Starling Bank, the digital bank, has doubled the size of its Cardiff office and created hundreds of new jobs as its growth continues. 868 employees are based in the region, a 117% increase on the bank’s original 2020 pledge to hire 400.
The new jobs cover a wide range of roles across the bank from Financial Crime and Engineering to Customer Service and Data Science. Starling’s Cardiff team has helped develop new capabilities for the bank, including Bills Manager, a feature to help customers pay their bills on time, and a dedicated app for its childrens’ banking service, Kite. It was also the first to deliver personalised contactless limits in response to the limit increase in October 2021.
Anne Boden, Founder and Chief Executive of Starling Bank, said: “Cardiff is a dynamic and entrepreneurial city with a rich talent pool. Our office here is important to our growth as we benefit directly from the capital’s outstanding universities and fintech expertise.”
Susanna Yallop, Chief People Officer at Starling Bank, said: “We’ll keep creating new roles in the region as we continue our mission to change banking for good. We’re always on the lookout for keen technologists and customer experience agents and hire based on attitude and aptitude.”
Starling now has 1,854 employees across its four offices in Cardiff, London, Southampton and Dublin. Cardiff is its biggest base.
The bank has been on a strong growth trajectory since launching in app stores in May 2017. The number of Starling accounts opened increased by 37% between April 2021 and April 2022 to reach nearly three million with Wales, Yorkshire and Scotland seeing the biggest increases.
Starling continues to expand its lending, following its acquisition of specialist mortgage lender Fleet Mortgages last year. It recently announced plans to scale its Banking as a Service and Software as a Service propositions worldwide. In April 2022, the bank secured £131.5 million in an internal investment round. The new investment values Starling at £2.5 billion pre-money.
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething, said: “Starling Bank came to Wales because of the strength of our thriving FinTech sector, which is delivering economic value and high-quality, rewarding job opportunities.
“Starling’s rapid growth in Cardiff is a testament to both its outstanding performance and to the talented workforce that is available in Wales to tech businesses looking to scale operations. I wish Starling Bank a long and successful future in Cardiff.”
