These terms and conditions (“Terms of Service”) govern the use of the credit broking service (“Service”) provided by Funding Options Limited (“we”, “us”, “our”) to any business registered with us (“you”, “your”).
The credit broking service is provided to you through Tide’s digital platform for small and medium businesses (“Tide Platform”). You should also read the respective Tide Terms governing your use of the Tide Platform.
Along with the applicable terms you should also read our Privacy Policy which forms part of these terms by reference.
Funding Options Limited is incorporated in England & Wales with its registered office at 4th Floor, The Featherstone Building, 66 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AL (company number 07739337), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm registration number 727867), and registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (reference number Z2992318).
We are a credit broker, not a lender. We are also a “designated finance platform” under The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, which means that if your application for finance from certain designated banks is unsuccessful, the bank must provide us with certain information related to that application. We receive that information for the purpose of passing it on to alternative Finance Providers (as defined below herein) for the purpose of facilitating a conversation between you and any Finance Providers who might potentially provide financing to you and thus expand your options of funding. Before we share any information to Finance Providers we will contact you to obtain your consent for us to pass on the information or we will provide you with a form which you can submit directly to the respective Finance Provider.
Our Service is intended for your own business-related purposes only. We do not provide debt counselling or debt advice. If you'd like support in this area, you may find contacting the Business Debtline useful. The Service is not intended as advice or to be relied upon by you in any way, including as the basis for making or not making any decision, and you should obtain your own independent financial, accounting, tax and/or legal advice concerning your activities in connection with the Service and any finance application and/or agreement. We cannot guarantee that our Service will be successful for you, neither are we obliged to provide our Service to you. Our Service is based on information from third parties over which we have no control, and may contain inaccuracies or errors. Where you have not made us aware of your specific needs, it is your responsibility to ensure that any options presented through the Service meet your requirements.
Content and information provided as part of the Service may not be timely or correct, and will change without notice, meaning that it is for your general information and use only.
To support free usage of our Service, we must expressly exclude liability for any inaccuracies, service failures or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law. Accordingly, we cannot provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information offered through the Service.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable, and you agree not to hold it responsible, for any damages or losses (including, but not limited to, loss of money, goodwill, or reputation, profits, or other intangible losses or any special, indirect, or consequential damages) resulting directly or indirectly from your use of the Service. You agree to defend, reimburse or compensate us (known in legal terms to “indemnify”) and hold us, our third-party providers, our employees or agents who are authorised to act on our behalf harmless from any claim or demand (including legal fees) made or incurred by any third party due to or arising out of your or your authorized persons’ breach of these terms, breach of any law and/or use of our Service, products and features.
Nothing in these terms shall operate to exclude liability for death or personal injury or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or for any liability that cannot be excluded or amended by law.
You use and download information from the Service at your own risk and should use software to detect and disinfect viruses in any information you use and download. The availability of third party sites, links, services or information via the Service does not constitute any recommendation, advice, endorsement or publication by us and we are not responsible for any such sites, links, services or information provided by any third party. We reserve the right to change any aspect of the Service at any time without notice or to suspend access to the Service, or end it.
While the Service is free of charge to you, we will receive commission from Finance Providers for introductions we make to them, typically as a fixed percentage of the amount you borrow. The Finance Providers we work with could pay commission at different rates, and for certain lenders we have some influence over the interest rate, and this can impact the amount that you pay under any agreement you may choose to enter into. Before you enter into a regulated credit agreement with a Finance Provider, you may request from us disclosure of the amount of any commission or fee or other remuneration we will receive from the lender. Where we do not know the preciseamount, we will disclose to you the likely amount.
Should you have any questions relating to the above, please feel free to contact us on 0333 344 1015.
By using the Service, you agree to notify us promptly of any changes in the details you have provided to us. You shall ensure that all information you provide to us is complete, true, up-to-date and accurate in all respects. You are solely responsible at your own cost and expense for creating backup copies and replacing any information you provide via the Service.
You agree that we and our lenders may carry out identity verification and credit checks on you and your owners or directors. You and your owners or directors acknowledge that credit reference agencies link together the records of you and anyone that you have advised is a financial associate (e.g. someone with whom you have a joint credit account) including previous and subsequent names of parties to the account. Links between financial associates will remain on yours and their credit reference files until such time as you or your associate successfully files for a disassociation with the credit reference agencies. We and any Finance Provider may take into account information about yours and your owners’ or directors’ financial associates in yours or their credit reference.
You agree to keep your username and password secure and when they are used to log-in we will assume that you are the person giving instructions and you will be liable for them unless and until you notify us that this is no longer the case. You are responsible for any activity through the Service arising out of any failure to keep your password secure. We may refuse or disable your access at our sole discretion without notice or explanation where it is lawful to do so.
If at any time you wish to cease using the Service, you may contact us to request deactivation of your account. Within a reasonable time of this notification, we will remove any third-party data access you may have given us. Historical data will be maintained by us as described below.
If you have agreed to pay us for any aspect of the Service, you recognise that we may withdraw your rights to use the Service as a result of non-payment.
You agree not to use the Service in a way that harms our reputation, and you agree to comply with all applicable international and domestic laws, rules, and regulations. These may include requirements set out by governments, regulators, payment systems or other third parties. In particular, (but without limitation), you must comply with all relevant money laundering, bribery, data protection and consumer rights legislation.
We will make reasonable efforts to provide support for the Service during office hours by email on [email protected], or by telephone on 0333 344 1015.
Our Service and websites and all intellectual property rights contained therein, including but not limited to any content, are owned or licenced by us. You recognise that unless otherwise stated in writing we do not grant you any intellectual property rights in relation to the Service. Intellectual property rights mean rights such as: copyright, trademarks, domain names, design rights, database rights, patents and all other intellectual property rights of any kind whether or not they are registered or unregistered (anywhere in the world).
In addition, the Service contains material which is owned by us or our licensors, including but not limited to source code, algorithms, databases, copy and graphics, and you recognise that unless otherwise stated in writing, we do not grant you any rights to these. You may only link to the homepage of the Service. You must not display, frame or otherwise surround the contents or any page from the Service, or allow such content or page to be displayed framed or otherwise surrounded, with material not originating from us without our prior written consent.
You will not acquire any proprietary rights (including database rights) to any information provided via the Service.
We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable right, without the right to grant sublicences, to use the Service during the term of these terms solely for your internal business operations. We reserve all of our rights in any intellectual property in connection with these terms. This means, for example, that we remain owners of them and are free to use them as we see fit.
Any feedback, user reviews, comments, and suggestions you may provide for improvements to the Service (“Feedback”), whether provided directly to us or on user review websites such as TrustPilot, is given entirely voluntarily and we will be free to use, disclose, reproduce, license, or otherwise distribute and exploit such Feedback as we see fit, entirely without obligation or restriction of any kind. For example, we may use your user reviews provided on TrustPilot in our marketing material without obtaining further consent from you. Feedback includes, without limitation, feedback you provide to us in response to any surveys that we conduct, through any available technology, about your experience.
By using our Services to provide data to us, you agree to grant us an irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable, transferable, perpetual licence to use, copy, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute these data for any purpose on or in connection with the Service, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works. We may share this information with other third parties who assist us in providing the Service. In such circumstances, any data used will be anonymous and will not identify you as the source unless we receive your permission to do so. If you choose to remove your data, this licence will expire, provided that you acknowledge (a) we may retain archived copies and (b) we are required to maintain records that are relevant to demonstrating our compliance with the Regulations for no less than five years from the date on which the records were created.
You will not:
use the Service to:
collect any information of other users from the Service for the purpose of sending unsolicited communications outside the Service;
create a database of information obtained from this Service otherwise than for your own records;
transfer any information form the Service to any third party except where expressly permitted by us;
use automated scripts to collect information from or otherwise interact with the Service;
use the Service in any unlawful manner or in any manner that could harm the Service or the servers on which it is hosted;
register any person or entity on, or otherwise use, the Service without that person or entity's prior written authorisation;
impersonate any person or entity, create a false identity in relation to the Service or falsely state or otherwise mislead or deceive us;
remove any copyright or trade mark notice(s) from any material on or obtained via the Service.
We take data protection very seriously and we are committed to taking care of your business data. Funding Options will process your personal data in accordance with the provisions of our Privacy Policy.
As part of providing our Service to you, we share data provided by you with our panel of approved Lenders, and those Lenders will share back to us information about your application such as its current status, outcome and potential credit limit. Please be informed that our panel of Lenders are independent data controllers who will be processing your personal data separately from Funding Options and in accordance with their own data protection practices.
For the avoidance of doubt, Funding Options does not hold or in any way handle any client monies whatsoever.
If you are not happy with our service, we would like to hear about it so that we can put it right.
How to make a complaint:
You can call us on 0333 344 1015 and speak to one of our team who would be happy to note and escalate these concerns internally. We are available between 08:30 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding UK public and bank holidays.
You can also email us on [email protected] - this will then be handled by one of the team and escalated internally. We will respond within three working days confirming receipt.
Writing to us is also an option. Please address it to us at The Complaints Team, 4th Floor, The Featherstone Building, 66 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AL.
Our complaints procedure sets out the process for submitting and resolving any complaints. You may request a copy of our complaints procedure at any time by contacting us.
What happens next?
Once this has been raised internally, we aim to respond to your complaint within eight weeks of receipt.
If we have not issued our response within eight weeks from the date that you initially made the complaint to us, or if you are dissatisfied with our response, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman for an independent review (if your complaint falls within the Financial Ombudsman Service’s jurisdiction). Details are available on the following link www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/complain.html. You can also call the FOS on 0300 123 9123 or write to: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR. We do not use other dispute resolution providers.
We will generally give you at least one (1) month’s prior notice of any changes to these terms. In some cases, we may not notify you in advance of a change being made, for example:
if the change benefits you (e.g., we introduce new features that improve our Service);
if we make a change to comply with law, rule or regulation or related guidance and we’re not reasonably able to provide advance notice; or
if there are minor changes to Service or the way the service operates that do not affect its quality, the functions or your rights under these terms.
Unless you’ve told us otherwise before any change takes place, we’ll assume that you’ve accepted the change. If you do tell us that you do not accept any change, your notification will be deemed to be a notice that you wish to terminate the these terms and the use of the Service on the date upon which the changes are due to take effect (or any other date that you request in advance of the changes taking effect).
These terms will remain in place indefinitely, until terminated by you or us. You may terminate your use of the Service and these terms at any time by contacting us [email protected].
We may terminate these terms by giving you at least one (1) month’s prior written notice.
We may immediately terminate these terms where we have reason to believe that any of the following happened:
you have been suspended for a period of 90 days and you have failed to remediate the cause for suspension;
you seriously or repeatedly broke these terms;
we reasonably think that you might put us in breach of law or regulation;
we discover that any of the information you've provided is false or misleading;
you stop meeting our eligibility criteria;
you have infringed on our or any third party’s intellectual property; or
you are subject to a bankruptcy, insolvency, winding up or other similar event.
The termination of these terms will not affect your or our accrued rights arising herein.
We may send any notices to you by email to the address provided when you signed up to the Service, or otherwise as updated by you through the Service. You agree that we may send you notices via email or via alerts within the service.
If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain enforceable. Failure to exercise or enforce rights or provisions shall not constitute a waiver.
Your use of the Service is subject to English law, and we both agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English courts to settle any dispute that might arise.
These Terms of Service were last updated on 31 October 2024.
At Funding Options Ltd, we are committed to offering our customers the highest possible standards of service. In doing so, we are pleased to support the Financial Conduct Authority (formerly Financial Services Authority) initiative ‘Treating Customers Fairly’.
Provide you with clear information about the service we offer, including any fees or charges.
Continually aim to understand your business needs, preferences and circumstances in order for us to narrow down the selection of options that may be available to you.
Source the most appropriate lender that we consider suitable for your business, and that you can afford (based on the information provided and is available to us).
We will tell you if we cannot find an option we consider suitable.
Aim to keep you fully informed in a clear and fair manner that is unambiguous and not misleading.
Encourage you to ask questions, if there’s something that you do not understand.
Work hard to ensure that service and risk information remains clear and prominent at all times.
Provide you with details of our formal complaints procedure should you be dissatisfied with our service.
Tell us as much as possible about your business income and outgoings, to enable us to properly assess how much your business can afford.
Let us know about future changes that might affect your business’ ability to make re-payments of your credit agreement (if known).
Let us know if there is any aspect of our service, or of a product/finance solution we have discussed that you don’t understand.
Tell us if you think there are ways we can improve our service.
For feedback, please forward your comments to: [email protected]. Or write to us at: Funding Options, Office 03-145, 1 Poultry, London, EC2R 8EJ
Thank you for choosing Funding Options Ltd.
Let us help you find the best financial product in the market. We will guide you through the whole process and make sure you get the best deal.
See your Funding OptionsIf you are not happy with our service, we would like to hear about it so that we can put it right.
You can call us on 0333 344 1015 and speak to one of our team who would be happy to note and escalate these concerns internally. We are available between 08:30 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding UK public and bank holidays.
You can also email us on [email protected] - this will then be handled by one of the team and escalated internally. We will respond within three working days confirming receipt.
Writing to us is also an option. Please address it to us at The Complaints Team, 4th Floor, The Featherstone Building, 66 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AL. Our complaints procedure sets out the process for submitting and resolving any complaints. You may request a copy of our complaints procedure at any time by contacting us.
Once this has been raised internally, we aim to respond to your complaint within eight weeks of receipt.
If we have not issued our response within eight weeks from the date that you initially made the complaint to us, or if you are dissatisfied with our response, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman for an independent review (if your complaint falls within the Financial Ombudsman Service’s jurisdiction). Details are available on the following link www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/complain.html. You can also call the FOS on 0300 123 9123 or write to: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange, London, E14 9SR. We do not use other dispute resolution providers.
Let us help you find the best financial product in the market. We will guide you through the whole process and make sure you get the best deal.
See your Funding Options20 November 2023
The purpose of this document is to explain what we do and how we’ll work with you. This covers our services and how we get paid. It’s important that you read and understand this document.
The term ‘Funding Options’ or ‘us’ refers to the owner of the service. Funding Options Limited (07739337). The term ‘you’ or ‘your’ refers to the user of the service.
We are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Reference Number: 727867.
At Funding Options Ltd, we help businesses access finance from a wide range of lenders that are suitable for your requirements (based on the information you disclose to us). We will provide you with information about the finance and the provider to ensure you understand the conditions of any offer before you decide to proceed.
You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us. We may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products/options that may be available to you. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.
For the avoidance of doubt, Funding Options Ltd is not a lender; we are a Credit Broker and the purpose of our service is to introduce you to suitable business lenders.
We will make reasonable efforts to provide support for the service, by phone on 0333 344 1015 (9:00 – 5:30, Monday to Friday) and by email on [email protected]. However, no guarantee is made as to the availability or response time of the Service, and we have the right to withdraw access at any time.
If, for any reason, you wish to make a complaint about our service, you can do this by writing to our Complaints Manager at Funding Options, Office 03-145, 1 Poultry, London, EC2R 8EJ or by telephoning us on 0333 344 1015 where we will try to resolve your concern at the earliest time possible.
We will not charge you any fee for our service as we receive payment directly from the lender(s) based upon successful provision of finance. If you would like to know how much we will be paid by the lender, we will disclose this information to you on request.
Should you have any questions relating to the above, please feel free to contact us on 0333 344 1015.
We take your continuing use of our service as your consent to our terms of business as outlined in this document and as available at www.fundingoptions.com/terms. If you do not consent to these terms please notify us immediately and we will stop providing our services. For your own benefit and protection you should read these terms carefully. If you do not understand any point please ask for further information.
Let us help you find the best financial product in the market. We will guide you through the whole process and make sure you get the best deal.
See your Funding OptionsFunding Options Privacy Notice
Hello! We’re Funding Options Limited, and this notice sets out how we will process your data when you use our products and services, or when you visit our website.
This privacy notice is divided into the following sections:
Who we are
Funding Options is your Data Controller
Funding Options is also your Data Processor in some cases
When we are a ‘Data Processor’
Third party providers of services available via Our Website
Personal data we collect
Where we collect personal data and who we share it with
Our key partners as Data Controllers
Sharing anonymised data
Third-party links
How long we keep your personal data
Transfer of your data out of the EEA
Cookies and other tracking technologies
Your rights
How to contact us and how to complain
How to withdraw your consent or opt-out of processing
Security
Keeping your data accurate
Updates to this Privacy Policy
Who we are
We’re Funding Options Limited wholly owned by Tide Platform Limited and part of the Tide Corporate Group. We’re a company that respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data – and this privacy notice sets out how we do this.
Personal data we collect from you will be processed jointly by Funding Options Limited, referred to as “Funding Options”, “we” , “our” or “us” and Tide Platform Limited (Tide). More information about us can be found on Our Website. We are part of the wider corporate group of Tide providing business and financial services to small and medium businesses and we will share your personal data with Tide and their subsidiaries and affiliates for the same purposes as described in this notice.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (registration no. Z2992318) and we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a credit broker and as an introducer of insurance (firm reference number 727867); we are also authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 as an Account Information Services Provider (791902).
We provide the Funding Options products and services offered via our website identified by the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL): www.fundingoptions.com, including its subdomains (“Our Website”). We may also provide the Funding Options Services through the Tide Website identified by the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL): www.web.tide.co, including its subdomains (“Tide Website”). Any Funding Options-branded products and services available on Our Website and/or the Tide Website constitute the “Funding Options Services”.
Funding Options is your Data Controller
Funding Options is the Data Controller of your data, which means we’re responsible for your personal data processed in relation to your use of the Funding Options Services. When you visit Our Website or the Tide Website and when you request or receive Funding Options Services, we collect, process, use and are responsible for certain personal data about you. When we do so, we are regulated under the applicable laws on the protection of personal data, privacy and electronic communications, including but not limited to The Data Protection Act 2018 (the “DPA 2018”, the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (the “UK GDPR”) and The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (“PECR”).
For the purposes of these laws we are responsible as a ‘Data Controller’ for the processing of your personal data. If you have any queries about this Privacy Policy or how we or any other Tide company (may) collect, store or use your data, please contact us by email at [email protected].
Please note that if you’re using other Tide products and services, your personal data will be processed by Tide according to Tide’s Privacy Policy. In the case of any conflict among these documents, conflicts shall be resolved in the order of precedence indicated below:
The Funding Options Privacy Notice shall apply to the processing of your personal data if you use the Funding Options Services;
Tide’s Privacy Policy shall apply to the processing of your personal data if you use Tide products and services other than the Funding Options Services.
Throughout this Privacy Policy the terms “Personal Data”, “Data Controller”, “Data Processor”, “Data Processing”, “Data Subject” and “Profiling” shall have the meaning assigned to them by the applicable data protection laws mentioned above.
Funding Options is also a Data Processor in some cases
When we collect certain personal data on behalf of our business partners (e.g. lenders), we act as a data processor for them. Details are below.
When we are a “Data Processor”
When using some of the Funding Options Services, Funding Options will process your personal data as a “Data Processor” on behalf of our business partner(s) who will be “Data Controller(s)”. This means we will collect, and subsequently share such personal data solely for the purposes of supplying our business partner(s) with the personal data they need in order to provide you with their credit products and services. We do this to create a more seamless customer experience where you don’t have to provide the same details about your business multiple times. For more information who our business partners are, please visit our Lender Partners page.
Personal data we collect
We collect and process personal data for a variety of reasons, including to meet our legal obligations, manage our operations, improve our business and deliver products and services to you.
Below is a list of the types of personal data that we collect, use and process when you visit Our Website and also when you apply for, or use, any of the Funding Options Services.
Type of personal data | Description | Purpose | Lawful basis |
Contact and personal details | Your name, date of birth, business addresses, residential addresses and residential status, e-mail address, telephone number or other ways in which to contact you | Registering you with an account and performing the necessary “know your customer” checks.
Managing our relationship with you and your business.
Communicating with you about our and our business partners’ products and services.
Delivering the Funding Options Services to you, including to facilitate your use of the Funding Services and any other Tide products or services via username and password.
Developing and carrying out marketing or business development activities. | Fulfilling our contract with you
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Communicate with our customers. Keep our records up to date. Resolve issues and improve the service we provide to you. Optimise your user experience |
Financial transactions | Details about the transactions you have carried out with your banking provider and details about your bank account which you have decided to share with Funding Options via Open Banking | Delivering the Funding Options Services and our business partners’ products and services.
Ascertaining your suitability for some Funding Options Services. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Facilitate delivery of Funding Options Services. Develop new products and services, our pricing for them and types of customers that may want to use them. |
Business data insofar as this relates to you as an individual | Including business role (e.g. director or shareholder), share percentage; in the case of sole traders – other personal data relevant to business finance application, such as value of personal pension, value of property equity; County Court judgements (personal and business), credit ratings (personal and business). | Carrying out our obligations arising from and exercising our rights set out in our contracts.
Performing the necessary “know your customer” checks.
Operating our business in an efficient and proper way, including managing our financial position, business capability, planning, and audit. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Understand and improve how we contract with our customers Understand each party’s obligations and risks under any agreements Be efficient about how we fulfil our legal and contractual duties. |
Contractual | Details about your usage of the Funding Options Services or the products and services our business partner(s) provide to you, including financial requirements (e.g. how much you would like to borrow), credit offers you’re eligible for, credit offers you’ve accepted, etc. | Carrying out our obligations arising from and exercising our rights set out in our contracts.
To analyse which products and services are of highest interest for our customers and to improve on them.
Operating our business in an efficient and proper way, including managing our financial position, business capability, planning, and audit. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Understand and improve how we contract with our customers Understand each party’s obligations and risks under any agreements Be efficient about how we fulfil our legal and contractual duties. |
Locational | Data we get about where you are. This may come, for example, from the IP address assigned to your mobile telephone or computer when you connect to the internet. | Delivering the Funding Options Services and our business partners’ products and services.
Identifying, investigating, reporting and preventing criminal activity. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Be efficient about how we fulfil our legal and contractual duties. Determine the risks that customers may pose to Funding Options’ business and our other customers. Develop products and services, our pricing for them and types of customers who may want to use them. |
Behavioural | Details about how you use Our Website, incl. how you interact with Funding Options Services or the products and services provided by our business partners | Studying how our customers use Funding Options Services and products and services from other organisations.
Managing how we work with other companies that provide services to us and our customers.
Delivering more personalised user experiences to our customers.
Developing new products and and carrying out marketing or business development activities. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Work out which of our products and services may interest you and tell you about them. Develop products and services, our pricing for them and types of customers that may want to use them. |
Technical | Details on the devices and technology you use, for example your website browser settings, marketing choices, etc. | Delivering the Funding Options Services to you.
Delivering our and our business partners’ products and services.
Identifying, investigating, reporting and preventing fraud, money laundering and other crime.
Developing and carrying out marketing or business development activities. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Be efficient about how we fulfil our legal and contractual duties. Develop products and services, our pricing for them and types of customers that may want to use them. |
Communication | Any emails, calls or other communications you’ve sent to us or we’ve sent to you, incl. what we learn about you from such communications | Investigating and responding to your enquiries, complaints and feedback. Training our staff and performing continuous monitoring on customer communication. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Communicate with our customers. Be efficient about how we fulfil our legal and contractual duties. Resolve issues and improve the service we provide to you. |
Public and third-party records | Details about you that are in public records, such as Companies House, and data about you that is publicly available on the Internet. We also collect data about you which we receive from other companies, such as credit reference agencies or other members of the Tide corporate group. | Registering you with an account and performing the necessary “know your customer” checks.
Assessing your eligibility for Funding Options Services and other Tide products and/or services.
Developing and carrying out marketing or business development activities.
Identifying, investigating, reporting and preventing fraud, money laundering and other crime. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Determine the risks that customers may pose to Funding Options’s business Keep our records up to date. Work out which of our products and services may interest you and telling you about them. Develop products and services, our pricing for them and types of customers that may want to use them. |
Documentary data | Details about you stored in documents of different formats that you provide to us, or copies of them. This could include things like your passport or driving licence, bank statements, merchant statements, filed accounts, profit and loss statements, invoices, proof of address and other. | Identifying, investigating, reporting and preventing fraud, money laundering and other crime.
Assisting our business partners with conducting “know your customer” checks.
Complying with laws and regulations. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Be efficient about how we fulfil our legal and contractual duties. Develop and improve how we deal with financial crime, as well as doing our legal duties in this respect. Determine the risks that Funding Options customers may pose to Funding Options’s business and to other customers |
Consents | Any permissions, consents or preferences that you give to us | So we know what your preferences are in regards to marketing, open banking, automated decision-making and profiling (where this activity is based on your consent), cookies and any other relevant optional data processing activities.
Developing and carrying out marketing or business development activities. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you consent to it.
When it is in our legitimate interest to: Keep our records up to date. Ask for your consent when we need it to contact you or perform other data processing activities. |
Special category data and criminal offence data | We do not collect most types of special categories of personal data. In certain cases, however, we collect biometric documentation (photo ID) on behalf of our business partners, or to verify the identity of directors or partners who wish to introduce customers to us. We may also process data related to your health (such as disabilities and special health needs) when you share that with us.
| Operating our business in a proper way, including corporate responsibility.
Verifying the identity of customers and partners we work with. | Fulfilling our contract with you.
When it is our legal duty.
When you provide explicit consent, when it is in the public interest, or when it is in your vital interest to protect yours or someone else’s life. |
Automated decision-making and profiling
To make quicker and more consistent decisions, we may also conduct automated individual decision-making. This means that we may analyse information about you via technological means to assess your personal circumstances and thus predict risks or outcomes. For example, we may perform automated decision making in the following cases:
When you sign up for an account via Our Website or via the Tide Website so we can perform “know your customer” identity and address and sanctions checks.
When you apply for credit services via Our Website or the Tide Website so we can assess your eligibility for credit products and to set your credit limits.
Our legal basis to take such automated decisions about you will be one or more of the following:
To keep to contracts and agreements between you and us;
To comply with our legal obligations.
To pursue our legitimate interests to improve the efficiency of our business processes.
When we take automated decisions that significantly affect you in those and any other circumstances, you can request a review of such a decision by Funding Options, express your point of view or contest the decision by contacting us at [email protected].
Funding Options may also conduct profiling for purposes of communicating effectively with you, for example, to send you relevant notifications or updates, according to your type of usage of Funding Options Services, your interests, etc.
Funding Options may also use such profiling for targeted or direct marketing purposes (for example, to issue advertisements tailored to your usage or interests in Funding Options Services or depending on your account information or usage of our website).
Where we collect personal data and who we share it with
We may collect personal data about you (or your business), from the following sources:
Information from you
This includes data given by you or your business, as well as data provided by people linked with you or your business’ product or service, or people working on your behalf, among others:
When you apply for Funding Options Services
When you talk to us on the telephone
When you use Our Website or the Tide Website
In emails and letters
In surveys
If you take part in our competitions or promotions.
Information collected from and shared with others
We collect personal data from a number of different third-parties, as detailed below:
Type of third party | Description | Collect | Share |
Members of the Tide Corporate Group | Funding Options is part of the wider Tide Corporate Group that comprises of Tide Platform Ltd. and other Tide-affiliated companies worldwide. | ✓ | ✓ |
Credit reference agencies (CRAs) and similar entities | We carry out credit checks when you apply for Funding Options Services or products and services of our business partners for your business. We use data from CRAs to help us determine if you may be eligible for such products and services or to set your credit limit. We will also share information with CRAs, e.g. about repayments and whether you repay in full or on time. TheCRAs we rely on and the ways they process your personal data are explained in more detail at: CreditSafe (which also provides us with TransUnion’s data); Information Notices available at TransUnion and Experian. | ✓ | ✓ |
Support tools and operational partners | These include analytics, search engine service providers, customer experience support platforms to optimise and improve our services, as well as subcontractors we may use to supplement our customer support resources. | ✓ | ✓ |
Hosting and IT service providers | IT vendors, including cloud storage providers, to securely store your personal data. | X | ✓ |
Financial services providers, including banks | In order to help you provide information about your funds and business transactions to us, you may decide to connect your bank account using Open Banking, which means financial services providers, including banks, will send information they hold about your account and transactions to us. Also, you may agree to provide us with access to your accounting software, so we can access your financial accounting transactions. | ✓ | X |
Identity verification providers and financial crime prevention companies | We work with third parties to verify the information provided to us, for example addresses, names and business roles of customers wishing to avail of Funding Options Services and other products and services offered by our business partners. | ✓ | ✓ |
Partner platforms, providing business services | We work with partners to offer you ‘add-ons’ to our service and products. Such products and services may include insurance services, energy savings, credit-repair services and other. | ✓ | ✓ |
Social networks and other online platforms providers | Social media websites, for the purposes of conducting market research, marketing campaigns, targeted and retargeted marketing and understanding the success of our marketing activities. These social media sites may check if you hold an account with them and, based on the characteristics they have about you, provide targeted advertising to you (for example, to show you tailored advertisements on their social media platforms, depending on your potential interest in Funding Options Services). | ✓ | ✓ |
Public data sources | We’ll receive and validate information about you using Companies House, LinkedIn, Google and other public data sources. | ✓ | X |
Marketing, business development and sales partners | Third parties that help us generate sales and marketing leads, and create and deliver our marketing activities. | ✓ | ✓ |
Data services third parties | Such as data analytics and insight firms, for example to test the quality of our data, to improve the effectiveness of our crime prevention controls, etc. | X | ✓ |
Government,regulatory and industry organisations | Government, law enforcement agencies, authorities,regulatory bodies and industry associations such as UK Finance. | ✓ | ✓ |
In addition, if we sell our business we may disclose your information to the purchaser.
Sharing anonymised data
In addition to the data sharing listed above, we may share some data to other companies outside the Tide Corporate Group, but only when it is converted so that no person’s identity can be known or found out and is no longer considered personal data under the law (anonymised data).
Third-party links and third-party providers of products and services
Our primary business service is to provide you with potential funding options from our panel of lenders. In order to do this, we share information with lenders, so that they may assess whether to provide finance to you.
You can find access to the privacy policy of some of our main lenders Funding Circle Ltd here, New Wave Capital (trading as Capital on Tap) here and Liberis here.
Occasionally, at our reasonable discretion, we may include or offer products or services to you from other business partners (third parties). These are independent service providers whose services are made available to you or promoted via Our Website (for example business insurance, foreign exchange, energy comparison).
As a Funding Options customer, you can opt to make use of these services, such that your data may be shared with the third-party providers or we may redirect you to the third-party provider. The personal data we may share and collect in those cases may include, depending on the service involved, the name and contact details of your business.
Business partners may act as Data Processors to Funding Options or as Data Controllers. When business partners act as Data Processors to Funding Options, they will process your personal data solely to deliver the Funding Options products and services that you have requested and as described in this Privacy Policy.
When business partners act as separate Data Controllers – they will have their own and independent privacy policies that apply when you use their products and services or visit their website. We (and any other Tide Corporate Group company; or any of our Funding Options company directors, officers, agents, contractors, sub-contractors or workers) have no responsibility or liability (however so caused) for the content, activities, data processing and services relating to those service providers or their linked websites unless stated otherwise. You can contact those third-party business partners for more information on how they may use your data.
Please note that we may also offer you products or services provided by other Tide Corporate Group entities such as, for example, a business current bank account, invoicing, etc. If you decide to avail of those products or services, all personal data you provide will be processed in accordance with Tide’s Privacy Policy available at www.tide.co/privacy.
How long we keep your personal data
We will keep your personal data as long as you are a customer of Funding Options.
We may keep your personal data after you stop being a customer. The reasons we may do this are:
To respond to a question or complaint, or to show whether we gave you fair treatment
To establish, exercise or defend our legal claims
To study customer data as part of our own research when this will not cause harm to your privacy and personal data protection rights
To comply with legal rules that apply to us about keeping records or information.
We may also keep your data if certain laws that Funding Options is subject to stipulate that we cannot delete it for legal, regulatory or technical reasons.
Transfer of your data out of the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area
The personal data that we hold will be stored by Funding Options in the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA), but will also be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the UK or EEA, with and by third parties, when this is necessary for us to provide the Funding Options Services. If we do transfer your personal data outside the UK or EEA, we will make sure that it is protected to the same extent as in the UK and EEA. We’ll use one of these legal safeguards:
Transfer it to a non-UK or non-EEA country with privacy laws that give the same protection as those under the UK or the EEA.
Put in place a contract with the recipient that means they must protect it to the same standards as the UK and EEA.
Use the standard contractual clauses approved by the EU or UK authorities under EU and UK data protection laws to achieve this.
In the second and third case we will also make sure to supplement the transfer tools that we rely on with sufficient additional safeguards to comply with UK/EEA guidance on risks associated with transfers of personal data to third-countries.
Cookies and other tracking technologies
We may use cookies to distinguish you from other users of our products or services when you visit Our Website. This helps us provide you with a good experience, allows us to improve our products or services, keep Our Website safe and present you with advertising content that is relevant to you. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your device when you visit Our Website or use Our App. Cookies send data back to the originating website or app on each subsequent visit, or to another website which recognises that cookie. Cookies also make it easier for you to log in and use Our Website.
We may use the following cookies:
Strictly necessary cookies required for the operation of our products or services (including, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure accounts and use interactive features);
Analytical/performance cookies that allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and users and see how they use our products or services (e.g., to help us improve the way our products or services work or are provided, by ensuring that users easily find what they are looking for);
Functionality cookies to help us recognise you when you return to Our Website (this enables us to e.g.,personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences, such as choice of language or region);
Targeting cookies to record your visit to Our Website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We may use this data to make our products and services and the data displayed on it, which we reasonably think is more relevant to your interests. We may also share this data with third parties for this purpose. In some instances, with respect to targeting cookies we act as joint controllers with third parties, such as social media platform TikTok.
For more detailed information on what specific cookies we use, please read our Cookie Policy.
You can block or disable cookies by activating the setting on your website browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies or through the banner on Our Website and in the “Cookie Settings” page on Our Website. All browsers provide tools that allow you to control how you handle cookies: accept, reject or delete them. These settings are normally accessed via the ‘settings’, ‘preferences’ or ‘options’ menu of the browser you are using, but you could also look for a ‘help’ function or contact the browser provider. However, if you set your browser settings to block or disable all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of Our Website for which we require the use of cookies.
Your rights
Under the DPA 2018 and the UK GDPR, you are entitled to the following rights:
Question any data about you that you think is incorrect and have us take reasonable steps to correct it for you
To be told about how we process your data
Require the erasure of personal data concerning you in certain situations
Access personal data and receive copies of data (free of charge, where reasonable for us to do so at the time) concerning you
Object at any time to processing of personal data concerning you e.g. for direct marketing
Object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or which similarly may significantly affect you
Object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal data
Otherwise, restrict our processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
The right to move, copy or transfer your personal data (where reasonable and proportionate for us to do so).
For further data on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individual rights under the GDPR.
If you would like to exercise your rights, please contact us at [email protected] or at:
Funding Options Limited 4th Floor, The Featherstone Building, 66 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AL United Kingdom
How to contact us and how to complain
We hope that our Data Protection Officer (DPO) can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your data. You can write to our DPO at [email protected] or at 4th Floor, The Featherstone Building, 66 City Road, London, EC1Y 2AL, United Kingdom
You also have the right to complain to the regulator. The supervisory authority in the UK regarding data protection matters is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can find out how to report a concern on their website – https://ico.org.uk/.
How to withdraw your consent or opt-out of processing
You can withdraw your consent to our processing of your data at any time. Please contact us if you want to do so at [email protected].
This will only affect the way we use data when our basis for processing your data is your consent. See the section “Your Rights”.
You may also opt out of some forms of data processing we are conducting, such as:
Marketing, including email, telephone and SMS marketing.
Social media and targeted marketing, including retargeting and curated audiences.
Non-essential cookie collection on Our Website. You may be unable to opt out of ‘necessary’ cookies as discussed above.
Non-essential profiling carried out for marketing purposes.
If you withdraw your consent and/or opt-out, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. If this is so, we will tell you. You then have the option to give us your consent again if you want to access our products or services.
Security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, changed, shared or accessed in a way it shouldn’t be. We will employ adequate technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data. These methods include:
The pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data, where possible.
Ensuring the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services via role-based access controls, confidentiality undertakings of our staff, etc.
The ability to restore the availability and access to personal data quickly in the event of or technical incident.
A process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of our technical and organisational measures.
We will also limit access to your personal data to employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a strict need to see it in order to perform their business functions. They will only process your personal data on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, pursuant to our instructions and they will keep your personal data confidential.
We have procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breaches.
Keeping your data accurate
We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal data is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Please ensure you notify us without undue delay of any changes to the personal data that you have provided to us by updating your details via Our Website or the Tide Website or by contacting us at the details provided in this Privacy Policy.
Updates to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure that it remains accurate. Please check back from time to time for updates.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 22 March 2024.
Let us help you find the best financial product in the market. We will guide you through the whole process and make sure you get the best deal.
See your Funding Options22nd May 2018
This policy (“Cookie Policy”) forms part of the Funding Options Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”). Capitalised terms not otherwise defined in this Cookie Policy have the meaning given to them in the Privacy Policy.
Cookies are small pieces of data stored on your browser, computer or other device when you visit websites, including our website (“our Website”). Cookies usually contain anonymous information which is accessible by the website which set it, on each later visit to that website or sometimes when you visit other websites.
Please note that we can also collect information about your usage of our Website from data contained in “log files”. Log files are not cookies; they do not contain any personal data; and they are not used to identify your personal use of our Website. When you request any web page from our Website, web servers automatically obtain your domain name and internet protocol (“IP”) address, but they reveal nothing personal about you and that data is only used to examine Website traffic in aggregate, to investigate abuse of our Website and its users, and/or to cooperate with law enforcement. Such data is not disseminated to third parties, except in aggregate.
We use cookies to store the following data:
How you use our Website
Identifiers such as your device and location
Your preferences for our Website and services
Cookies cannot harm your computer or other device.
There are four different types of cookie, which we explain here, and then we set out the cookies we uses in the table below.
Necessary cookies:
those required for the operation of our Website, which do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.
Analytical/performance cookies:
these allow us to collect information about how you use our Website, such as, how you move around our Website and if you experience any errors. These cookies do not collect personal data. The information collected is anonymous and is only used to help us improve the way our Website works, understand what interests our users generally and measure how effective our advertising is. Some of the performance cookies we use are issued as part of services provided by third parties, like Google Analytics.
Functionality cookies:
these are used to provide services or to recognise you when you return to our Website. These would enable us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences and improve your visit.
Targeting cookies:
these record your visit to a certain website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. They are linked to services provided by third parties, such as "Like" and "Share" buttons, in return for recognising that you have visited the relevant website. The third party may subsequently use information about your visit to target advertising to you on other websites and present you with advertisements that you may be interested in.
Please note that configuring your computer and/or mobile browser to reject ‘necessary’, ‘performance’ or ‘functional’ cookies may severely impact your experience on our Website and some parts of our Website will not function at all.
All browsers provide tools that allow you to control how you handle cookies: accept, reject or delete them. These settings are normally accessed via the ‘settings’, 'preferences' or 'options' menu of the browser you are using, but you could also look for a ‘help’ function or contact the browser provider.
You should check the privacy policy any third party service(s) you may use that set Targeting cookies on your browser or device. You may also be able to use tools provided by those third parties (and the third parties mentioned in the table above) to prevent their Targeting cookies being set.
Let us help you find the best financial product in the market. We will guide you through the whole process and make sure you get the best deal.
See your Funding Options1. Our Philosophy and Ambitions
Our stance
Funding Options believes in a net-zero world and the immediate need to mitigate climate change. Through initiatives such as the United Nations’ Paris Agreement and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the financial services sector will need to be at the forefront of change to enable the world to meet its carbon reduction targets. In addition to this, SMEs will play a vital role in enabling the UK to meet its own carbon reduction targets.
Sustainability will impact the SME lending industry
Sustainability has been at the forefront of financial services for many years now, and it is only a natural progression for the SME alternative finance industry to adopt this new ethos. The industry plays a pivotal role in supporting UK SMEs access finance to grow, develop and prosper. And by extension, should play a key role in enabling UK SMEs to assist driving the wider economy to a net-zero world.
Funding Options has a pivotal role in enabling SMEs to decarbonise
Operating at the intersection of demand and supply for business finance in the UK, Funding Options has the opportunity to support our customers to reach their net-zero goals and drive a more sustainable economy. We welcome this challenge and are enthused to utilise our strengths to assist the UK create a more sustainable economy.
2. Introduction to the Objectives of the Policy
This policy sets out Funding Options’ commitments to supporting SMEs and our partners to decarbonise the UK economy through sustainable finance. This policy outlines how Funding Options will look to achieve this through our strategy, governance structure, approach to climate opportunities and the targets we have set ourselves.
3. Commitments and Standards
Funding Options’ is committed to assisting SMEs play their part to reach the UK’s net-zero goals for 2050. In line with the United Nations’ Paris Agreement and the UK Government’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, Funding Options is striving to enable SMEs to decarbonise the UK economy and build businesses that green the real economy.
Our sustainability policy is underpinned by the following framework.
Strategy
Risk Management
Metrics and Targets
Governance
Strategy
Funding Options’ climate strategy and purpose is to enable SMEs to participate in realising climate mitigation activities and measures and to therefore, build greater resilience against climate related risk in the UK economy. It is underpinned by the below two elements:
Fund Green
To enable UK SMEs to fund green assets, green projects, green operations and green businesses. Data capture and insights and will be a key priority to ensure this takes place.
Lend Green
To enable any UK SME to be able to identify, engage with and where possible receive business funding from a green lender.
Definitions
Green Assets: A renewable, low/zero carbon asset.
Green Project: A renewable, low/zero carbon project.
Green Operation: A renewable, low/zero carbon operation.
Green Business: A business that has renewable, low/zero carbon or sustainable business activities, products or services.
Green Lender: Meets at least one of the following criteria:
1. A product specifically tailored to the purchase or leasing of green assets or green businesses.
2. A proposition developed to support green businesses/
3. An appetite to fund businesses at a different pricing rate who have renewable, low/zero carbon or sustainable business activities, products or services.
4. A sustainability, ESG or green policy.
Risk Management
Operational level
Funding Options’ recognises our own business activities can produce greenhouse gases (GHG) and consequently contribute to climate change. Therefore, Funding Options will identify, assess and manage our Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions on an annual basis commencing in Q4 2021.
Customer level
Funding Options recognises the opportunity to assist our customers manage their climate related risks. These risks are specifically related to their transition risks (such as policy and legal, technology, market and reputational risks). And we will be enabling this by providing our customers easier access to funding so that they can decarbonise their own products, services and operations.
Metrics and Targets
Measure our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions in Q4 2021.
A target to engage with the SME lending market more often regarding climate change.
Through a combination of educational content, webinars, blogs and thought leadership pieces we will continue to educate Funding Options customers on the importance of sustainability becoming net-zero.
Conduct staff awareness raising and training to educate Funding Options employees on the importance of sustainability and our organisation becoming net-zero.
Advocacy on policy. (Advocacy on policy could be for example, setting up a meeting with the BBB in the next 12 months to discuss the importance of greater government engagement with the alternative finance industry to drive climate reduction with SMEs.)
Governance Structure
The below sets out the governance structure that Funding Options will utilise to ensure accountability and optimum information flow across the business. As with all of our business operations, the outcomes of our customers is the most important consideration. This governance structure will ensure all internal stakeholders have the required level of oversight to ensure the execution of our sustainability policy.
CEO climate related roles & responsibilities
The CEO has executive oversight of Funding Options’ sustainability strategy and mandate. They are responsible for ensuring all divisions within the firm are adhering to this policy.
Departmental climate related roles & responsibilities
1. Risk and Compliance
The Risk and Compliance team is In charge of implementing the sustainability policy into our risk department. Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to) updating the policy as necessary changes, due to internal or external considerations and ensuring Funding Options remains compliant with internal and external regulations.
2. Sales and Commercial
The Sales and Commercial teams are responsible for ensuring Funding Options meets the commercial requirements of the sustainability policy. This includes (but is not limited to) ensuring we have the required level of engagement and growth of the green lender panel, assisting green businesses and those with green finance requirements as well as broader strategic opportunities relating to greening the UK economy.
3. Engineering, Product, Design & Data (EPDD)
The Engineering, Product, Design & Data (EPDD) team is responsible for ensuring Funding Options meets the technical requirements of the sustainability policy. This includes (but is not limited to) ensuring data capture and quality is of the necessary standard and that the wider systems Funding Options use are functioning appropriately to assist businesses with their sustainable finance needs.
4. Marketing
Marketing is responsible for having a clear external position on Funding Options' ESG policy and impact on society. Key responsibilities include communicating Funding Option's sustainability ambitions in relation to achieving net-zero and communicating key data points that demonstrate impact and progress towards this goal.
5. People
The People team is responsible for ensuring Funding Options’ staff are aware and cognisant of the impact the organisation has on carbon emissions and climate change. They are responsible for ensuring the organisation has measures and initiatives in place to assist staff in reducing their own carbon emissions.
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See your Funding Options