Starling

15,000 kits and counting! We were proud to bring together two teams we support: our partners at Southampton FC Women and St Patrick's Catholic Primary School in Woolston, who we supported through our last Kick On initiative. This week, four Southampton FC Women’s players surprised the school for a high-energy training session. For us, this visit was all about inspiration - seeing professional athletes in person reminds these young girls that their footballing dreams are within reach. At Starling, we are dedicated to fuelling the game at every level. To date, we have: • Sponsored Southampton FC Women to champion the professional game. • Provided over 15,000 free kits to grassroots clubs and schools like St Patrick’s through Kick On. A huge thank you to the Southampton FC Women's players for being such vital role models and for helping us inspire the stars of tomorrow.

Our mission to elevate female entrepreneurs continues. We’re back at Emirates Stadium in the Avenell, where we’re joined by 130+ powerhouse founders, including some of the incredible #iAlso100 network by Small Business Britain. We’re here to bridge the growth gap, equipping leaders with the tools to thrive – all while cheering on the Arsenal Football Club Women’s team and capturing fresh headshots with legendary fashion photographer Charlie Gray. To the 130+ founders in the room: thank you for your energy and insight. Let’s get to work.

"It isn't just about what I'm giving to someone else. You can gain a lot from being a mentor." — Charelle Griffith Chartered Marketer MCIM, Starling customer When we share our experience, we’re actually stress-testing our own leadership – and challenging our biases. To celebrate this year’s IWD theme, 'Give to Gain,' our With Women network brought together leading figures in finance, business and sport. Starling’s Group Chief People Officer, Catarina Abrantes Steinberg, was joined by Karen Campbell (Small Business Britain), Juliet Slot (Arsenal F.C.), and Starling business customer Charelle Griffith to explore how giving back professionally creates a better culture for everyone. It all starts with backing yourself. Whether it’s acting as a real-life role model or navigating male-dominated industries, the goal is the same: ensuring everyone has the clarity and power to own their own path.

It's awards season! And thanks to you, we've just picked up six awards at the RFI Global UK Banking & Finance Awards 2026. We won: 1. Best Overall Consumer Bank 2. Most Innovative Business Bank 3. Most Trusted Consumer Bank 4. Best Everyday Business Bank 5. Most Recommended Consumer Bank (Non-Big 6) 6. Most Innovative Consumer Bank These awards are particularly special to us because they weren't handed out by a panel. They were decided by the people and businesses who use Starling every day. Knowing that our customers are our biggest advocates means more than any trophy on a shelf. To everyone who chose us in the survey – thank you. Your trust is what keeps us moving forward, and we’re more determined than ever to help you build the habits that make you feel confident with your finances.

Another UK-first for Starling, and it's a big one. Meet Starling Assistant, the first Agentic AI financial assistant from a UK bank, built entirely into our app. With the tap of a button, customers can now ask Starling Assistant to help manage their day-to-day money, give insights about their personal finances, or provide general advice on using their Starling account. Whether it’s setting up new Spaces for you or organising bill payments, Starling Assistant responds to text or voice prompts conversationally. This is the fruit of eight years of AI development here at Starling, having launched multiple generative AI tools last year, of which Spending Intelligence and Scam Intelligence were also UK-firsts. Here’s just some of the ways Starling Assistant can help 👇 • Money goals. Starling Assistant can create a new Space for you, give it a name, set a target, add money and set up a regular transfer. You barely need to lift a finger. • Budget control. Ask Starling Assistant to create various budgets for you, then set aside certain amounts into each, every time you get paid. • Personalised insights. Ask questions like ‘How many Direct Debits am I currently paying?’ or ‘How much did I spend last month?’ and get a detailed answer, in seconds. • Practical help. Starling Assistant can answer specific questions such as ‘what’s my PIN?’, ‘can I order a new card?’ or ‘how do I set up Apple Pay?’. Harriet Rees, our Group CIO and the Government’s AI Champion for Financial Services says: “We’ll continue to develop Starling Assistant, feeding more of our AI capabilities into this single interface. No idea is too bold right now; from this leading position, we’re excited to work with the industry to develop entirely new customer experiences which in time will completely redefine what banks can help customers to achieve.” Starling Assistant is engineered on Google Gemini running on the Google Cloud platform. In line with Starling’s commitment to privacy, customers will have to opt in to use the AI assistant and are under no obligation to do so. All data remains securely within Starling’s Google Cloud environment and is not used for training purposes. 

Six weeks. Over 800 founders. That’s officially a wrap on Female Founder Fundamentals, our webinar series in collaboration with Small Business Britain. Our mission: equip female entrepreneurs with the tools to scale, covering everything from AI and strategic networking to growth roadmaps and international exporting with our final masterclass leader, Emma Mills-Sheffield FRSA. To everyone who joined us: thank you. We’re committed to closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship – and we’re just getting started.

Record keeping is a habit, not a one-off event. 📈 With MTD thresholds changing this April, Starling are helping sole traders conquer the "year-end tax scramble". We’ve built MTD for Income Tax directly into Starling—no third-party apps, no syncing, directly submit to HMRC. Get access to Starling’s free MTD for Income Tax tool by applying for a sole trader account. Link in the first comment.

New: Our flexible Cash ISA is here. It’s our new flexible savings product that lets you withdraw and replace money in the same tax year without it counting towards your annual £20,000 allowance – all whilst earning tax-free interest. Plus, get a clearer picture of your money by transferring your existing Cash ISAs to us, without affecting your annual allowance. It’s one more way we’re helping the UK get good with money. Applications are open now – take a look at our website for more, via the link below. Interest figures shown demonstrate payment frequency and are not a projection of interest which could be earned. For further information about the interest rate, please see our Cash ISA Summary Box. https://lnkd.in/eNuF-3vU

Love, The only bank in the UK founded by a woman.

Engine by Starling has signed a partnership with New Zealand’s SBS Bank marking its fourth international deal. SBS Bank has grown from building society roots to become an established financial institution in New Zealand. By migrating to Engine’s cloud-native platform, members can experience secure digital onboarding and advanced fraud protection as well as a host of smart banking features like spending insights and card controls. These will be delivered via an award-winning, intuitive mobile app. Engine is now collaborating with banks across New Zealand, Australia, Romania, Canada and the UK. It demonstrates Engine by Starling’s ability to scale across diverse regulatory environments and banking models - offering a proven blueprint for ambitious banks to deliver high-performance digital experiences.