Starling Bank

Digital bank · London, United Kingdom

Starling Bank Limited is a branchless UK bank, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority on 12 July 2016, that runs personal and business accounts from a mobile app. During the year to March 2026 a new parent, Starling Group Holdings Limited, was inserted above it, and the group numbers below are that parent's. Its business current account has no monthly fee, no charge on Faster Payments, Bacs or standing orders, and free UK cash machine withdrawals, and the bank says more than 500,000 business owners use it. Only limited companies and LLPs registered at Companies House can apply, every person of significant control and every director with account access must live in the UK, and client money accounts are refused. In the year to 31 March 2026 the group reported GBP 16.6 billion of assets, GBP 12.7 billion of customer deposits, GBP 217 million pre-tax profit and a CET1 ratio of 28.58%. A second business, Engine by Starling, licenses the bank's own software to other banks and opened offices in New York, Toronto and Dubai.

Legal name: Starling Bank Limited
Regulated by: Prudential Regulation Authority (UK), Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 2014
Website: www.starlingbank.com

Scores, 0 to 10

9.5United Kingdom

PRA and FCA authorised bank with direct Faster Payments, Bacs and CHAPS, more than 500,000 business customers and free UK payments, but every director and person of significant control must be a UK resident. · source

9.5Lowest fees

No fee to open or run the sterling business account, no charge on Faster Payments, Bacs or standing orders and free UK cash machine withdrawals, with CHAPS at GBP 20 and Post Office cash deposits at 0.7% or GBP 3, whichever is higher. · source

8.0Fast digital onboarding

The application is done entirely in the app with photo ID and trading evidence, and Starling says most decisions take less than 24 hours, but non-resident directors and owners cannot apply. · source

8.0Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot score of 4.3 out of 5 from more than 47,000 reviews, and Starling reported it was a Which? Recommended Provider for the seventh year running in its 2026 annual report. · source

7.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Starling Banking Services provides e-money safeguarding and CASS 7 client money accounts, banking as a service and indirect Faster Payments, Bacs and inbound CHAPS access, but only to firms already regulated in the UK. · source

6.0Financial strength & stability

CET1 ratio of 28.58% at 31 March 2026 and a liquidity coverage ratio averaging 569.01% over the year, with group pre-tax profit of GBP 217 million, but Starling Bank Limited carries no published rating from S&P, Moody's or Fitch and was fined GBP 29 million by the FCA in 2024. · source

6.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

The business debit card is a Mastercard with no Starling fees on card payments or ATM withdrawals abroad and conversion at the Mastercard rate, but the business pages opened today show no virtual cards or employee cards and no credit card. · source

5.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Online sellers get a free sterling account, Tap to Pay on the phone and Business Marketplace integrations with Xero, Penfold and SumUp, but Starling does no acquiring and offers no foreign-currency collection accounts beyond the euro and US dollar accounts. The account syncs with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent and has a public API at developer.starlingbank.com, but balances are held only in sterling and euro and Starling is not accepting applications for US dollar business accounts at the moment. · source

4.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Holds only sterling, euro and US dollar and converts between them at a published flat 0.4% fee on top of the exchange rate, but Starling states it is not accepting applications for US dollar business accounts at the moment, which leaves a new business customer with sterling and euro. Multi-currency is limited to sterling, euro and US dollar accounts with no cash pooling and no hedging, the euro and US dollar accounts each require a sterling account, and US dollar business accounts are closed to new applications. · source

4.0Startups & VC-backed companies

UK limited companies are onboarded in the app with no monthly fee, but there is no venture debt, no cap table tooling, and a company with a foreign founder holding significant control cannot open an account. · source

1.5Crypto-friendly bank

The Business Account General Terms of April 2026 name a payment related to cryptocurrency as a high-risk payment Starling can refuse or delay, and businesses in banking, credit and other financial services are excluded from accounts. · source

1.0Best interest on business balances

The April 2026 account schedule states that you will not earn any interest on the business or sole trader account, and the euro and US dollar business accounts pay none either. · source

1.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Starling publishes no letters of credit, guarantees or supply-chain finance, and businesses in mining and commodities are on the list of industries it does not support. · source

1.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

The eligibility page requires that all persons of significant control and all directors with account access are residents of the United Kingdom, and only Companies House limited companies and LLPs are accepted. · source

1.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

The eligibility page lists gambling or betting, dating or escort services, pornography or adult entertainment and distribution of non-licensed drugs including CBD among the businesses Starling cannot serve. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Starling offers no crypto custody or wallet on personal or business accounts, and its business help centre says it no longer supports buying or selling crypto by card or bank transfer, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

Starling's merchant product, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android at 1.6 percent a transaction, takes contactless cards and devices only, with no crypto or stablecoin acceptance, checked September 2026. · source

1.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Starling's business help centre says it no longer supports buying crypto by debit card, GBP bank transfer or bank transfer in other currencies, and a January 2026 CoinDesk report lists Starling among UK banks that fully block transfers to crypto exchanges. · source

1.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

The same help page covers selling crypto as well as buying, a 2023 Finbold guide reports that Starling has restricted incoming as well as outgoing crypto-related transfers since November 2022, and its April 2026 business terms name crypto payments as high-risk payments it can refuse or delay. · source

1.0Bitcoin

Starling sells no bitcoin, custody or bitcoin products and blocks bitcoin purchases made through its accounts, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Ethereum

Starling sells no ether, custody or staking and blocks crypto purchases made through its accounts, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Starling offers no stablecoin holding, payouts or conversion, and its block on crypto buying and selling covers stablecoin purchases too, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.