Tide apprises on its India test launch slated for Q1 2021

By Edil Corneille

UK’s business banking FinTech, Tide, has chosen India for its first overseas foray with a test launch slated for the first quarter of 2021, with a wider national roll-out later in 2021.

Tide has already incorporated a local subsidiary for the launch with the India CEO & commercial team being based out of Gurgaon, and a second office in Hyderabad. Hyderabad is the site of Tide’s global development centre with over 100 technology professionals already on board. The teams in Hyderabad and Delhi NCR are expected to grow rapidly to support the build of Tide India.

The India business will be led by Gurjodhpal Singh, previously a senior executive at PayU. He will be supported by Tide CEO, Oliver Prill and CTO, Guy Duncan, who have both run international businesses with significant exposure to India.

Oliver Prill, Tide CEO said, “India, with 63 million SMEs is home to one tenth of all SMEs globally and the second largest start-up ecosystem worldwide with an entrepreneurial culture, it is also one of the hottest fintech hubs globally. The considerable commercial opportunities, and the fact that Tide’s management team has had extensive experience in the market, led us to choose India as the first port of call in our global expansion journey. The basic needs of small businesses are universal and Tide’s agile structure means that the business financial platform can be adapted and integrated with local product service partners to suit the needs of businesses in any market. We will put to use the knowledge and expertise already gained to help underserved Indian MSMEs thrive. We are delighted to have Gurjodhpal Singh lead the business in India. His deep experience in serving Indian SMEs over many years will be vital.”

In December 2020, Tide announced the selection of India to set up its first global development centre, which was already up and running in the southern city of Hyderabad.