Starling Bank

Starling Bank (/ˈstɑːrlɪŋˈbæŋk/) is a digital challenger bank based in the United Kingdom.[1] It focuses on current and business account products.[2][3] Headquartered in London, Starling Bank is a licensed and regulated bank, founded by former Allied Irish Banks COO, Anne Boden, in January 2014.[4] Since its founding, it has received over £230m of funding.[5][6][7] The company received its banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority in July 2016.[8][9]

Starling Bank Ltd
Starling Bank
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2014 (2014)
HeadquartersFinsbury Avenue,
City of London,
London,
United Kingdom
Key people
Anne Boden, CEO
ProductsRetail Banking
(personal & business)
Websitewww.starlingbank.com

History

Starling was founded by Anne Boden in 2014.[10][11] In 2016, they announced the largest Fintech funding round of the year, raising £48 million.[12]

The company started its beta[2] in partnership with TransferWise[13] in March 2017.[14] The corresponding developer platform went live in April 2017.[15]

Founder Anne Boden announced in December 2017 that the bank intended to apply for the RBS Remedies Fund.[16]

In March 2018, Starling launched business accounts.[17][18]

In November 2018, Starling announced a partnership with the Post Office.[19]

In February 2019 Starling launched personal Euro accounts in the UK.[20]

Starling's latest funding round was from Merian Global Investors, raising £75m in February 2019.[21][22] The following week, Starling announced that it had secured a further £100m from the Capability and Innovation Fund in the form of grant funding.[5]

In late 2020, it was reported that numerous banks were looking at buying Starling.[23] The CEO of Starling dismissed the rumours and stated their ambition for an initial public offering by 2022.[24]

Cards

Starling Bank offers a contactless Debit Mastercard. As of September 2019, Starling cards were not part of the LINK network.[25]

In July 2018, Starling announced a vertical card design, coloured teal and navy.[26]

Mobile apps

Starling Bank has built and released mobile apps for both iOS and Android phones. Starling were also the first UK bank to have in-app provisioning for Apple Pay.[27]

The features of Starling's mobile apps include instant notifications of transactions, freezing and unfreezing customer's cards to prevent unauthorised transactions, categorising transactions for later analysis, creating separate "Goals" where money can be stored separately to customer's main balance and in-app chat with customer service representatives, among others.[28]

Starling has built its own Open Banking API which is distributed in the form of a "marketplace" to allow customers to use their data with other financial products.[29] The bank also offers a 'Settle Up' feature, where customers can send money to their contacts.[30]

They also have a cash depositing partnership with the Post Office.[31]

Awards

Starling Bank has received the Best British Bank award in the British Bank Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020.[32][33]

References
  1. Carey, Scott (1 November 2018). "The UK's new breed of digital challenger banks". Tech World. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  2. O'Hear, Steve (16 March 2016). "Starling Bank, a digital-only UK challenger bank, launches beta". TechCrunch. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. "Starling Bank moves into business banking". Finextra. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  4. Finnegan, Matthew (4 September 2014). "Former Allied Irish Bank exec to launch branchless 'mobile bank'". Computerworld. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  5. Morrison, Caitlin (22 February 2019). "Metro Bank and Starling get millions from RBS fund to boost banking competition". The Independent. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. "Starling raises $70m for UK banking market push". Financial Times.(subscription required)
  7. Taylor, Charlie (13 February 2019). "Starling Bank raises £75m to fund international expansion". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. Wallace, Tim (14 July 2016). "Mobile-only bank Starling wins its licence". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.(subscription required)
  9. "Starling Bank secures banking license; to launch in January 2017". Finextra. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  10. Williams-Grut, Oscar (23 April 2017). "'Big banks want to come see us every week': Starling CEO Anne Boden on building a bank from scratch". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  11. Hancock, Ciarán. "Bold move into on-line banking by Anne Boden". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  12. Williams-Grut, Oscar (20 April 2017). "Startup bank Starling raised £48 million last January — and it took 16 months for £30 million of it to come through". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  13. Bell, Lee (15 March 2017). "TransferWise partners with digital-only Starling Bank". Wired. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  14. Munford, Monty (28 March 2017). "Mobile banking is saving us 'billions' in charges". BBC News. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  15. Thompson, Scott (10 April 2017). "Starling Bank Developer Platform goes live". IBS Intelligence. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  16. Rumney, Emma (10 December 2017). "Britain's smaller banks jostle for business banking grants". Reuters. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  17. Key, Alys (29 March 2018). "Challenger bank Starling launches business accounts as it eyes £120m RBS competition pot". City A.M. Archived from the original on 31 March 2018.
  18. Withers, Iain (4 October 2017). "Starling takes on the big banks with business lending play". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.(subscription required)
  19. Field, Matthew (14 November 2018). "Digital bank Starling heads to the high street following Post Office deal". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 November 2018.(subscription required)
  20. "Starling Bank launches euro debit card". UKTN (UK Tech News). 30 October 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  21. "Starling raises £75m as it plots European expansion". Financial Times.(subscription required)
  22. O'Hear, Steve (13 February 2019). "Starling Bank, now with 460K consumer accounts, raises £75M more for European expansion". TechCrunch.
  23. "JP Morgan and Lloyds set sights on Starling". The Times. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  24. "Starling's Anne Boden has 'eyes on a float' as she dismisses takeover talks". The Telegraph. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  25. "Our Members". LINK. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  26. Dawood, Sarah (25 July 2018). "Online bank Starling introduces vertical bank card". Design Week. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  27. Fingas, Roger (18 July 2017). "UK's mobile-only Starling Bank adds Apple Pay support". Apple Insider. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  28. "Starling Bank, a Digital Disruptor, Makes Mobile Only Banking a Strong Possibility For Our Digital Future". www.elf.agency. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  29. Brusnahan, Patrick (10 May 2019). "Starling Bank gets the award for Best Open Banking Strategy 2019". Retail Banker International. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  30. Casserly, Martyn (14 May 2018). "What is Starling Bank and is it safe to use?". Tech Advisor. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  31. Field, Matthew (14 November 2018). "Digital bank Starling heads to the high street following Post Office deal". The Daily Telegraph.
  32. Moore, Anna. "It's crazy, but I started my own bank': the story behind Starling". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  33. "British Bank Awards". British Bank Awards. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
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