Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank - How these digital banks compare

Starling Bank® offers a selection of digital account products for UK personal and business customers, including GBP and foreign currency accounts, overdrafts and loans. Tandem Bank® is another UK based digital bank which offers some savings account products alongside loans and mortgages, for personal customers in the UK.

Read this review for more on Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank compared. We’ll also touch on how Wise could be a good alternative, depending on the services you need. Wise is not a bank, but Wise multi-currency accounts for personal and business customers do offer many handy features for anyone who needs to hold, send, spend or exchange a broad selection of foreign currencies, with low fees and the mid-market rate.

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What is Starling Bank?

Starling Bank¹ is a fully licensed UK bank which has no branch network, but which instead offers all services digitally - online and through its app.

Starling Bank has personal current accounts and card services in GBP and EUR, as well as teen accounts and cards, fixed rate savings and a selection of other helpful options like overdrafts and loans. If you’re a UK registered business owner or sole trader you can also open a Starling Bank Business account in GBP, EUR or USD, for easy payments in and out in foreign currencies as well as pounds.

Starling Bank is the UK’s first fully digital bank and operates with a view to keeping costs low and transparent, and building in environmentally friendly features like recycled bank cards.

What is Tandem Bank?

Tandem Bank² is another UK licensed bank which offers personal customers savings accounts as well as mortgages and loans, You can’t get a Tandem Bank current account or debit card, so it’s a service which is likely to appeal more to people looking to save funds either for instant access or by locking the money into a fixed term deposit. The other major area for Tandem Bank is in loans for home improvement or vehicle purchase, as well as mortgages.

Tandem Bank’s mission sits in helping customers improve their carbon footprint and live a greener and more environmentally friendly life, while accessing affordable financing solutions. Products include green home improvement loans and loans to buy an electric vehicle.

Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank benefits

Starling Bank and Tandem Bank do have some overlapping products, but they’re quite different in their focus. Some similarities include:

• Both Starling Bank and Tandem Bank are digital only providers
• Starling Bank and Tandem Bank both have full UK banking licences
• Both Starling Bank and Tandem Bank offer some loans and credit services, as well as saving products
• Starling Bank and Tandem Bank both service UK based personal customers

Beyond this, both Starling Bank and Tandem Bank have their own unique features and benefits. Let’s look at these individually:

Starling Bank Benefits

• Accounts for personal and business customers, including teens
• Card and current account services available
• Some international services and foreign currency account options available
• Overdrafts and loans available

Tandem Bank Benefits

• Saving accounts offered for instant access and fixed deposit
• Specialist environmentally friendly loan options
• Marketplace function to access green services which can help you save money
• Mission focussed provider helping people live a more environmentally friendly life

Broadly speaking, Starling Bank is likely to be a better fit if you want an account with a card you can use for daily use, and the option to bolt on other products like savings accounts and an overdraft. Tandem might work best for you if you’re concerned about finding a service for loans and mortgages, with some saving options - which also has a focus on sustainable and green initiatives.

Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank fees and charges

Whether Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank is cheapest for you will depend entirely on the services you need, as they don’t have entirely overlapping features. Here’s a quick summary of some of the key fees and charges you may come across as well as important features like the interest rates on offer.

Here we’ve compared the Starling Bank standard current account with the Tandem Bank instant access account. Both products offer a way to hold and instantly access funds, but the Tandem Bank product has more of a focus on growing funds through interest (and no available debit card), while the Starling Bank account is more for day to day use. Here’s how they measure up:

	Starling Bank (Personal account)³	Tandem Bank (Instant Access Saver)⁵
Open account	No fee	No fee
Monthly fee	No fee	No fee
Minimum deposit	No minimum	No minimum (250,000 GBP maximum holding)
Interest rate	0.05% payable to a maximum of 85,000 GBP balance⁴ (3.25% available if you transfer funds to a fixed rate saver instead of your current account)	Variable - 4.36% at time of writing⁶
ATM fees	No fee	Not applicable - card not available
Foreign transaction fees	No fee	Not applicable - card not available

*Details correct at time of research 25th July 2023

It’s helpful to know that Starling Bank has a broad range of account products and services which you can access once you have a GBP current account. These include business accounts in EUR and USD, and EUR accounts for personal customers. Fees may apply for these account types, including monthly maintenance charges and transaction costs.

While the Starling Bank account we’ve picked to compare is more about daily spending, Starling Bank does also have a saving option which offers fixed rate savings. If you’re interested in learning more specifically about Starling Bank’s other products there’s lots more information on their desktop site.

Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank - international transfers

Tandem Bank does not allow international payments into or out of its savings account⁷. Starling Bank does support this feature. If you have a Starling Bank GBP account you can send payments to 36 countries in 20 currencies.

Whenever you send a payment in a foreign currency it makes sense to compare a few different international money transfer services to pick the one which offers the best value for your specific needs. Let’s look at how Starling Bank’s international transfers measure up against a non-bank alternative: Wise.

	Send to	Send in	Fees
Starling Bank⁸	35 countries	20 currencies	0.4% + transfer fee 0.3 GBP for a local transfer where available, 5.5 GBP if this service isn’t available in the destination country
Wise	160 countries	40+ currencies	From 0.43%

When picking a provider for your foreign currency payment, look carefully at the exchange rate used. Many banks add a markup to the mid-market rate - the one you find on Google. This pushes up the overall costs without you necessarily even noticing. Picking a provider with transparent fees - like Wise or Starling Bank - is a good plan, and can see you get a better overall deal.

Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank - app and ease of use

When you pick a digital banking service, looking for an app that’s intuitive and easy to use is essential. You’ll do most of your banking this way, from reviewing your account and arranging payments, to freezing or cancelling your card if you ever need to.

Starling Bank has a particularly well reputed app, with a pretty impressive score in both the Apple App store and on Google Play. Tandem Bank doesn’t have as many reviews posted, and has a slightly lower score. Here’s how they measure up on app ratings:

	App store	Google Play
Starling Bank	4.9 out of 5 stars, from 431k+ reviews⁹	4.5 out of 5 stars, from 106k+ reviews¹⁰
Tandem Bank	4.3 out of 5 stars, from 4.6k reviews¹¹	Rating not yet available¹²

• Details correct as of 25th July 2023

Starling Bank app users consistently comment on the app's ease of use. It’s also helpful to know that the app is available in several languages including English, French and Spanish. Tandem Bank has far fewer reviews, and the rating seems to be driven down in part due to glitches in linking a bank account to the Tandem Bank app. However, in many cases this issue seems to have been resolved successfully with help from the support team.

Both apps are safe to use, with regular updates and teams working on improving security behind the scenes all the time.

How to easily transfer money with Wise

We touched on the fact that you can’t send money overseas with Tandem Bank. Starling Bank does let you arrange overseas payments, but has a relatively low number of supported countries at 36. If you need something different, or if you just want to compare your options to make sure you get the best available deal, take a look at Wise.

Like both Starling Bank and Tandem Bank, Wise is a digital first operator. Wise isn’t a bank, it’s an e-money institution, but it’s regulated in the UK by the FCA just like banks such as Tandem Bank and Starling Bank are.

You can open a Wise account online or in the Wise app simply by adding your personal and contact information and uploading the required documents for verification and to keep your account safe. Once you have an account you can review your balance, make payments and more, all in the Wise app. You’ll also be able to order a Wise debit card to spend and make withdrawals at home and abroad. Whenever you’re sending a payment in a foreign currency, spending or making a withdrawal in a currency you don’t hold in your account, you’ll get the mid-market exchange rate with low fees from 0.43%¹³.

Wise overseas payments are easy and quick - in fact they could even arrive instantly¹⁴.

Here’s a step by step guide to sending money with Wise:

1. Download the Wise app for free
2. Register an account by entering your personal and contact information
3. Get verified by uploading a photo of your ID documents
4. Model the payment you want to make to get a fee and rate quote
5. Choose how you want to pay (bank transfer or card for example)
6. Check everything over and confirm - you’ll be prompted to pay using your chosen payment method

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

Now you’ve got a great overview of Starling Bank vs Tandem Bank compared, and you can see for yourself which might suit you best. Starling Bank might appeal if you want a current account and card or a way to hold and exchange both GBP and EUR. Tandem Bank doesn’t have current accounts, but does have good value saving products including easy access accounts - no cards are offered, though, so this isn’t intended for everyday use.

Compare your options against other, non-bank, alternatives, like Wise, to see which might suit your needs. With Wise you’ll still be able to manage your money from your phone but you can hold 40+ currencies, spend in 150+ countries and send payments to 160+ countries - all with the mid-market exchange rate and low, transparent fees.

Join Wise today

Sources:

1. Starling Bank
2. Tandem Bank
3. Starling Bank Personal and Joint account fees
4. Starling Bank Fixed Rate Saver
5. Tandem Instant Access Saver
6. Tandem Instant Access Saver terms
7. Tandem FAQ
8. Starling Bank - send money abroad
9. Starling Bank App Store
10. Starling Bank Google Play
11. Tandem Bank App Store
12. Tandem Bank Google Play
13. Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information
14. Speed: The speed of transaction claim depends on funds availability, approval by Wise's proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners' banking system, and may not be available for all transactions

Sources last checked: 25th July 2023