deposits via ClearBank | UK banking license |
| Card | MC · Business debit | MC · Debit |
| Cashback | Cashback (plan) | — |
| Yield | — | ~4% savings pots |
| FX markup | Free plan 2.75% FX on non-GBP card txns; Smart/Pro/Max 0% (UK business) (2026-07) | 0% foreign transaction fee; Mastercard exchange rate, all tiers (2026-07) |
| Services | — | fiat pay-in (bank rails), fiat pay-out (bank rails), own IBAN / account no., virtual cards |
| Stablecoins | No | No |
| KYC | Yes | Yes |
| Regions | Europe | Europe |
| Reported users | — | 12M customers (2025) |
Figures compiled from public sources, for comparison only — not financial advice. "Up to" rates change constantly; always confirm with the issuer. Spotted an error? Suggest a fix.