By: Money Navigator Research Team
Last Reviewed: 27/01/2026
FACT CHECKED
Quick Summary
When a Tide account is “locked”, “paused”, or “frozen”, the most common real-world pattern is reduced permissions: you can often still see information (balance, history), but you may not be able to move money out (transfers, cards, scheduled payments).
What continues versus stops depends on which “layer” is restricted (login access, cards, bank transfer rails, payee management, or scheduled payments), not just whether the account is “under review”.
Tide describes routine reviews as part of how it operates and notes that it may pause an account during review and may be limited in providing updates for legal reasons (as set out on its routine reviews page). That helps explain why the experience can feel inconsistent from the outside.
This article is educational and not financial advice.
What “locked”, “paused”, and “frozen” usually mean (without assuming your exact case)
Providers use different labels, but restrictions typically show up as one or more of the following:
Access restriction: reduced ability to log in, or reduced in-app actions even if you can log in.
Payments restriction: outbound transfers (and sometimes payee creation) are blocked, queued, or cancelled.
Card restriction: card authorisations are declined even if the balance looks available.
Scheduled-payment restriction: Direct Debits and standing orders may fail or be returned.
Rail-by-rail controls: one channel may still work while another stops (for example, visibility remains but outbound payments stop).
A helpful mental model is: the account may still exist, but permissions are narrowed while checks complete. That is different from closure (where the relationship is being ended), which we cover separately in Tide business account restricted vs closed: what it means.
Why restrictions happen (high level, non-speculative)
Temporary restrictions are often linked to monitoring and verification obligations, where a firm needs more clarity about a customer, activity, or documentation.
The UK’s anti-money laundering framework sets out requirements around controls and due diligence in regulated contexts, which can drive requests for information and, in some cases, a pause while checks are completed (see the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (UKSI 2017/692)).
There are also situations where firms may be constrained in what they can explain. UK law includes a “tipping off” offence for the regulated sector in certain circumstances (see Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 333A (tipping off: regulated sector)). This can contribute to short or generic messages during some reviews.
What usually still works when a Tide account is locked or frozen
The details vary, but these functions often remain available in some form:
Seeing information (often still available)
Viewing balance and transaction history
Exporting transaction history or statements (useful for reconciliation and evidence requests)
Tide’s routine reviews guidance explicitly references messaging in-app and a review process (see Our routine security reviews (Tide)). Even when payment permissions are reduced, “information access” is commonly preserved.
Inbound activity (sometimes)
Incoming payments may continue or be returned depending on the restriction. At scheme level, Faster Payments is designed to be available day and night, 365 days per year (see Faster Payment System (Pay.UK)), but individual providers can still apply account-level controls that affect whether inbound funds are accepted or posted.
Read-only connections (sometimes)
Depending on how the restriction is applied, read-only access via integrations may continue even if execution (sending money) is blocked. This is implementation-specific, so it’s best treated as “may continue” rather than “will continue”.
What usually stops (or becomes unreliable)
Outgoing bank transfers often stop first
Common patterns include:
Outbound payments blocked, queued, or cancelled
Adding new payees disabled
Limits tightened (amount or frequency)
For a deeper rail-level view of why “outgoing paused” is such a common pressure point in app-based accounts, see E-money provider pauses outgoing payments: payroll, suppliers, tax.
Card spending is a separate permission layer from “having a balance”. If card controls are restricted, authorisations can decline even when funds appear available. A broader (non-Tide-specific) breakdown is in What happens to card payments when a business account is frozen?.
Direct Debits and standing orders can fail or be returned
Scheduled payments often fail during outbound restrictions, which can create knock-on issues such as arrears workflows or service disruption. A practical explainer is in Direct Debits & standing orders when a business account is frozen.
Summary Table
| Scenario | Outcome | Practical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Account access is reduced but still readable | Balance/history visible; limited actions | You can track what happened, but execution is constrained |
| Outgoing payments are paused | Transfers blocked/queued; new payees blocked | Supplier, tax, and payroll timing may be disrupted |
| Card permissions are restricted | Card declines; cash access may be unavailable | Day-to-day spending becomes unreliable |
| Scheduled payments restricted | DDs/SOs fail or return | Bills and contracts can fall out of sync |
| Inbound payments still accepted | Some inbound funds post | Cash may enter but remain trapped on-platform |
| Inbound payments blocked | Incoming payments return | Customers/clients may need to use alternative details |
Scenario Table
| Scenario-level (what changes) | Process-level (what gets controlled) | Outcome-level (what you observe) |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring trigger or verification gap | Permissions narrowed while checks run | “Read-only” feel, reduced payment capability |
| Documentation or activity review | Controls applied by channel (cards vs transfers vs scheduled) | One function stops while another still shows activity |
| Legal/communication constraints | Updates limited during the review | Minimal detail given; progress is hard to track |
| Decision point reached | Controls lifted or the account moves toward closure | Sudden return to normal, or a managed exit path |
Tide Business Bank Account
Tide states that it is not a bank and that it offers bank accounts provided by ClearBank, and it references FSCS deposit cover for eligible deposits with ClearBank (as set out on Our routine security reviews (Tide)).
Separately, the FSCS explains that from 1 December 2025 the deposit protection limit rose to £120,000 per eligible person, per authorised firm (see Deposit protection limit increase (FSCS)).
For an overview of Tide’s pricing, plan structure and features (separate from restriction scenarios), see our Tide review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not usually. “Locked/paused/frozen” is typically a temporary operating state where permissions are reduced while checks happen. Closure is a separate outcome where the account relationship is being ended.
The practical difference is that a temporary restriction is often about what actions are available right now (cards, transfers, scheduled payments), whereas closure raises additional questions about wind-down steps and how any remaining balance is returned. Those concepts are separated in Tide business account restricted vs closed: what it means.
Sometimes. Restrictions can be configured as “outgoing-only” or more comprehensive, and can be applied differently across payment channels.
At scheme level, Faster Payments is described as available day and night, 365 days per year (see Faster Payment System (Pay.UK)). In practice, however, an individual provider may still apply account-level controls that affect acceptance, posting speed, or returns.
Cards often become unreliable or stop authorising if card permissions are part of the restriction. Card authorisation is not the same thing as “a balance exists” – it is a separate permission and risk decision.
This is one reason businesses can see funds in-app while still experiencing card declines. For a wider explanation of this pattern (across business accounts), see What happens to card payments when a business account is frozen?.
During outbound restrictions, Direct Debits and standing orders can fail or be returned, and changes to scheduled payments can be blocked. The operational impact is often felt through missed bill payments and downstream admin work.
The timing impact can also be asymmetric: a payment might be attempted and fail, and then a biller’s retry or collections process begins on their timetable rather than yours. A deeper breakdown is in Direct Debits & standing orders when a business account is frozen.
If outbound transfers are paused, the usual “bank account as payment engine” function is constrained, which can disrupt payroll and tax settlement timing.
This is why operational continuity often depends on whether the restriction is “rail-by-rail” (some channels still available) or broad (most outbound execution stopped). For a focused discussion of how “outgoing paused” affects payroll/suppliers/tax, see E-money provider pauses outgoing payments: payroll, suppliers, tax.
Some reviews involve legal and regulatory constraints on what can be disclosed. UK law includes a “tipping off” offence for the regulated sector in certain circumstances, which is one reason explanations can be limited during certain processes (see Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 333A (tipping off: regulated sector)).
Even when tipping off is not relevant, firms typically do not publish internal risk rules, third-party signals, or monitoring thresholds. The practical result is that communications may remain high-level until the review completes.
There isn’t one universal timeframe. Duration varies with the complexity of the review, the type of information needed, and any dependencies on verification steps.
Tide’s own routine reviews page describes a process and notes that review time can vary, including that it “may take up to 20 days” in some cases (see Our routine security reviews (Tide)). For a structured view of stages and typical outcomes, see Tide account under review stages, timelines, typical outcomes.
UK regulatory discussion in this area notes there is not a universal right to a bank account for persons or businesses, and that firms can make access decisions subject to rules and law (see UK Payment Accounts: access and closures (FCA report)).
That doesn’t mean any decision is automatically fair in every case, but it does explain why outcomes can include continued restrictions, reinstatement, or exit depending on facts and obligations.
“Protection” depends on the underlying structure and where funds are held. Tide states that it offers bank accounts provided by ClearBank and references FSCS deposit cover for eligible deposits with ClearBank (see Our routine security reviews (Tide)).
Separately, the FSCS states that the deposit protection limit rose to £120,000 from 1 December 2025, applying per eligible person, per authorised firm (see Deposit protection limit increase (FSCS)). Eligibility and how limits apply can be nuanced, so the scheme wording matters.
In some cases, yes. The Financial Ombudsman has eligibility criteria for micro-enterprises and small businesses (and certain charities/trusts), and it sets out how those are defined (see Who we can help (Financial Ombudsman for small businesses)).
Eligibility also depends on the timing and the type of complaint. The Ombudsman route is a dispute-resolution mechanism and is distinct from a provider’s internal review process during an active restriction.
“Frozen” is often misunderstood as one single switch, but in practice it tends to be multiple permission gates: information access, card authorisation, payee management, outbound bank transfers, and scheduled payments can each be tightened independently.
That explains why a business may still see activity and sometimes even receive money, while being unable to execute outbound payments.
From a resilience perspective, the key constraint is that many business processes assume the bank account is always available as a settlement point.
When permissions narrow, operational friction appears immediately in payroll timing, supplier confidence, and contract performance – even if trading activity (orders, invoices) continues elsewhere.
Sources & References
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