Starling Bank boosts business offering with Slack, Bionic and Equipsme

The Starling Marketplace offers 26 complementary services that customers can link to their banking app. These let customers synchronise their banking with the rest of their business operations more easily, reducing company admin time

Starling Bank has upgraded its app marketplace with three new integrations.

Workplace messaging platform Slack, energy switching service Bionic and health insurance provider Equipsme are now available on the Starling Marketplace, which is used by one in three of the digital bank’s business customers.

The Starling Marketplace offers 26 complementary services that customers can link to their banking app. These let customers synchronise their banking with the rest of their business operations more easily, reducing company admin time.

The new editions will be available to Starling’s 177,000 business customers from today.

Anne Boden, founder and chief executive officer of Starling Bank, said: “These new Marketplace integrations are bringing added value to our business customers, helping them to save money on utilities, incentivise their staff with health insurance and sync their Starling app with Slack so their teams can enjoy real-time spending notifications wherever they’re working.”

Slack: connecting teams

Slack, the channel-based messaging platform, will give Starling Bank’s business customers better visibility of their finances by providing owners and employees with real-time transaction alerts every time they are paid by a customer or pay a bill. The integration will also allow finance or account management teams without direct access to the Starling business account to see transaction details.

Used by more than 100,000 businesses around the world, Slack has seen a surge in users during the coronavirus lockdown and the move to remote working.

Stuart Templeton, head of Slack UK, said: “In March alone, Slack users nearly tripled the rate at which they integrate their tools in Slack, signalling that more people were getting work done with apps. Slack provides a central location where users can streamline all their tools in a place where they’re already engaged throughout the day. We’re thrilled to see Starling Bank bring this offering to their business customers.”

Bionic: saving customers money

Powering comparison sites such as MoneySuperMarket and USwitch, Bionic helps customers save on average £725 a year and switch their bills within two hours. Bionic’s 24/7 team of tech-enabled experts facilitate safe, affordable and speedy switching.

This is the first time that Starling Bank has provided business customers with access to the business utility market.

Paul Galligan, chief executive officer of Bionic, said: “Given our respective focus on ensuring customers’ needs are placed first, I have no doubt that the Starling Bank and Bionic integration will be beneficial.”

Equipsme: health insurance for business

Equipsme will offer customers affordable, flexible health insurance for businesses of all sizes with employees being able to pay to upgrade and add family members.

All Equipsme plans include phone and video GP appointments at any time of day or night and physiotherapy treatment. Private diagnosis, hospital treatment and confidential stress and anxiety support can be added.

Matthew Reed, founder and managing director of Equipsme, said: “Our integration with Starling makes it easier for more small businesses to offer practical and affordable health and wellbeing support for their teams. Businesses with 2-20 employees can also get free cover until August. It’s our way of doing what we can to support small businesses at a time when the way we live and work has changed beyond recognition.”

Image: Starling Bank

Mark Dugdale