Starling Bank Raises £60M For Expansion

Starling Bank, the U.K. digital banking platform, announced on Wednesday (Feb. 13) that it has raised £60 million ($77.15 million) in venture funding.

According to a press release, the company said the Series C funding round was led by Merian Global Investors, including the Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited. Additionally, it had raised £15 million from its existing investor, bringing the total to £75 million.

Starling said proceeds from the round will go to support increased investment in the digital bank’s financial products in retail and SME banking, as well as banking services. The funds will also help the startup accelerate its expansion globally, beginning in Europe.

Since launching its app in May of 2017, the U.K. digital bank has grown rapidly, and now has a customer base of 460,000 personal current accounts and 30,000 SME accounts. The aim is to hit one million customers by the end of the year. Starling’s banking services unit, which makes its banking and payments infrastructure available to third parties, now has 20 institutional clients. At the same time, its payment services volume is doubling each month, noted the company in the press release.

“Building our platform and launching in the U.K. to provide genuine choice to retail, SME and banking-as-a-service customers was just the first step. Our ambition is to use our technology to build a next-generation global, digital banking platform, starting with our launch across Europe this year,” said Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of Starling Bank. “We look forward to the support of the Merian Chrysalis team as we deliver the Starling product to a global audience.”

Nick Williamson, Merian Chrysalis co-portfolio manager, said in the press release that Starling is positioned to continue to steal market share in the core banking market, as well as to offer innovative new services. “Financial services is a market undergoing considerable change, driven by technology and users’ desire for better and more convenient offerings,” he said. “We are delighted to be backing Anne and her team with this investment, and look forward to supporting them as they realize the full potential of the business.”