Starling Bank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Starling Bank Ltd
Starling Bank
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2014; 7 years ago (2014)
HeadquartersFinsbury Avenue,
City of London,
London,
United Kingdom
Key people
Anne Boden, CEO
ProductsRetail Banking
(personal & business)
Websitewww.starlingbank.com

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 £500m 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]

3 minute Welsh Government video of Anne Boden introducing herself and Starling Bank; July 2020

History[]

Starling was founded by Anne Boden in 2014.[10][11] In 2016, they raised £48 million.[12] In February 2019 Starling raised £75m from Merian Global Investors.[13][14] The following week, the company announced it had raised £100m from the Capability and Innovation Fund in the form of grant funding.[5]

The company launched its beta in March 2017.[2][15] In March 2018, Starling launched business accounts.[16][17] In February 2019 Starling launched personal Euro accounts in the UK.[18]

Founder Anne Boden announced in December 2017 that the bank intended to apply for the RBS Remedies Fund.[19]

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.[20] 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. [21]

In late 2020, The Times reported that larger banks were looking at acquiring Starling.[22] The CEO of Starling denied the reports and stated they aimed for an initial public offering by 2022.[23]

In March 2021, Starling announced a £272m funding round, with investors including Fidelity, the Qatar Investment Authority and Millennium Management.[24]

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.[25]

Starling changed the design of its cards in July 2018, to a vertical card design coloured teal and navy.[26]

In March 2021, Starling announced their new and replacement debit cards will be made from 75% of recycled Rigid PVC plastic.[citation needed]

Mobile apps[]

The bank does not have any 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.[27]

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.[28]

The bank also offers a 'Settle Up' feature, where customers can send money to their contacts.[29]

Awards[]

Starling Bank has received the Best British Bank award in the British Bank Awards for four consecutive years in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.[30][31]

References[]

  1. ^ Carey, Scott (1 November 2018). "The UK's new breed of digital challenger banks". Tech World. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b 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. ^ Jump up to: a b Morrison, Caitlin (22 February 2019). "Metro Bank and Starling get millions from RBS fund to boost banking competition". The Independent. Retrieved 29 December 2019.[failed verification]
  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.[failed verification]
  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. ^ "Starling raises £75m as it plots European expansion". Financial Times.(subscription required)
  14. ^ O'Hear, Steve (13 February 2019). "Starling Bank, now with 460K consumer accounts, raises £75M more for European expansion". TechCrunch.
  15. ^ Munford, Monty (28 March 2017). "Mobile banking is saving us 'billions' in charges". BBC News. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Withers, Iain (4 October 2017). "Starling takes on the big banks with business lending play". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.(subscription required)
  18. ^ "Starling Bank launches euro debit card". UKTN (UK Tech News). 30 October 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  19. ^ Rumney, Emma (10 December 2017). "Britain's smaller banks jostle for business banking grants". Reuters. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  20. ^ Bell, Lee (15 March 2017). "TransferWise partners with digital-only Starling Bank". Wired. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  21. ^ 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)
  22. ^ "JP Morgan and Lloyds set sights on Starling". The Times. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Starling's Anne Boden has 'eyes on a float' as she dismisses takeover talks". The Telegraph. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Starling Bank swoops in £270m share sale to global investors". Sky News. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  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. ^ Money, Memore (4 July 2021). "Starling Bank full review". www.memoremoney.com. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  29. ^ Casserly, Martyn (14 May 2018). "What is Starling Bank and is it safe to use?". Tech Advisor. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  30. ^ Moore, Anna. "It's crazy, but I started my own bank': the story behind Starling". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  31. ^ "British Bank Awards". British Bank Awards. Retrieved 12 November 2020.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""