Description
Starling Bank is a digital challenger bank based in the United Kingdom, which focuses on current and business account products. Headquartered in London, Starling Bank is a licensed and regulated bank, founded by former Allied Irish Banks COO, Anne Boden, 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 in July 2016.
History
Starling was founded by Anne Boden 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.
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 to process international payments. In November 2018, the company partnered with the Post Office to allow Starling account holders to deposit and withdraw funds at any Post Office branch.
In late 2020, The 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 by 2022.
In March 2021, Starling announced a £272m funding round, with investors including Fidelity, the Qatar Investment Authority and Millennium Management.
Senior leadership
Chief Executive: Anne Boden (since 2014)
Chairman: Oliver Stocken (since 2015)
Cards
Starling Bank offers a contactless Debit Mastercard. 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 will be made from 75% of recycled Rigid PVC plastic.
Mobile apps
The bank does not have physical branches and primarily serves customers via mobile banking apps on iOS and Android. Starling claims to be the first UK bank to support in-app setup for Apple Pay.
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 four consecutive years – 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
