The days are getting shorter but here at Starling, we’re still packing each week with exciting launches, partnerships and initiatives to make our bank even better.
In the last two months, we’ve:
- Launched our Bills Manager feature
- Given our customers the ability to set their own contactless limit up to £100
- Built a real-time integration for Xero and our multi-currency business accounts
- Set out our plan to reduce and offset our carbon emissions
- Added a notes column for bank statements exported as a CSV
- Released dark mode for Android (dark mode for iOS was launched in summer)
- Announced our sponsorship of the UEFA Women’s EURO tournament 2022
- Created a national advertising campaign for TV, radio and cinemas
Managing bills and budgeting with Starling
Earlier this month, we launched our Bills Manager feature for personal and joint account holders. Bills Manager enables you to pay direct debits and standing orders straight from one of your Spaces, the feature that keeps money separate from your main balance.
Bills Manager has been designed to make budgeting simpler. When you receive your salary, you can now separate the money for your rent or energy bill into a Space and set up automatic, seamless payments for those monthly transactions. That way, the money for bills stays separate from your main balance, making it easier for you to see how much you have available to spend.
The ability to manage bills from Spaces has been one of our most requested features from customers. You asked, we delivered.
Starling and sustainability
Starling has committed to a one third reduction in our carbon emissions by 2030. We will also be offsetting our carbon emissions from our operations and supply chain from 2021, something we’ll continue to do each year.
As a branchless and largely paperless bank, we have a lower carbon footprint than many other banks. But there’s always more we can do, which is why we became founding members of Tech Zero, an industry wide initiative through which companies commit to measuring and reducing their carbon emissions.
At the moment, all four of our offices run on renewable energy and we provide new customers with debit cards made from recycled plastic.
We’ve also partnered with the rapid electric charging network Instavolt and sponsored Jack Harries’ YouTube Original documentary series Seat at the Table. The series aims to give a voice to those hardest hit by climate change and includes an interview with Sir David Attenborough.
To offset our current emissions, we’ll be talking to our employees about which certified projects they would most like to support. These may include woodland creation as well as ocean-based and peat restoration schemes.
Speaking up in Parliament
Last month, our CEO and founder Anne Boden gave evidence in the Treasury Select Committee, a group that looks at and comments on the work of the government department responsible for public spending and the economy.
She asked MPs to put legislation in place to protect people and businesses from scams that use paid-for adverts, a widespread problem that must be addressed.
Awards round-up
Since the beginning of September, we’ve been named:
- Best Banking Brand of the Year by Which?
- Winner of Best Business Bank at the Luca Awards, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
- Winner of Business Lender of the Year at the National Credit Awards
- Winner of Social Inclusion Project of the Year, Lending Initiative of the Year, and Open Banking Initiative of the Year at the Payment Awards
If you’re passionate about changing banking for good, we’d love to hear from you - our vacancies are listed on our website.