Based in London, Starling Bank was funded by Anne Boden, a bank industry veteran. The neobank obtained its banking license in 2016. As a result, your money is covered up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It was awarded the Best British Bank and Best Current Account in 2018, 2019 & 2020 at the Oscars of the banking world, the Biritish Bank Awards.
The bank offers British Pound and Euro current accounts as well as Business accounts with a MasterCard Card for no monthly fees. They won’t charge you for making electronic payments, domestic transfers or ATM withdrawals. They pay competitive interest rates on current account balances. (0.05% AER up to £85,000). They also offer Joint current accounts, great for couples or good friends who share financial commitments.
As a bank, Starling offers overdrafts and loans, with mortgage offers, insurance, and savings deals available through the Starling Bank marketplace in its app. They generate referral revenue on these, but it seems to be focusing the bulk of its revenue efforts on its banking as a service offering. Furthermore, when you make an international transfer, including a transfer between your Starling accounts in different currencies, there is a 0.4% transfer fee to the transaction.
Finally, as a neobank, their digital current accounts have built-in features that make banking quick, easy, paperless and great for travel. In fact, their debit card can be used on the MasterCard network. They don’t add fees or charges when you use your card overseas. It’s also free to withdraw cash from ATMs outside the UK. Card payments are converted into GBP using the Mastercard globally accepted exchange rate.
