Originally published at: Starling Bank Review | GoVisaFree
Are you going to make an international money transfer? So it’s time that you’d become familiar with Starling Bank!
Starling Bank is a multi-award-winning, fully registered, and regulated digital bank that aims to provide a fairer and smarter alternative to traditional banks. Starling is a UK-based money transfer service that helps you send money to 37 countries.
But this is not all! Continue reading to find out how Starling online banking works!
We’ll go over the fees, exchange rates, and other details about making international transfers with the Starling Bank account. Follow me for a Starling Bank review!
What Is Starling Bank?
Starling Bank was established in 2014 as a digital bank that includes business accounts and current accounts. The services offered by Starling Bank, which has all licenses and is subject to supervision, include child card, commercial, youth, personal, joint, dollar, and euro accounts.
Winning the “Best British Bank” award four years in a row at the British Bank Awards, Starling has set out to be a good money transfer option for digital banking savvy.
Starling provides B2B banking and payment services by developing the Banking as a Service Model through its proprietary technology platform. You can also send money to 37 different countries in 20 currencies through Starling. You can use your money online with the mobile banking application.
Benefits of Starling Bank
Starling Bank claims that a new user joins Starling every 39 seconds. Here are some of the benefits Starling offers to its users:
- No monthly fees current account
- 100% digital sign up
- 24/7 UK customer support
- Protected by Financial Services Compensation Scheme
- Instant payment notifications
- Visual saving spaces
- Send & receive international payments (for an additional charge)
- No fees overseas
- Mobile and online banking
- Your spending categorized
- Mobile cheque deposits
- Instant card locking security
- Use with mobile wallets
- Split the bill with friends
Starling Bank International Money Transfer Fees
Now let’s examine the international transfer fees and expenses you will make through Starling Bank. See the table below for receiving and sending costs.
| Starling Bank International Payments | Fees |
| Receiving payments | 2% conversion fee |
| Sending payments — delivery fee | Prices starting from £0.30 — local network payment £5.50 — via SWIFT |
| Sending payments — currency conversion fee | 0.04% |
Exchange Rates
Fluctuations in exchange rates become very important when making international money transfers. This is why you should be checking the exchange rate before you complete the transfer. Luckily, Starling Bank does not add to the exchange rate with its transparent banking policy. This ensures that the transfer cost is low. With this policy, Starling Bank helps ensure a fair market rate.
However, on weekends, when the foreign exchange market is closed, Starling does not offer this rate. If you need to send money overseas on a Saturday or Sunday, you can use Starling’s’special weekend exchange rate, which includes a 0.5 percent mark-up.
Additional Fees
Starling Bank follows a fair and open policy regarding surcharges as with the exchange rate. However, some extra costs apply when it comes to international transfers.
These extra costs may be related to your buyer’s bank. In other words, Starling Bank’s remuneration policy is clear; on the other hand, the fee policies of the receiving bank may vary. In this case, you may need to pay extra fees.
Also, if you are transacting with the SWIFT network, you should know that other banks may also be involved in this process. Banks other than the sending bank can charge extra fees in this case.
Starling Bank International Transfer Steps
If you are satisfied with the exchange rate and extra fees mentioned above, we can now take a step-by-step review of how to make a Starling Bank international transfer.
Step #1
Open the “Payments” tab from the Starling online banking app.
Step #2
Open the “Send Money” section and click on “Foreign Exchange Rates”. In this section, you can see the rate applied when converting GBP to your desired currency.
Step #3
Select the currency you want to trade and enter the amount you want to send in GBP. In addition, you can choose the money that the buyer will use. In this case, the Starling Bank application updates the amount paid and the amount receivable in the selected currency when calculating the fees and exchange rate.
Step #4
Select the payment method you want to use. Local network payment and interbank SWIFT transfer options will appear here. When you choose one of them, you can control all the fees payable.
#Step 5
Select a payee in the app or enter bank details and other information to create a new payee.
#Step 6
In the last part, check all the information and confirm the transfer.
It would help if you were careful about some points when you transfer money with Starling Bank. First, you can only transfer in the currency of the receiving country. So you can send EUR to Germany, but not USD. Another point you should pay attention to is the shipping date. You can only trade at the mid-market exchange rate on weekdays. Because the foreign exchange market is closed on weekends, you’ll have to pay extra fees.
Here’s a money transfer we’ve done for illustrative purposes. As you can see, when you opt for the SWIFT payment, the payee receives less.
©Starling
What Do You Need for Starling Bank International Payments?
Here’s what you need to make Starling international payments:
- The recipient’s bank account information and name
- The recipient’s international bank account number (IBAN)
- SWIFT code or the banks’ Business Identifier Code (BIC) to make SWIFT payments
With this information, you can easily make Starling Bank international transfer.
Starling Bank Transfer Limit
All Starling customers can make up to £25,000 in domestic bank transfers and £10,000 in international bank transfers per day. If you have a business account in euros or dollars, your restrictions are €25,000 and $25,000, respectively. If you need to send more, contact Starling Customer Service and they will assist you.
Starling Bank Receiving International Payments
You can also use your Starling Bank account to receive international payments. The information you need to provide for this is the same as the information above. You must give the sender the SWIFT or BIC code, account number, IBAN, and full name on the account.
Starling Bank Supported Countries
From your Starling account, you may currently send international payments to the countries listed below:
Starling Bank Countries
- Australia (AUD)
- Austria (EUR)
- Belgium (EUR)
- Bulgaria (LEV)
- Canada (CAD)
- Cyprus (EUR)
- Czech Republic (CZK)
- Denmark (DKK)
- Estonia (EUR)
- Finland (EUR)
- France (EUR)
- Germany (EUR)
- Greece (EUR)
- Hong Kong (HKD)
- Hungary (HUF)
- Ireland (EUR)
- Italy (EUR)
- Latvia (EUR)
- Lithuania (EUR)
- Luxembourg (EUR)
- Mexico (MXN)
- Netherlands (EUR)
- New Zealand (NZD)
- Norway (NOK)
- Poland (PLN)
- Portugal (EUR)
- Romania (RON)
- Singapore (SGD)
- Slovakia (EUR)
- Slovenia (EUR)
- South Africa (ZAR)
- Spain (EUR)
- Sweden (SEK)
- Switzerland (CHF)
- Turkey (TRY)
- United States (USD)
How Lond Does Starling Bank International Transfer Take
The duration of your money transfer to overseas countries varies depending on the payment method you choose.
If you have made a transfer via SWIFT, your transaction is expected to be completed within one to three days.
On weekends, transactions take longer to arrive. You also pay extra for the transfer on weekends. Therefore, I suggest you wait until Monday if you can.
If you are sending through Starling’s local partner network, the bank can’t guarantee a timeframe. However, it takes longer than other payment methods.
Starling Bank User Reviews
On Trustpilot, Starling Bank money transfer has a 4.3-star rating with many reviews from satisfied consumers. Many Starling Bank users praise the speed and ease with which their transactions were completed (as of May 2022).
©Trustpilot
Is Starling Bank Safe?
Starling is a regulated financial institution. The Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority both supervise and monitor it, and Starling acquired its banking license in 2016.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects customers up to £85,000 per customer (FSCS).
You can also lower your risk by using security measures like transaction limits and card freeze within the app.
Starling provides 24/7 UK customer support
An Alternative: Wise
If you frequently send money internationally, you may want to find the most convenient and reliable way because low exchange rates vary constantly.
At this point, I would like to introduce you to Wise as an alternative to Starling Bank. Although Starling Bank has low fees and reliable exchange rates, in some cases, you may want to use a different bank. Wise offers low fees, reliable transfers, and fast, mid-market transactions, even on weekends.
By opening a multi-currency account from Wise, you can receive international money with low fees through local account details and use more than 50 currencies.
The Bottom Line
There you have it! We have covered how to transfer money internationally with Starling online banking step by step. If you want to benefit from the reliable and fair banking that Starling Bank offers to its customers, you can start by opening an account for yourself. At this point, I recommend you check the recent fees and exchange rates. I hope you get the best possible offer!
Frequently Asked Questions for Starling International Payments
What are the fees for international transfers with Starling Bank?
A 2% conversion fee is payable on receiving money transfers. In addition, the overseas transfer fee starts from £0.30. The local network fee for money transfer with SWIFT is £5.50. Also, a currency conversion fee of 0.04% is charged.
Are any extra fees added to exchange rates at Starling Bank?
Starling Bank’s remuneration policy is fixed. In international transfers, extra fees may be paid according to the pricing policy of the receiving bank. In addition, if you are transacting via SWIFT, the fee for the transfer may increase significantly due to the interference of different banks.
What does it take to send and receive money internationally?
The information required for both parties in international transfer transactions is the same. The recipient’s account number and name, international bank account number (IBAN), SWIFT code, or bank’s Business Identifier Code (BIC) are required. If you are the buyer, you must notify the other party of this information.
How long does the Starling bank international transfer process take?
If you are making Starling Bank international transfer via SWIFT, the transfer is usually completed in 1-3 days. On the other hand, if you are transferring funds through a local partner network, the process may take a while. Starling does not specify a specific time for this process. Also, it is not clear when the transaction will be completed, as the exchange rates are closed on Saturday and Sunday. An extra transfer fee is paid on weekends. For this reason, I recommend that you make international money transfers on weekdays.