Why we switched to Starling

Three customers explain why they decided to break up with their old bank and switch to Starling.

Once you’re sure that Starling’s the one for you, request to switch in-app and we’ll handle the rest. Simply choose a switch date and then everything - your salary, balance, direct debits and payees - will start to move over seven days before that date, guaranteed through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). Your old bank account will be closed and any payments made to that closed account will be redirected to Starling.

Remember, you can always try us out before deciding to do a full switch.

Olayemi Ajana

Senior web developer and Starling personal customer Olayemi Ajana first heard about the bank at an event run by the British Computer Society in February 2018. “Starling’s founder and CEO Anne Boden presented the bank and the app and told her story. I was intrigued by the banking infrastructure and IT and thought the business structure made for a very promising company,” he says.

“I thought it was a better option compared to my high street bank,” says Olayemi, 39.

“It’s really quick and straightforward to apply for an account. I applied at 9pm in the evening by simply entering a few details, taking a picture of my ID and a video of myself. When it was approved, I could start using the account straight away and the card arrived two or three days later.”

Starling has helped him budget and set money aside as savings, using the bank’s Spaces feature which keeps money separate from the account’s main spending balance.

“Each day and at the end of each month, you can see how much you’ve spent and where you’ve spent most money. If you want to budget or tailor your spending, it’s simple and straightforward,” he says. “I used Starling for a while and then closed my old bank account. Everything I wanted was in Starling and the switch was seamless.”

Rebecca Morley

Rebecca Morley, who provides coaching for business leaders and entrepreneurs, has also been inspired by Anne’s success as the first woman to found a British bank. “She’s a real inspiration. My dad has been sending me articles on inspirational women and recently sent me one about her, which only reinforced my impression,” she says.

“When I first read Starling’s story, it felt like it was a FinTech with real credibility. I looked into its accounts and read about the team before choosing to bank with them.”

Rebecca, 41, joined Starling in 2019 as a business customer and went on to open both a personal and joint account. “When I became self-employed, I didn’t receive much support from my high street bank. It made me want to challenge the banking patriarchy in a way. Why not go with a bank that’s challenging the norms?”

She has since switched all three of her bank accounts to Starling through CASS. “I wanted to have everything all in one place, “Everything is so quick and easy, but doesn’t feel so quick and easy that you worry it’s not safe. It’s intuitive, simple and sensible.”

Luke Bolton

Luke Bolton switched his personal account from another challenger bank. “The switch was so easy - it took 10 minutes to request in the app.”

His reasons? “The categorisation of outgoings was far superior - the algorithms were better and I liked the variety of categories and the fact that you could add attachments to transactions.” Starling’s Spending Insights feature automatically categorises outgoings to give customers an overview of their spending.

“I really like that it’s organised by category and by merchant - it shows you where you’re spending most and gives you a better reflection of where your biggest purchases are.” Luke, 26, also found statements easier to download with Starling and saw the benefits and potential of the bank’s Marketplace, the space in the app where customers can connect to third-party products and services.

“The Marketplace really interests me - it’s the future that digital banks are moving towards.” Through the Marketplace, he signed up to so-sure phone insurance and connected to communications platform Slack from his Starling business account.

Luke switched to Starling a few months after opening his account with us in 2018. “The final factor was finding out about Starling’s banking licence,” he says. Starling is a regulated bank, meaning that eligible balances up to £85,000 are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). “It was a pretty easy decision to switch and I haven’t looked back since.”