By: Money Navigator Research Team
Last Reviewed: 09/02/2026
FACT CHECKED
Quick Summary
View-only access in Tide is designed for visibility without control: it typically lets a user see account information and/or transactional data, while blocking payments, payee changes, and other “account actions”.
The most common confusion is that Tide uses “view-only” in more than one place (Team Access vs Team Members), so what a person can see may depend on which access method has been granted.
This article is educational and not financial advice.
What “view-only” means in Tide
Tide’s public help content describes Team Access as a way to give people different permission levels, including view-only, without sharing a single login.
In that context, “view-only” is positioned as access that can see account information but does not carry action permissions (such as sending payments). See Tide’s overview at What is Tide’s Team Access feature?.
Separately, Tide also describes Team Members as a feature where colleagues can be given access, including a “View only” option “to view your transactional data”. That framing is narrower: it explicitly focuses on transaction visibility rather than broader account administration. See What are Team Members?.
A practical takeaway is that “view-only” is a permission concept, not a single universal screen. If two businesses say “we gave someone view-only”, it can still mean slightly different visibility depending on whether the business used Team Access or Team Members.
What a view-only user can typically see
1) Transaction visibility (the clearest definition)
In Tide’s Team Members help article, “View only” is explicitly described as enabling colleagues to view transactional data.
That normally implies being able to see the transaction list and transaction details shown in-app or on the view screen, such as dates, amounts, references, and counterparties where displayed. See What are Team Members?.
2) Account information visibility (broader, but still non-action)
In Team Access, Tide describes Admins as being able to view “balances, account details and transaction data”. It also positions view-only as a non-action permission level within the Team Access set.
Together, that indicates Tide treats “viewing” (balances/details/transactions) as distinct from “doing” (payments, payee management, plan changes). See What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access? and What is Tide’s Team Access feature?.
3) How view-only access may be presented (Team Members view-only screen)
For Team Members, Tide states that a user reaches their view-only screen by logging into Team Members “via Tide on the web or on their mobile browser” using a device that supports biometric login. See How can a Team Members user get to their view-only screen?.
That detail matters because it highlights a frequent expectation-gap: some people assume “view-only” means “a limited version of the main app for a second user”, whereas Team Members describes a specific view-only access route.
What a view-only user typically cannot change (and why)
A reliable way to think about view-only is: it’s not permission to “operate” the account. Tide’s help content illustrates “operation” by listing what higher-access roles can do.
Actions explicitly listed for higher-access roles (which view-only does not imply)
Tide states that “View, Draft, Send & Pay” access can include making bank transfers, adding/removing payees, managing Direct Debits, setting up scheduled/recurring payments, and managing invoices (including VAT-related actions in the wording Tide uses). See What can team members with ‘View, Draft, Send & Pay’ access do?.
Tide also describes Admin as the highest access level, with the ability to make payments, add/remove payees, and manage invoices and membership plans/add-ons, alongside managing other users and services. See What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access?.
Taken together, Tide’s own framing is that view-only is for visibility and the “doing” permissions sit with roles like Admin or “View, Draft, Send & Pay”.
Summary Table
| Scenario | Outcome | Practical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Someone is granted view-only access | They can generally see transaction-level information (and, depending on the method, account information) but cannot carry out account actions | Useful where visibility is needed without introducing payment/administration capability |
| Someone needs to make payments later | Their access must move beyond view-only into an action-capable role | Permission upgrades tend to bring more authorisation steps and, potentially, plan requirements |
| A business wants multiple people operating the account | Admin and other enhanced roles are used rather than view-only | The access model shifts from “visibility” to “delegation”, with greater risk/controls |
| A view-only user is no longer meant to see transactions | Access is revoked/removed | Immediate reduction of visibility risk, but any separate products (eg cards or accounting add-ons) may also need role-by-role review |
| A director’s Admin role is being changed | Tide describes Companies House checks when adding/removing Admins who are directors | The process can depend on company record status, not just what is selected in-app |
When view-only is “free” versus when Tide describes paid-plan gating
Tide states that assigning view-only access within Team Access can be done “for free” and does not require a paid plan, while assigning certain “enhanced access” roles (such as Admin or “View, Draft, Send and Pay”) requires specific paid plans and has limits on how many enhanced users can be added. See Do I need to be on a paid plan to use Team Access, and how many team members can I add?.
This is where “view-only” can be used as a control boundary: it can be granted without moving into plan-dependent territory, whereas operational permissions may be plan-gated (and capped).
For how Tide’s plans are typically described and compared in our own cluster, see Tide Plans Explained: Free vs Smart vs Pro vs Max and billing mechanics at Tide Membership Billing Explained: monthly fees, VAT, billing dates and invoices.
What often triggers re-checks when permissions change
“View-only” is generally the lowest-risk permission tier in the way Tide describes access levels publicly. The points where extra checks are more explicitly referenced are usually when access moves into binding action permissions.
Examples from Tide’s own help content:
Tide describes that new and existing team members may be required to pass checks and provide information “before they can have upgraded access”. See How do I remove a Team Member’s access?.
For accountant access via Tide Accounting/Admin Extra, Tide says the invited accountant will be asked to complete onboarding checks, and it notes that accountant actions can be binding to the business. See How do I give my accountant access to Tide Accounting Extra or Admin Extra?.
For Admin roles on limited companies, Tide states it checks Companies House when adding an Admin director and references Companies House status in Admin changes. See What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access? and the public Companies House search guidance at Searching the Companies House register.
Where account information inconsistencies can create friction in verification processes more generally, see Tide Address and Trading Details Explained: What Must Match and What Often Triggers Re-Checks and Tide ID and Verification Documents Explained. For broader context on why checks can slow onboarding, see Tide Application Delays Explained.
Scenario Table
| Scenario-level | Process-level | Outcome-level |
|---|---|---|
| “Visibility only” requirement | Grant view-only access (Team Access or Team Members) | User sees transactions/account information but does not gain action permissions |
| “Delegation” requirement (payments, payees, Direct Debits) | Move from view-only to a role that Tide describes as action-capable | User can execute account actions; the permission change becomes higher-impact |
| “Governance” requirement (who can authorise what) | Admin reviews and authorises permissions as described by Tide | Rights are applied with clearer accountability boundaries |
| “Risk reduction” requirement (someone leaves / role changes) | Remove/revoke access using Tide’s described removal paths | Visibility ends; operational risk is reduced, but related entitlements still need mapping |
| “Data responsibility” requirement | Apply access controls and least-access principles at the organisation level | Reduced exposure of personal/transaction data, aligned with common security expectations |
For general UK public-sector access-control principles (useful as a neutral benchmark for “least access”), see Principle: B2 Identity and Access Control, Principle of Least Privilege (Least Access), and the ICO’s discussion of appropriate access controls within its broader security guidance at A guide to data security.
How view-only access is typically granted and removed (what Tide describes)
Tide’s Team Access help content describes in-app steps to add a team member or change an existing member’s access level. See How do I add a new team member or give an existing team member a new access level?.
For removals, Tide describes a removal path from the Payments tab/Profile & Settings/Manage team. See How do I remove a Team Member’s access?.
Because “view-only” is a permission boundary rather than a separate account type, the operational reality is that access control is only as good as the business’ internal process for:
- Deciding who needs visibility
- Removing that visibility when it’s no longer required
Tide Business Bank Account
Tide is widely discussed as a business banking platform where features and access levels can matter as much as the account itself, especially once multiple people need to see transactions or operate payments.
Our Tide page stays neutral on the proposition and focuses on mechanics, limits, and typical trade-offs: Tide business account review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tide states that assigning “View-Only” access within Team Access can be done for free and does not require being on a paid plan, while certain “enhanced access” roles (including Admin and “View, Draft, Send and Pay”) are described as requiring specific paid plans and having caps on how many enhanced users can be added.
The detail matters because “free” here relates to the ability to assign the permission tier, not necessarily to every product or add-on that might exist around the account. See Do I need to be on a paid plan to use Team Access, and how many team members can I add?.
An edge case is when a business uses “view-only” for one person but later expects that person to perform actions (payments, Direct Debits, payees). At that point, the relevant question is no longer “is view-only free?” but “what plan/limits apply to the action-capable role being added?”, which is a different constraint.
In Tide’s Team Members documentation, “View only” is described as allowing colleagues to view transactional data. That is the most explicit statement of “what can be seen” in Tide’s public help content for view-only, and it indicates transaction-level visibility is the core intent. See What are Team Members?.
In Team Access, Tide frames viewing (balances, account details, transaction data) separately from doing (payments, payees, plan management).
That supports the general interpretation that view-only is meant to provide visibility into account information/transactions without action permissions. See What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access? and What is Tide’s Team Access feature?.
Tide describes “View, Draft, Send & Pay” access as including making transfers and adding/removing payees, and it describes Admin access as including making payments and payee management.
Those are presented as action permissions tied to roles beyond view-only. See What can team members with ‘View, Draft, Send & Pay’ access do? and What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access?.
A practical edge case is “draft vs send” expectations: a business may assume someone can prepare payments without sending them, but Tide’s public wording groups several actions into a single access label.
Where drafting/approving workflows matter, the detail usually sits in the specific access entitlements shown during authorisation rather than in the label alone.
Team Members is described as offering three types of access, one of which is “View only – for your colleagues to view your transactional data”. That suggests a primarily visibility-oriented access route, distinct from the richer multi-permission structure of Team Access. See What are Team Members?.
Team Access, by contrast, is described as a feature with multiple access levels, including Admin and “View, Draft, Send & Pay”, with plan-based gating for enhanced access. In that model, “view-only” sits within a broader permissions framework where upgrades can change what someone can do operationally.
See What is Tide’s Team Access feature? and Do I need to be on a paid plan to use Team Access, and how many team members can I add?.
Tide states that to get to the view-only screen, Team Members users log in via Tide on the web or on their mobile browser, using a device that supports biometric login. See How can a Team Members user get to their view-only screen?.
An edge case is device policy within the business: if a person’s device does not support the required login method described by Tide, the “view-only screen” route may not behave as expected. In practice, that often turns “permissions” into an “access method” problem, even when the account role itself is correctly assigned.
Tide states that new and existing team members are required to pass checks and provide information before they can have upgraded access, and it describes additional control points around Admin changes. See How do I remove a Team Member’s access? and What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access?.
A related edge case is where a business expects an access change to be instant because the user is already visible in “Manage team”.
Tide’s published wording implies that “visibility in the team list” and “eligibility for upgraded rights” are not the same thing, because the latter can depend on checks and authorisation steps.
For Team Access, Tide describes removing team member access through the in-app “Manage team” path, culminating in “Remove team member”. See How do I remove a Team Member’s access?.
An edge case is when someone had multiple entitlements beyond simply seeing transactions (for example, separate product-level roles). Tide’s removal instructions address account access, but operationally a business may still need to map any other tool-level access that was granted separately.
Tide describes Admin as the highest level of account access and notes that for limited companies, Admin status is linked to director status, with Tide checking Companies House when adding other Admins as directors. See What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access?.
A key edge case is corporate record timing: Companies House filings and updates can take time to appear, and Tide’s published wording indicates that what is shown on Companies House can affect whether an Admin change is accepted. For Companies House search context, see Searching the Companies House register.
Tide distinguishes “Accountant” access in Team Members from “View only”, describing accountant access as allowing the accountant to view balances and perform bookkeeping, add categories/VAT to transactions, and view/download accounting reports.
Tide also notes that the accountant’s actions can be binding to the business and that onboarding checks apply to the invited accountant. See How do I give my accountant access to Tide Accounting Extra or Admin Extra? and What are Team Members?.
An edge case is that “accountant” is both a role label and a capability set tied to specific Tide products/add-ons in Tide’s wording. That means a business can’t assume “accountant” is simply “view-only for accountants”; it can be a permission tier with real action scope (even if it does not include paying VAT or cancelling subscriptions, per Tide’s wording).
View-only is commonly aligned with “least access” thinking because it aims to provide visibility without enabling account actions. UK government security material describes identity and access control principles, and the GDS guidance summarises a “least access” approach as a standard. See Principle: B2 Identity and Access Control and Principle of Least Privilege (Least Access).
However, view-only is not “no risk”: the ICO’s security guidance highlights that appropriate access controls are part of protecting personal data, and transactional data can still be sensitive.
The security question becomes “who is authorised to see this data, and for what purpose?”, not only “who can move money?”. See A guide to data security.
View-only access is best understood as a control boundary between observation and agency. Tide’s published materials repeatedly separate “view” capabilities (balances, account details, transactions) from “do” capabilities (payments, payees, Direct Debits, invoicing, plan management).
That separation is the mechanism that makes “view-only” meaningful: it lowers the operational blast radius of granting access while still enabling oversight.
Where friction tends to appear is at the boundary-crossing moments – when a role is upgraded into a binding-action permission set (Admin, “View, Draft, Send & Pay”, accountant actions tied to specific add-ons).
Tide’s own wording signals that these upgrades can bring additional checks and authorisation steps, which is consistent with the general principle that higher-impact permissions attract stronger controls.
Sources & References
Do I need to be on a paid plan to use Team Access, and how many team members can I add?
What can team members with ‘View, Draft, Send & Pay’ access do?
What is an ‘Admin’, and what can they do as part of Team Access?
How do I add a new team member or give an existing team member a new access level?
How do I give my accountant access to Tide Accounting Extra or Admin Extra?
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