Tide unveils ‘reverse loans’ to help small businesses build credit scores

How 12 payments of £23/month could make a huge difference to SMEs.

It’s hard to build credit, especially for new small businesses without a track record of repayments.

Ever-keen to fix the challenges faced by its members, Tide is today launching Credit Builder for Small Businesses, which includes a micro ‘reverse loan’ of £240.

The SMEs make regular ‘repayments’ of £23/month to Tide, and then after 12 months receive the full £240 back, costing them nothing.

However, the act of simply making these regular payments proves their creditworthiness and helps to start the journey of building a credit score.

“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses are working hard to get back on their feet and make up for the toughest year and a half they have seen,” said Amit Kahana, VP of Tide Credit Services.

“Investing in growth is high on the list of priorities for many of these businesses but a poor or non-existent credit score is often a barrier to accessing credit options.”

Tide’s Credit Builder has been created in partnership with credit bureau Experian, to ensure that repayments are counted towards an improving score.

Kahana said Tide had found 87 per cent of its small business owners have a credit score below 80, clearly holding them back from accessing credit. 

“We hope that by offering a simple way for businesses to boost their credit score they will see a wider array of credit products opening up to them, helping to fuel sustainable growth.”