Starling Bank referral code

Anne Boden founded Starling in 2014; the Prudential Regulation Authority granted the banking licence in July 2016, and the bank is regulated by both the PRA and the FCA under registration number 730166. Deposits are covered by FSCS protection (opens in new tab).

Alongside the current account sit joint accounts, the Bills Manager, round-up savings and the Connected card. Savings split two ways: the Easy Saver pays 4.00% AER with flexible access, including a 1.50% bonus for the first 12 months and 2.50% after it, and the Fixed Saver 3.70% AER on a locked term with a £2,000 minimum. There is no branch network.

Starling won Best British Bank (opens in new tab) at the Smart Money People British Bank Awards four years running from 2018 to 2021.

Refer a friend, referral bonus and referral code all name the same scheme here. There is no separate welcome offer you can claim by signing up direct, and no voucher or promo code sitting behind either phrase.

Two things make it read differently to Monzo’s. The amount is fixed rather than randomised, so you know what you are getting before you start. And the conditions you have to meet are not published: Starling sets them per promotion and shows them in the referral message or on the Refer a Friend screen in the app, which only an invited customer can read. The mechanics are in the next section, and the best UK bank referral bonuses sets this trial against the schemes paying today.

Unlike Monzo's randomised £10, £20 or £50, the amount is known before you start. The sequence:

1. The existing customer (referrer) shares their referral code from the Starling app
2. The new customer downloads the Starling app and starts the signup process for a personal current account
3. The new customer enters the referral code when prompted during application
4. After account approval, the new customer completes the reward conditions for that promotion, which the terms say can include setting up one or more Direct Debits, or making one or more payments from the account

Step 4 is deliberately not fixed in the published terms: they defer to the conditions "displayed on the 'Refer a Friend' screen or referral message", which only an invited customer can read. Both sides are paid once those conditions are met, not on the account opening. The terms set no limit on how many people you can refer, though they reserve the right to introduce one at any time.

Because the scheme is a trial, treat the terms as subject to change: Starling could adjust or withdraw it with little notice. We re-check the published terms weekly.

Codes are issued inside invited customers' apps, so one has to come from a Starling customer the bank has brought into the trial.

Joining Starling as a new customer:

1. Download the Starling Bank app from the App Store or Google Play
2. Tap Open an Account and choose Personal Current Account
3. Begin the signup: verify your identity with a photo ID and a short selfie video
4. When prompted to enter a referral code, type or paste the code you were given
5. Complete the application and wait for approval (usually within minutes)
6. Add funds and complete the reward conditions set out in the referral message you were sent, which the terms say can be setting up Direct Debits or making payments from the account

The code is sometimes called a refer-a-friend code, invite code, or referral code. There is no separate voucher code or promo code system: a refer-a-friend code is the only way to claim the £25 sign-up bonus.

Already a Starling customer? Your own code sits in the app under Refer a friend, but only if Starling has invited you into the trial. Copy it and share it directly.

The new customer also has to enter a valid code during the application, not after it, and complete that promotion's reward conditions within its promotion period. The referral covers the referee's first Starling account only; accounts opened later do not qualify retroactively.

Referrer eligibility:

• An active, unrestricted Starling account, plus an invitation from Starling to take part in the promotion
• No cap on referrals in the terms, though Starling reserves the right to introduce one
• No promoting the code through paid advertising

• Code not entered during application: there is no retroactive fix. A signup completed without the code cannot have it applied afterwards.
• Missed the promotion period: neither party is paid, not just the late one. The period, like the conditions themselves, is set per promotion rather than in the general terms.
• Used a payment the terms exclude: refunds and cancelled payments, buying foreign currency, gambling and betting payments, transfers to other bank accounts (including other Starling accounts), buying or topping up e-money, and standing orders are all named as transactions that don't count. Direct Debits are not on that list: the terms name setting one up as something a promotion can require.
• Previously held a Starling account: this bites even if the account was opened years ago and closed since.
• Opened the wrong account type: joint, teen, Under 16s, savings and currency accounts are all excluded, though personal, business and sole trader current accounts qualify.

If you met every criterion and nothing has arrived within 30 days of meeting them, contact Starling support through the in-app chat.

Conversion runs at the Mastercard wholesale rate at the time of purchase: no Starling markup, no guaranteed rates, no fee folded into the conversion. The app tracks your spending location, so there is no travel notification to file. Starling also runs separate Euro and Dollar accounts alongside the GBP current account, useful if you regularly receive payments in those currencies.

Practical example: on a week-long trip needing £400 in local currency from an ATM, Starling charges nothing across two £200 withdrawals on consecutive days. The same £400 on Monzo would push past the £200 per month non-EEA cap and incur a 3% fee (roughly £6) on the second £200.

That daily allowance is the single most useful Starling feature for a regular traveller, and the headline reason I opened my Starling account ahead of an upcoming trip abroad.

The overdraft is 15 to 35% EAR against Monzo's 19 to 39%, four points cheaper in every band, and in 5 months of running both accounts I have preferred Starling's overdraft mechanics. For fixed-term savers the 3.70% AER Fixed Saver outperforms anything Monzo offers, at the cost of a £2,000 minimum and a locked-in term. The Easy Saver's 4.00% beats every Monzo tier for a year, then the 1.50% bonus expires and its 2.50% drops below Monzo's free-tier 2.75%.

Then there is the unglamorous reason to hold a second account at all: a balance kept off your primary bank in case of fraud or lockout. My own setup is Monzo for daily spending and budgeting, Starling for the overdraft buffer, the travel ATM allowance, and a small Fixed Saver balance.

All four offer fee-free current accounts with app-based management.

• vs Monzo: Monzo's referral is long-established against Starling's trial, and its breadth advantage is double payday, cashback, investments and pensions inside the same app. See our full comparison: Monzo vs Starling.
• vs Chase UK: Chase's refer-a-friend is invitation-only with single-use codes, so it isn't claimable from a website. Its cashback is capped at £20/month and subject to monthly criteria, and it has no Fixed Saver to match.
• vs Revolut: Revolut leans into international and investment features (multi-currency wallets, crypto, stocks). Starling is a fully-fledged UK bank with FSCS protection up to £120,000 and a simpler everyday banking proposition.