Founder and CEO of Starling Bank, a UK mobile-only bank, Anne Boden is a familiar figure in the banking industry. An entrepreneur and a revolutionary, she started Starling with the sole mission of improving financial health and making banking all about the customer again. UK’s first same-day payment service that transformed electronic money, Starling has been making inroads into the UK market.
In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Anne spoke about digitisation, the consequences of Brexit and how Starling engages with the community and small businesses. According to her, “The digitisation of banking is revolutionising the way customers access financial products and manage their finances. Through Digital technology we can create an ecosystem of financial products. We don't up-sell our mortgages or insurance, instead, we provide our customers with choice and connect them with the best in class products in the market.”
There is a perception that a segment of the older generation is not very familiar with the digital revolution, so how would they buy into a bank which solely depends on mobile technology? “Starling is for everyone,” says a confident Boden. “Research has consistently indicated that over 70 % of 55 to 75 year olds use mobile handsets and Starling has several customers in their 80s. Mobile banking offers easy accessibility and gives customers better control over their personal finances without having to visit a bank branch or use a laptop,” she adds.
Brexit and its consequences
Boden also spoke on the impending consequences of Brexit and added that it hasn’t slowed their ambitions for European expansion. “In June 2017, Starling was granted a banking passport into the Republic of Ireland, where we will launch our mobile- only current accounts. When the UK is no longer part of the EU, we'll be able to use our banking passport in the Republic of Ireland to move into other European markets. Our cross-border passport therefore brings Starling closer to fulfilling its aim of providing everyone in the world with the opportunity to open a Starling account and have a better banking experience.”
Small businesses and community
Boden also elaborated on the special services for small business owners and the local community and said that Starling’s app allows small business owners to open an account in less than 10 minutes from their smartphones. “There are no fees for having an account, no fees for making a payment to another bank account, and no fees for withdrawing cash,” she added. “The app contains a range of features to make business banking accessible and straightforward. Customers can make in- country and international payments to suppliers, see monthly categorised breakdowns of transactions and export transactions directly to their accounting software to expedite burdensome administrative processes. The Starling for Business Marketplace will also ensure customers have access to straightforward accounting and invoicing platforms with seamless integrations.
“We cater to all communities across the UK by delivering a better banking experience. Our business account is for small business, sole traders and single director companies - many of which are Asian owned - and use Starling to take some of the stress out of managing their money.”
“Door is always open”
She said, “We engage with customers in a variety of ways. We attend events such as CountryFile Live and Stylist Live where we meet potential business and personal current account customers and demo the app. We are active across all social media channels, answering questions and sharing updates from the team with new and existing customers. We also have a blog where we share posts about financial education, product roadmaps, customer stories and career advice from employees. Once a customer has signed up, we engage with them by email sending product updates through our newsletter and tailored emails depending on the features they might find helpful. Whenever a customer needs help, our customer service team is on hand round the clock, available to engage through the app by phone or by email. We may not have branches but our 24/7 customer service means our doors are always open. “Starling's technology, built from the ground up in the past three years, is the foundation of the product and what differentiates us from our competitors. Starling's four pillars: current accounts, business banking, Marketplace and Banking- as-a-Service are built on innovative technology. We are developing Starling to benefit from regulatory changes such as PSD2 and Open Banking. Our technology has been developed to protect our customers' data and work with our partners to offer our customers new products.”
With fear of cyber attacks being real today, how does Starling Bank protect its system which is entirely based on the internet? “There are two key principles when it comes to building good online security. Firstly, don't rely on a single layer of security no matter how strong you think it is. Good security architectures have multiple layers, which greatly reduces the probability of someone being able to get unauthorised access. The second principle is that you have to attack your own security regularly so that you can find and fix weaknesses before criminals have a chance to find and exploit them,” says Anne.
So, what is next for Starling Bank? Anne added, “Starling is ambitious. We're focusing on the implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence to further guide our customers in their financial life and help them select the best services for their individual needs.”
