The Uk digital bank Starling was among seven banks that made net gains in Q2/2021.
Other banks that managed to get net gains were Triodos, Virgin Money, Monzo, Bank of Scotland, Nationwide and Lloyds. These banks reported more people opening current accounts than closing them. The data comes from the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
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Starling has seen the biggest increase of 17,769 accounts. The challenger was followed by Virgin Money (17,495), Monzo (7,744), Nationwide (1,474) and Bank of Scotland (1,448).
In comparison to others, NatWest and Santander both had net losses of more than 10,000 customers.
Anne Boden, CEO of Starling, said: “Starling is once again the most popular bank for switches, despite offering no signing-on bonuses. Customers are attracted to the value Starling brings through its banking app, which allows them to track spending in real-time and do their banking on the go, and our better customer service. In a few short years, we’ve become a trusted mainstream bank.”
During the Q2/2021, customers were preferring better online banking facilities (47%), stronger customer service (39%), ease of mobile or app-based banking systems (39%), and location of branches (25%) in their new current account.
David Piper, head of service lines at Pay.UK, owner and operator of the Current Account Switch Service, said: “As the roadmap to the Covid-19 recovery was outlined and clarity around timings increased, we saw a rise in current account switches through the Current Account Switch Service through Q2.”
“It’s too early to tell whether this trend will continue as we head further into 2021, but as a service we remain focused on ensuring those who wish to move their current account can do so in a reliable, simple and stress-free manner. I am continually proud of our team in their ability to maintain a high completion rate and strong satisfaction and awareness figures that sit above the target levels.”
Starling has managed to grow revenues to £97.6 million from £14 million in the previous period.
The key to the success of Starling were business accounts as lending remained the driver of mentioned growth. Starling has 374,000 business accounts, up from 180,000 last year. Starling Bank also raised £272 million in a Series D funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company.
