UK business financial platform Tide has partnered with Transcorp International Limited to issue prepaid cards targeted at SMEs across India.
The co-branded Tide Expense Cards will be rolled out as an entry product, backed by Indian card payment network, Rupay. The Tide app will allow members to add money, process payments, and manage spending on their accounts and cards. Offered through Tide Business accounts, the cards set the scene for Tide’s expansion strategy in India, marking the company’s first venture outside the UK.
“Launching Tide’s business financial platform in India has been our priority since we announced our international expansion. We are excited to partner with Transcorp as we embark on the next stage of Tide’s journey, to serve the 64 million and growing SMEs in the Indian market,” stated Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide.
Tide’s goal in this move is to aid small businesses in India in their growth. Down the line, the financial platform aims to help more businesses by introducing new features to their services, including fund transfer, invoicing, accounts in partnership with RBI-licensed banks, GST, pay by link, and credit services.
Ayan Agarwal, VP at Transcorp, commented: “Transcorp is delighted to partner with Tide to enable digital payments and promote financial literacy amongst India’s largest business fraternity: SMEs. This segment is India’s economic backbone but remains financially underserved. With Tide, we aim to include them into the formal economy by delivering excellent products and exceptional service. As India’s premier non-bank card issuer, Transcorp takes pride in enabling financial inclusion for Indian SMEs, and continuously strives to deliver success to its partners through the optimisation of stakeholder alignment."
The financial platform also plans to add other cards for businesses to its product suite later in the year.