Starling Bank Review

Accounts are currently available in GBP, EUR & USD.

Payments are best made by direct debits, standing orders, and faster payments. Purchases can be made online or in-store using the prepaid Mastercard. All of these options are without fees.

International currency transfers are charged at the exchange rate only. Right now, money can be transferred to 38 countries and in the following currencies:

EUR, USD, and, CHF, CZK, DKK, HKD, HUF, LEV, MXN, NZD, NOK, PLN, QAR, RON, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, ZAR.

A prepaid debit MasterCard is available with the Starling Business accounts. It can be used for purchases both online and in-store. It can also be used to withdraw cash from ATMs in the UK and across Europe.

Any person with access to the account will get a card in both the business name and their name.

Your Starling cards can also be linked to the following digital wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay,Garmin Pay

The primary account holder is referred to as the Person of Significant Control (PSC). If a company has a number of directors who want access to the account, they can all become PSCs but need to be verified at the time of opening the account.

Currently, all users get full access to the account. There is no ability to set permission – yet.

Instantly link your accounts to Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent.

Starling Marketplace links business to its customers via the API. New companies are onboarding with Starling Marketplace all the time. A few of them are:

• Insurance: Churchill, Nimbla, So-sure
• Savings and Investments: PensionBee, Wealthify
• Security: CyberSmart
• Lending: Growth Street, Loyalty and Receipts

Security is vital to Starling. To begin with, accounts must be verified with photo IDs. Starling will also ask you to create a short video at application time, to ensure it is really you. Pin codes must be used to log in, and biometric identification is also available if your smartphone supports it. You can enable 3D Secure, which involves a 2-step authentication process when making payments. Directors can enable and disable contactless or chip and pin payments, on a card-by-card basis.

Another security feature is the ability to switch on instant payment notifications inside the app. That way, you can immediately spot any suspicious transactions.

Starling also adopts location-based fraud protection, so if a transaction is done outside the recognised location, you’ll be instantly notified.

Account-holders’ funds are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), up to the value of £85,000.

Starling offers 2 ‘paid for’ services, marketed as a part-time, built-in bookkeeper. These products are designed to benefit the admin side of your financial transactions:

The business toolkit is designed to assist companies with their bill payments, expense management, and invoicing. For those that are registered for VAT, you can record this on your transactions, then connect to HMRC, and digitally submit your VAT return.

The sole trader toolkit additionally estimates your self-employment tax so you can put money aside to pay tax bills.

Unlike some of its competitors, Starling offers customer support 24/7. Contact can be made by phone, email, or directly from the app.

Utilising the live-chat feature is the most efficient way to contact them as your account details are instantly provided to the support consultant.

It also has a help section on its website with answers to many frequently asked questions, and this is updated regularly.

Starling is currently working on allowing non-directors of the business to have access rights to the accounts. There will also be the option to set permission levels. This is now in beta testing mode.

For international currency transfers, Starling is working on including CAD and AUD as foreign market options