Compare current accounts

Choose the best bank account for you

At Starling, we’re trying to build the best bank in the world.

We want to fundamentally change money management - from how you control your spending to how you pay friends back or save for the things that are really important to you.

We’re sure of our mission, but we understand that we’re not the only bank in the world. Money is a big part of our lives, and choosing a bank account is worth taking some time over.

Transparency is a big deal for us here at Starling. That’s why we’ve gathered all the current account options together for you using comparative data from Defaqto.

We want to help you compare current accounts and enable you to make an informed choice and a decision based on real, hard facts.

How do I compare current accounts?

Finding the best bank account can take hours of painstaking research. Who has time for that? Use our tool to compare other bank account providers against Starling’s personal current account. Easy.

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Feature

Starling Bank

Account

Many current accounts insist that their customers deposit a minimum amount of money into it each month (typically their principal wage), otherwise they must pay a default fee. Our account does not have any minimum monthly deposit requirement, and no default fee.

Minimum monthly deposit

£0

Some bank accounts charge their customers a monthly fee for having the account. The Starling Bank account does not have any monthly charge.

Monthly charge

£0

The account must offer the customer the ability to use a mobile phone app to carry out day to day banking activities. The Starling account is only available on mobile devices.

Mobile phone app

yes

The mobile app must offer at least 3 out of 4 different app-based features for protecting your account. The Starling app allows all four – limiting ATM withdrawals, limiting online transactions, locking/unlocking your debit card, and security by biometrics.

Number of mobile app features for protecting your account

Interest

Many current accounts don’t pay interest on any credit balance you have in your account. Our account pays interest on your balances: 0.05% AER on balances up to £85,000.

Gross AER - £1,000

0.05%

Interest paid on your credit balances is added each month.

Interest payment frequency

monthly

Overdraft

Overdrafts with Starling are approved up to a certain limit from the moment you open your account, which you can accept. Within the app you can set the amount of overdraft you need within that limit by adjusting a slider within the app.

Overdraft facility

yes

A feature of some current accounts is called ‘Control’, which stops you going overdrawn by more than any arranged overdraft limit. The Starling Bank account prevents unarranged overdraft spending, protecting you from any unexpected bank charges. In the rare instances where you do go into an unarranged overdraft by accident we’ll only ever charge you the standard rate of interest.

Control feature

standard

With our account if you go overdrawn you only pay interest for the amount you borrow, while you are overdrawn. The Representative APR is the rate which 51% of customers will actually get. Interest is accrued daily, and charged on the 15th of the following month

Arranged overdraft representative apr

15.00%

With the Starling Bank account if you go into an unarranged overdraft there are no charges.

Unarranged overdraft monthly cap (£)

£0

The total cost of having an arranged overdraft of £500 for 7 days with Starling Bank based on the representative APR would be £1.35.

Overdraft cost (£500 for 7 days)

£1.35

The total cost of having an arranged overdraft of £500 for 30 days with Starling Bank based on the representative APR would be £5.81.

Overdraft cost (£500 for 30 days)

£5.81

The total cost of having an arranged overdraft of £500 for 60 days with Starling Bank based on the representative APR would be £11.62.

Overdraft cost (£500 for 60 days)

£11.62

Travel

With the Starling Bank account you do not pay any fees to use your debit card for purchases while in Europe. If you pay in the local currency we will convert that cost to Sterling using Mastercard’s globally accepted exchange rate.

Debit EU £100 cost

£0

With the Starling Bank account you do not pay any fees to withdraw foreign currency from a cash machine while in Europe. We will convert the cost of any money you withdraw using Mastercard’s globally accepted exchange rate. Just like in the UK though some ATM providers might charge you a fee for withdrawing cash from their machines.

ATM EU £100 cost

£0

With the Starling Bank account you do not pay any fees to use your debit card for purchases worldwide outside of Europe. If you pay in the local currency we will convert that cost to Sterling using Mastercard’s globally accepted exchange rate.

Debit world £100 cost

£0

With the Starling Bank account you do not pay any fees to withdraw foreign currency from a cash machine while anywhere in the world outside Europe. We will convert the cost of any money you withdraw using Mastercard’s globally accepted exchange rate. Just like in the UK though some ATM providers might charge you a fee for withdrawing cash from their machines.

ATM world £100 cost

£0

Payments

The ability to use mobile phone payment methods is important to many people. With our account you can use Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

Mobile payment types

Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay

If you want to send money to someone in the UK you can use our app to make an immediate domestic payment through the UK's Faster Payments network of up to £25,000 per transaction. Recipients typically receive the funds almost immediately, although they can sometimes take up to two hours.

Faster payments app limit

£25,000

The Starling Bank account provides a contactless Mastercard debit card, which you can use to pay contactless for spends of up to £30 at a time.

Contactless payments

yes

Cheque imaging is used across UK banks which sends images of cheques to the cheque clearing service, rather than the paper cheques. This has reduced cheque clearing time to 2 days. Starling Bank offers the cheque imaging service on its app, which means a cheque can be photographed using the app rather than having to visit a branch.

App cheque imaging

yes

Data correct as of 3 August 2020.

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