Digital bank Starling Bank has launched a new feature to streamline the process of creating joint accounts without ever having to visit a UK bank branch. The mobile application process uses Google Nearby tech to enable Starling users to securely apply for a joint account in just five minutes. You just need to be sitting next to each other with your smartphones. Joint account customers may manage their money from the same app as their personal account and track their spending with real time updates attributed to each person.
The current analog process in place requires traditional bank users to visit a branch and complete extensive documents.
Starling describes the process of allowing users to tap “find your other half” prompt within the app and the technology uses a combination of Bluetooth and wifi to find the other device, so they can confirm the connection. Joint account customers will receive a new Starling Bank card and both individuals will receive notifications for all transactions made on the account. Users will be able to see in the app which transactions the other person makes (and search for them too).
“Joint Accounts are notoriously difficult to set up and cancel. 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,” commented Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank. “We are using technology to take the stress and inconvenience out of banking and empower individuals – and now couples – to take control of their finances. Following hot on the heels of the launch of the UK’s first app only business bank business account, our joint account is the next step towards transforming the banking industry for customers.”