The UK's Starling Bank has inducted the first wave of fintech startups to its Marketplace, providing consumers with in-app access to a cornucopia of third party insurers, pension providers, investment platforms and mortgage brokers.
The initial group of partners includes the digital pension provider PensionBee, robo-advisor Wealthsimple, mortgage broker Habito and Kasko travel insurance in partnership with AXA.
PensionBee will be available in the Marketplace for customers to integrate with from today, with all other partnerships coming online over the course of the next few weeks.
Clare Reilly, head of corporate development, PensionBee, says: “For the first time ever in the UK, customers can see their real-time pension balance, alongside their real-time current account balance. That’s real-time customer empowerment, and a big step towards linking the small financial decisions you make daily, to the retirement income you will have tomorrow - all in one place.”
Megan Caywood, chief platform officer at the bank says Starling intends to bring onboard at least 25 third party providers throughout the coming year.
“We are building a banking experience fit for the 21st Century, where the best financial products are available securely in one place," she says. “Last year, we launched our full set of Open APIs, and enabled integrations with companies like Moneybox, Yoyo Wallet, Yolt, Tail, and Flux. Now we're excited to take that to the next level by integrating financial services providers into the Starling Marketplace.”