Starling Bank hits 6 million downloads milestone

United Kingdom-based Starling Bank is gaining significant traction in the country as per the number of mobile app downloads. 

As of February 2023, Starling Bank mobile app downloads had hit 6.08 million, with the UK accounting for the highest share of  5.8 million, data by Statista indicates. 

The magnitude of the lender’s business in the UK is highlighted by the fact that the region accounts for 95% of all downloads in the countries the challenger bank operates in. Other countries with notable Starling Bank app downloads include Romania (46,660), Spain (41,955), Italy (28,675), and Ireland (27,247). 

The downloads data comes after the company reported its first-ever profit in July 2022, driven by increased services around lending. At the same time, the bank has benefited from the government-backed lending schemes introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Despite the impressive downloads in the UK, the data highlights the task ahead for the lender regarding expanding across Europe. 

Starling growth plans

In the meantime, Starling expects its profits to quadruple in 2023 as the overall economy is being plagued by uncertainty. 

“But as we have seen, markets have a nasty habit of correcting. Many start-ups and scale-ups are having difficulty raising funding now. And it’s fair to say that for a while, some private market valuations became inflated, with predictable consequences for some. <…> We’re profitable, very well capitalised, and have no need to raise money,” said Starling founder and CEO Anne Boden.

Notably, the bank, backed by investors such as Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Austrian billionaire Harald McPik is facing increased competition in the fintech space. For instance, Starling is jostling for a market share with entities such as Monzo. 

In this line, both Starling and Monzo, at some point in 2022, recorded the highest net switching gains for current accounts in the UK. Similarly, as of February 2023, Monzo recorded more diversified app downloads in the UK, standing at 82%.