UK challenger bank Starling Bank announced last week it launched its in-app Marketplace for small businesses. According to Starling Bank, the new wave of Marketplace partners includes the launch of accounting software platform Xero and the latter will enable the bank’s 20,000 business banking customers to automatically integrate their banking transactions into the cloud accounting platform.
“With the introduction of Making Tax Digital, Starling will give small business owners a head-start through the digitalization of their finances. Business customers will benefit from the partnership by saving time on manual entry and removing the risk of lost transactional data. Today, Starling is launching a closed beta of the Xero integration, which it will expand and roll out to all Starling Business customers over the coming weeks.”
Starling Bank also reported that its business customers will also soon be able to benefit from partnerships with insurance providers Zego and Nimbla, which will provide businesses with the flexible security they need. Additionally, partnerships with Growth Street and Funding Options will be made available to help small businesses access funding with just a few taps on their smartphone.
Speaking about the in-app marketplace, Megan Caywood, Chief Platform Officer at Starling Bank, stated:
“Small businesses have always been the backbone of the UK economy, but the big banks continue to underserve and overcharge them. We want to change this, and today we’ve taken another big step in transforming the way small businesses can manage their finances.”
Caywood went on to add:
“With partners like Xero, Growth Street, Funding Options, Nimbla and Zego, we are now able to offer small businesses the efficiency, flexibility, support and security that can help them thrive. This is what banking should be about, and this is why Starling was founded – to put financial control back into the hands of businesses and consumers.”