Starling Bank

Starling Bank is a digital bank: it has no branches and you run your money entirely through its mobile app, with support available around the clock by phone, email or in-app message¹. It offers personal, business, joint and student current accounts alongside a children's card, and you can add savings accounts, a joint account and children's debit cards from within the app once your current account is open². It also offers accounts in euros for customers who already hold a Starling account in pounds.

Starling describes itself as a fully licensed and regulated bank, and it appears on the Bank of England's list of UK banks authorised to accept deposits³. Money held with it is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the same safety net that covers high street banks⁴. In November 2025 it was a Which? Recommended current account provider⁵.

Starling accounts: personal, joint, teen, savings and foreign currency

Starling's main product is its personal current account, which you apply for online, starting on your phone or computer, and then manage in the app¹. The account is for people aged 16 or over, and Starling's terms say you cannot open a second main personal current account with it¹¹. From that account you can apply in-app for extra products: savings accounts, a joint account, and children's debit cards you manage yourself¹. Support on the account is UK based and available 24/7¹.

Savings come in three forms. The Easy Saver is an instant-access savings account you can open alongside your current account, and Starling's terms require you to have an open personal current account in pounds with it first¹². You can hold one personal Easy Saver and one joint Easy Saver⁵. Fixed Savers are fixed-term savings accounts, and Starling allows up to 50 of them per customer⁵. There is also a Flexible Cash ISA, of which you can hold one, for tax-free saving within your ISA allowance¹³. Cash and cheques cannot be paid directly into an Easy Saver; money moves to it from your current account¹².

Starling also offers accounts in foreign currency. The Starling euro account is a current account held in euros, and its terms require you to have an open personal current account in pounds with Starling first¹⁴. A joint euro account is also available, and for that you need a Starling joint account in pounds¹⁴. Euro accounts work differently from the pound account in one important way: you cannot pay cash or cheques into them, though you can receive bank transfers from both within and outside the UK¹⁵.

If you are comparing current accounts generally, our current accounts guide explains how accounts differ and how to choose, and our savings guide does the same for savings.

Accounts for children and teenagers

Starling has two products for under-18s. The first is its Under 16s card, a free debit card and app for 6 to 15 year olds that you manage from your own adult Starling account¹⁶. You control the pocket money from your account, and family and friends can put money on the card through KiteLink, a unique and secure payment link, rather than needing their own Starling account¹⁷. Independent guidance confirms children's bank accounts can be opened for kids as young as six, so Starling's starting age matches the youngest age at which children's accounts are generally available¹⁹.

The second is the Starling Teen account, a bank account for 16 and 17 year olds in the young person's own name⁴. The card works anywhere the Mastercard logo appears: online, in shops and at cash machines, in the UK and abroad⁴. Starling states that money in the teen account is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, because Starling is a regulated bank⁴.

The two products connect: once a child turns 16, they can apply for a Starling Teen account, moving from the parent-managed card to their own account¹⁷. The arrangement then ends at 18, when Starling converts the teen account into a personal current account. The same card continues to work, and the blocks that stop under-18s paying age-restricted merchants are removed⁴.

Fees and charges on a Starling account

Starling's personal account terms state that it will not charge fees for opening or running the account, and will not charge for using an arranged or unarranged overdraft or for rejecting a payment¹¹. Overdrafts work on interest alone: you apply for an overdraft in the app, interest is charged on what you borrow, and Starling states there is no additional fee on top of the interest²⁰. Any fees you do pay to Starling, for example from overdrafts or loans, are itemised in your statements in the app, so you can check what you have been charged²¹.

There are charges for some services. Starling charges a fee for making a CHAPS payment, a same-day high-value bank transfer, and this fee cannot be refunded; the current amount is shown in the 'Rates, Fees and Charges' section of Starling's app and website²². Replacing a card that is lost or stolen while you are abroad can also carry a fee under the euro account terms¹⁵. Starling's own site and app carry today's figures for all of these.

A few things are free that are often charged for elsewhere. Receiving any payment type in pounds, including transfers from other banks, carries no charge¹¹. Requesting your transaction history after you close an account is free of charge²³. And there are no fees from Starling for spending or withdrawing money abroad on the personal account, covered in the next section.

Spending and withdrawing abroad without a Starling fee

Starling does not charge its own fee for spending your money overseas or for ATM withdrawals abroad on the personal account²⁴. When you spend in a currency other than pounds, or withdraw cash abroad, Starling uses the Mastercard exchange rate, and it states that it does not add anything on top of that rate²⁴. You can check the rate Mastercard applies in the Starling app on the Payments tab, and Starling's currency calculator tool shows the daily exchange rate used, for every day up to a year before²⁴.

Two things to watch. First, Starling does not charge for using your debit card abroad, but some ATM providers overseas may charge their own fee, which is outside Starling's control²⁴. Second, Starling notes that, like all banks, it is now required to show the European Central Bank published exchange rate alongside any additional fees or charges, so you can compare what you are actually paying²⁴.

Your contactless settings travel with you: Starling states that your chosen contactless limit also applies overseas, in line with the exchange rate²⁵. You can set a different limit for each personal, joint or business card individually, and adjust limits in the app at any time; payments made through mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, which use Face ID, fingerprint ID or a passcode, are unaffected by the contactless limit²⁵.

If you regularly spend in euros, the Starling euro account holds money in euros so that spending in the currency does not go through an exchange at all. Our money abroad guide covers the wider options for travel and living overseas.

Banking with Starling: app, Post Office and phone

Starling is branchless: everything is done through its app, available for both iOS and Android devices via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store⁸. The app provides real-time notifications and spending insights, so you see each payment as it happens⁸. Starling is clear that its accounts must be operated via a mobile-banking app, so this is a bank for people comfortable using a smartphone²⁶.

There is no branch, but there are physical ways to get at your money. You can deposit and withdraw cash at any Post Office, and you can access cash via any ATM with the Mastercard logo⁸. Cheques can be deposited in the app or by freepost⁹. Many banks offer some services through local post offices, so this is a common arrangement, but Starling relies on it entirely for cash²⁷.

Starling does not send paper statements: monthly bank statements are provided in the app²². If you need a certified statement, for example as proof of identity, address or income, you can export one as a PDF from the app by opening the account menu, tapping 'Statements', then 'Statement history', and choosing Certified or Standard²¹. Cards can also be added to Apple Pay or Google Pay for contactless phone payments²⁸.

Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in-app, by telephone or via email⁷. If you use Apple Pay and your Apple device is lost or stolen, Starling's terms ask you to tell it immediately by message in the app, by phone or by email²⁸.

Switching to Starling and who can open an account

Switching to Starling uses the full Current Account Switch Service: Starling states you are fully covered by the Switch Guarantee and everything is sorted in seven working days¹⁰. Starling only offers a full switch, which closes your old account; it does not support partial switches¹⁰. You need to live in the UK to switch, and to be aged 18 or over if you are a new Starling customer¹⁰. If you are switching a joint account, both of you will need to confirm the switch in the app¹⁰.

One thing does not move automatically: recurring payments set up on your old card, like subscriptions, will not switch, and you will need to update these with your new Starling card details¹⁰. Independent guidance on switching recommends checking your old account's direct debits and payments as part of the process³⁰.

Existing customers have a separate route: the personal current account is open from 16, and the teen account converts automatically to a personal current account at 18¹¹. Starling sometimes runs switching promotions for new customers; these are time-limited and the terms are on its switching page¹⁰. Our current accounts guide explains how the switch guarantee works and what happens to your old account.

Payments in and out: how long they take

Starling publishes target times for each payment type in its general terms²². Faster Payments, the standard UK bank transfer, arrive in up to two hours whether they are going into or out of your account. BACS payments, used for things like salary runs and some direct debits, take up to three working days from when the payment was made. SEPA Credit Transfers, the euro-zone equivalent, usually arrive within one working day of leaving your account, and SEPA Core Direct Debits take between one and two working days from when the payment leaves your account.

Cheques paid in through the app or by freepost take two working days to clear once accepted, and Starling will not accept a cheque older than six months⁹. For international payments in a currency other than euros, Starling's euro account terms state that neither Starling nor the intermediary bank charges a fee¹⁵.

If a payment is held up, Starling states it aims to reply to customer queries about account status within 24 working hours³¹. Our money transfers guide explains the UK payment schemes in more detail.

How Starling protects you from fraud and scams

Starling runs real-time fraud prevention systems that monitor all faster payments 24/7, and it states it will contact you by in-app message if it notices anything unusual³¹. It was among the first signatories of the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code, which sets out when banks should reimburse victims of authorised push payment scams, and describes itself as the only digital bank to have signed up³¹. It is also a signatory of the APP Scams Voluntary Code³¹.

Starling publishes a clear list of things it will never do: it will never phone customers asking for security information, one-time passcodes sent by SMS, or asking you to transfer money to a 'safe account'; it will not ask you to make or approve payments to keep your account safe, ask you to assist with an investigation, or call or text you about fraud without messaging you in the app first³².

If someone calls claiming to be from Starling, you can verify them by opening your app and checking the 'Call status' banner. If it says 'We aren't calling you', hang up and call 159, the hotline designed to fight fraud³². If you are unsure whether any message is genuine, Starling says to call it immediately on the number on the back of your debit card³¹.

In the app you can freeze your card if you think it is compromised, block gambling payments from your card, and set contactless limits³¹. Starling warns about a wide range of scam types on its fraud pages, from purchase and safe account scams to romance, investment and impersonation scams³². It also warns about money mules: fraudsters may ask to use your bank account, to transfer money between other accounts, or pay you to hand over your Starling login details. Starling's advice is never to let anyone use your account to send and receive funds, and never to share your banking login details³³. Our scams and fraud guide covers the main scam types and your rights to reimbursement.

Complaints and extra support

The quickest way to complain to Starling, according to its own terms, is by sending a message in the Starling app; complaints can also be made in writing or via the website³⁴. If Starling cannot resolve your complaint, it can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the free independent body that settles disputes between customers and financial firms³⁴. For scale: the ombudsman recorded 572 new complaints about Starling Bank in the first half of 2024³⁵, and 122 complaints about packaged bank accounts across the market in the first quarter of 2025/26³⁶.

Starling has an Enhanced Customer Care team for customers who need additional support; you can ask the customer service team to refer you³⁷. It also offers specialist support in particular circumstances:

• Gambling: Starling partners with the National Support Network to give access to free, confidential support services, and you can block gambling payments from your card³⁷.
• Economic and domestic abuse: Starling's support team can talk through options including hiding payment references, checking your credit file, help with loans and debt, restricting access to your account, and closing or suspending joint accounts. If you are in immediate danger, it says to call the police on 999, and if you cannot talk, press 55 when prompted³⁹.
• Someone you trust helping you: Starling says it is working on developing more functionality to allow you to give access to your account to someone you trust⁸.

If you close your account, you can ask for a copy of your transaction history up to 5 years after closure. Starling emails your full history free of charge, in the form of bank statements, within 10 working days, or within 7 working days after an identity check. You can opt out or choose a shorter date range when closing the account²³.

How your money is protected

Money in Starling accounts is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK's deposit protection scheme, because Starling is a fully regulated UK bank⁴. Starling Bank is a trading name of Starling Bank Limited, which is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 730166, authorised since 12 July 2016) and appears on the Bank of England's list of UK banks authorised to accept deposits⁶. The company is active, incorporated on 18 June 2014⁴¹.

Day to day, Starling layers security across the account: video ID when opening an account, biometric ID when logging into the app, real-time notifications when making a payment, Confirmation of Payee when paying someone new, and 3D Secure when shopping online³². It uses multi-factor authentication such as one-time passwords, and its contactless payment limits follow the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2)³¹.

Two limits on protection are worth knowing. First, set-off: under the Fixed Saver terms, if you owe Starling money for any reason, it can take this from any Fixed Saver you hold with it, with notice where possible⁷. Second, Starling's app-based scam protections have exclusions in its general terms: payments made using your debit card, cheques or cash, payments to an account you control, payments sent outside the UK, and claims subject to a private civil dispute are among the cases its terms list outside the app scam refund provisions²². Our consumer protection guide explains FSCS cover and the ombudsman in full.