Tide has announced the appointment of Bernie Miles as chief data and technology officer (CDTO) to lead a global team of more than 700 engineers.

Miles joins the firm from payment software company PPRO, where he held the role of chief technology officer for over four years. He has also worked at payment services firm Klarna, where he spent more than four years in senior roles, and at online retailer Wayfair, where he served as head of global payments and fraud.

In his new role at the London-based FinTech specialising in business banking and management services, Miles will support the development of services including finance, admin, cash management and other products used by small businesses.

As part of his remit, Miles will lead a global engineering team across the UK, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Lithuania and India.

He will report to Tide’s chief executive, Oliver Prill.

“Bernie is a proven technology leader with world-class experience in building and scaling complex platforms in high-growth, customer-centric environments,” Prill said. “His track record of delivering reliable, mission-critical platforms makes him an outstanding addition to our executive team, and I’m delighted to welcome him to Tide.”

Earlier this month, Tide launched a mobile phone service for small businesses embedded directly in the Tide app.

Tide Business Phone Number (BPN), rolled out in partnership with mobile infrastructure provider Gigs, enables members to set up and manage a dedicated business mobile line from within their existing Tide account.

Tide claims the move marks the first time a business banking provider has integrated a full mobile plan with a UK phone number directly into its platform. The launch is aimed at helping Tide’s nearly 800,000 UK members – representing around 14 per cent of the small business market – separate their personal and professional lives more effectively.

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