Starling Bank () is a British digital

challenger bank Challenger banks are small, recently created retail banks that compete directly with the longer-established banks in the UK, sometimes by specialising in areas underserved by the "big four" banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, and Nat ...

which provides

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

and

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

accounts. Starling Bank is a licensed and regulated bank, founded by former

Allied Irish Banks Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four (banking)#Ireland, Big Four commercial banks in Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of general insurance ...

COO,

Anne Boden Anne Elizabeth Boden (born January 1960) is a British tech entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Starling Bank, a UK mobile-only bank. In 2018, she received an MBE for services to financial technology. Early life Boden was born in Bo ...

, in January 2014. Since its founding, it has received over £500m of funding. The company received its banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financ ...

in July 2016.

History

Starling was founded by

in 2014. In 2016, they raised £48 million. In February 2019 Starling raised £75m from Merian Global Investors. The following week, the company announced it had raised £100m from the Capability and Innovation Fund in the form of grant funding. The company launched its beta in March 2017. In March 2018, Starling launched business accounts. In February 2019, Starling launched personal Euro accounts in the UK. At first, Starling customers could make fee-free conversions between the Starling GBP account and Euro account, but in September 2019 the bank introduced a 0.4% conversion fee. Founder Anne Boden announced in December 2017 that the bank intended to apply for the RBS Remedies Fund. The bank has partnered with other companies to offer some of its services. In March 2017 Starling began to use of

TransferWise Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a London-based financial technology company founded by Estonian businessmen Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in January 2011. History Wise was founded by Taavet Hinrikus (Skype's first employee) and fi ...

to process international payments. In November 2018, the company partnered with the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

to allow Starling account holders to deposit and withdraw funds at any Post Office branch. In late 2020, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' reported that larger banks were looking at acquiring Starling. The CEO of Starling denied the reports and stated they aimed for an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

by 2022. In March 2021, Starling announced a £272m funding round, with investors including

Fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London fin ...

, the

Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ar, جهاز قطر للإستثمار) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In 202 ...

and Millennium Management.

Senior leadership

* ''Chief Executive:'' Anne Boden (since 2014) * ''Chairman:'' Oliver Stocken (since 2015)

Locations

Starling does not have physical branches. The company has offices in London, Cardiff and Southampton.

Cards

Starling Bank offers a contactless

Debit Mastercard Debit Mastercard is a brand of debit cards provided by Mastercard. They use the same systems as standard Mastercard credit cards but they do not use a line of credit to the customer, instead relying on funds that the customer has in their bank ...

. As of September 2019, Starling cards were not part of the LINK network. Starling changed the design of its cards in July 2018, to a vertical card design coloured teal and navy. In March 2021, Starling announced their new and replacement debit cards would be made from 75% of recycled rigid PVC plastic.

Mobile apps

The bank primarily serves customers via mobile banking apps on iOS and Android. In 2017, Starling claimed to be the first UK bank to support in-app setup for

Apple Pay Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a cred ...

. The features of Starling's mobile apps include instant notifications of transactions, freezing and unfreezing customers' cards to prevent unauthorised transactions, categorising transactions for later analysis, creating separate "goals" where money can be stored separately to a customer's main balance, and in-app chat with customer service representatives. The bank also offers a 'Settle Up' feature, where customers can send money to their contacts.

Awards

Starling Bank received the Best British Bank award in the British Bank Awards for five consecutive years – 2018 to 2022.

References

External links

* {{Commercial and retail banks in the United Kingdom Banks of the United Kingdom Online banks Banks established in 2014 Banks based in the City of London