Double up with Starling’s joint account
Anne Boden, Starling
Starling Bank now offers a joint account option, claiming to be the first bank in the UK with a fully mobile-only application process.
The technology throughout the application has been provided by Google Nearby, allowing customers to open an account “by sitting next to each other with their phones”.
This account is managed from the same app as the personal account, and spending is attributed to each respective person, which they each receive a card – currently blue and purple, like the personal account card, but the company has said this will change.
Through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, customers can “find their other half” to connect and synchronise the application.
“Joint accounts are notoriously difficult to set up and cancel,” says Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank. “However our new technology removes the pain of setting up a joint account by letting our customers do it from the comfort of their own home.”
The bank describes the traditional method of opening a joint account as “onerous”, and seeks to simplify through its offering – in particular, the closing of the account.
Users are required to be a Starling customer to set up a joint account.
In the US, Simple Shared has a similar offering: fully mobile and digital account sharing for couples, roommates, or relatives.
