Tide and Liberis accredited to government loan schemes

British Business Bank welcomes two new non-bank lenders into the fold.

Image source: Oliver Prill/Tide.

The ever-growing list of non-bank and fintech lenders authorised to hand out government-backed coronavirus loans grew slightly longer on Friday with the arrival of Tide and Liberis.

Business current account Tide has been accredited to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), after shifting its focus from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), while alternative lender Liberis was accredited under the CBILS.

Tide said its rollout of Bounce Back Loans, which are 100 per cent guaranteed by the UK government, would happen slowly with a waiting list and a phased approach for SMEs to apply.

“As Tide has most of the required data, the application process is very lean, primarily limited to the confirmations required by the government. Approval and payout will be instant,” the fintech said.

The additions lift the BBLS to 16 accredited lenders, including Starling Bank, and the CBILS to 68 lenders including Funding Circle and OakNorth Bank.

“It is essential that the government recognise the integral and positive role that the fintech industry can play alongside our high street banks in providing support to our economy,” Tim Levene CEO of Augmentum Fintech, an investor in Tide, told AltFi.

“As the UK’s largest digital SME challenger banking platform, Tide’s later than hoped accreditation to the Bounceback scheme will be welcomed by their 150k+ small businesses many of whom are the engine room of the UK economy.”

The British Business Bank has faced criticism for the speed at which it has onboarded non-bank lenders, after launching the government’s coronavirus lending schemes with a host of largely traditional high street lenders.

Last week Starling Bank entered a strategic partnership with Funding Circle to channel £300m of its authorised CBILS pot through the peer-to-peer lenders platform.