Starling To Launch Web Portal, Third-Party Loans

U.K. challenger bank Starling Bank is gearing up to launch a web portal this month, as well as to introduce new loan offerings from third-party providers.

The company submitted its biannual update to Banking Competition Remedies, according to AltFi reports Friday (Aug. 30), a requirement following the award of £100 million from the BCR fund earlier this year. The fund is part of government requirements for RBS to provide about $1 billion to industry challengers.

“Starling understands that many SMEs want to manage their banking online as well as through mobile applications and to support this, it will launch its web portal in Q3 2019,” Starling wrote In its update. “Construction of this portal is underway and on track for launch in September 2019.”

Starling has not offered additional details on any launch date, but said in its filing that it will also plan to connect with third-party lenders to introduce new loan products to its customers as the bank works on developing proprietary lending solutions. Small business loans will be available through its Starling Marketplace, the bank said.

Reports noted additional small to medium-sized business (SMB) banking features the company is planning to roll out, including “flexible deposit accounts, multiuser card functionality, instant invoicing, VAT management, advanced invoice financing, smart FX, supply chain finance using blockchain-based technology and secured business lending.”

Starling has introduced other new features to its suite of small business banking services, including the launch of its multi-owner account access function in July. That tool allows larger SMBs with multiple managers to obtain secure access to bank accounts.

In April the challenger bank announced an integration with FreeAgent, allowing small businesses to automatically connect data from their Starling accounts to the FreeAgent accounting platform.

“We’re building a unique and modern business bank that removes much of the stress and financial complexity typically associated with running your own company,” bank Founder and CEO Anne Boden said in a statement at the time.