UK-based digital bank Starling Bank has introduced banking-as-a-platform offer, which allows businesses to offer their own retail banking services and cards using its application programming interface (API) infrastructure.
Image: Raisin UK has collaborated with Starling on banking-as-a-platform. Photo: courtesy of Starling Bank.
Starling Bank said its new API platform will enable businesses to develop and scale new customized products such as savings or current accounts and debit cards by using Starling’s advanced API infrastructure.
The businesses, including retailers, brands and fintechs, can pick and select individual components or product features from Starling.
Starling Bank chief executive Anne Boden said: “Platform strategies have taken off in many other industries, with Airbnb, Uber and Apple becoming major players in the markets for accommodation, transport and music and yet owning no properties, vehicles or content themselves.
“As a new generation digital bank, Starling is now bringing the model to UK banking, enabling other businesses to build banking services on top of its own-label banking infrastructure.”
Raisin UK, an online savings marketplace, is the first business to collaborate with Starling on the banking-as-a-platform.
Raisin UK is an online savings marketplace, which allows customers to pick the best savings deals on the market to meet their individual requirements.
The deal will allow Raisin UK to use Starling’s APIs to open accounts for each customer, collect their deposits and place them at their expanding network of partner banks that involve in its marketplace.
The strategic partnership will also allow existing Starling customers to benefit from Raisin UK partner bank offers, via Starling’s own marketplace.
Raisin UK CEO Kevin Mountford said: “The Raisin UK marketplace has really struck a chord with consumers since launching just a few months ago. Partnering with Starling will facilitate our growth, as we expand our partner bank network and offer consumers a broader array of savings products.”
Starling Bank is directly connected to major payment schemes such as Faster Payments, SEPA, Bacs, and MasterCard Debit.
Starling Bank is said to be the digital and mobile-only challenger bank in the UK, which offers current accounts, business accounts, and payments services.