How to leave Tide Card Reader

Contract specifics

Notice period

No notice period on the card reader itself. Tide is pay-as-you-go on payments. Closing the underlying Tide Business account follows Tide's standard banking-closure process.

Exit fees

No exit fee on the card reader. Hardware (£49) is owned outright once purchased. Some Tide Business plans charge a monthly subscription fee that runs until the underlying account is closed.

Terminal return

Nothing to return. Hardware is yours. The reader is locked to the Tide app; it cannot be paired with another acquirer.

What typically happens

Most leavers stop card-reader processing first, wait for the final settlement to land in the Tide account, then either keep the Tide Business account open (cheaper) or close it formally. If closing the bank account, expect Tide to ask for a destination account for the residual balance and to honour any pending direct debits before close. Export statements first.

Where merchants typically move

• Dojo Go (higher-volume hospitality and retail)
• SumUp Solo (no-contract small / mobile)
• Square Terminal (independents)
• Revolut Card Reader (if moving banking to Revolut)

Watch outs

• Tide Card Reader hardware is Tide-only; budget new hardware on the new acquirer.
• Closing the Tide Business account ends the card-reader product whether you wanted to or not; do them in the right order.
• Direct debits and standing orders on the Tide account need migrating before closure.
• Bookkeeping integrations (Xero, QuickBooks) need re-linking on the new acquirer / bank.