Yeah, my bank was annoying me. That is the only time in 27 years that they annoyed me though. Since then they’ve got in touch, they’ve sent me a two page letter saying I should come back. I was there right from the start, I was once told I am customer 44. When they came on the scene they were innovative one but they haven’t kept moving quick enough.
Even though I enjoyed my time with them, with you (Starling) providing a transparent presentation of all the financial information, plus being covered by the FSCS made the difference for me. It’s difficult to really say why, but I feel far more connected with you. I won’t say a bad word about my previous bank, what they did was amazing, but you’ve got to move on. For Heaven’s sake, I used to find cassette players amazing!
We’re always interested to hear how our customers first heard about us, how did you?
With my job I am very aware of latest technology developments and I heard about the new challenger banks. I researched yourselves along with the others, and quickly knew 100% that I wanted to give one a go. I looked at the feedback and saw that you had just launched a couple of new features within your app, including Goals which really got my attention. So, I downloaded the app and signed up. I tested the card as soon as I got it for about a day, and totally got it, so I instigated and completed my switch within a week.
Absolutely. I think a lot of people will just settle with their current banks, and it’s not until you have experienced the new you realise this is how easy it can be.
So, what gave you the final nudge to make you want to switch bank? Was it a single reason or a number of?
Aside from getting frustrated with my previous bank, I think it was just in my head that it makes complete sense to do this. Money is not the same anymore and I just think it’s important to know what you’re spending, as you spend it. It’s not an obsessive thing, I just think it makes sense. When everything else in your life is real-time, why shouldn’t your banking be?
Did you have any reservations or were you concerned about anything?
Nope, absolutely not. You were providing a product that I’d be very happy with. You had FCA signoff, you had the security of £85,000 deposit protection from the FSCS. Everything was there, so it was no more of a leap for me to join you than it was to join any other bank. But you also had all the added bonuses with more innovative features and technology.
I’m impressed you can do that with, what I can see is, about 100 or so people in your office.
Yeah – that’s something our CEO Anne always mentions. She’s now doing with 100 people what she used to do with 1000’s.
The thing is that, you can do that because you don’t have legacy, so you can adapt. Your customer service is as good as my previous bank and they have one of the best customer services I’ve ever known, it was their unique selling point. Yours just works, it’s in app, tap and I’m done.
Another great thing with not having legacy is that the security seems better. The product feels like it has been built up with security in mind, as opposed to it being patch work with a legacy banks framework. Older banks have a mish-mash of systems that have to try and talk to each other. It’s not their fault, it’s just legacy. That’s why you have to break free sometimes and go with someone that’s new.
We have a few things that we live by here, and one of those is using technology to solve problems in people’s financial lives. Your Tweet seemed to highlight the innovation aspect. Was that key for you?
Your unique selling point to me was Goals. It was also the fact that everything is interest linked. I could move all this money around into Goals and still get interest.