Demystify Podcast: Engine by Starling Bank with CCO Nick Drewett
In this enlightening podcast, Nick Drewett, chief commercial officer (CCO) of Engine by Starling Bank, engages in a vibrant conversation with Dave and Dharm, demystifying the rationale behind Starling’s strategic shift into the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) market with this innovative product.
Nick talks about the building of the Starling platform from the ground up, as a cloud native, complete banking platform and why this was done deliberately. The team saw no point in just getting a banking licence and establishing a bank if it didn’t actually improve life for the customers. And how by taking advantage of cloud technology and modern architectural principles, a platform was built to run Starling that is very resilient and always on.
He describes how the whole bank runs essentially on one system. No one sees the joins. The customer journeys are seamless, and so is the employee experience. Everything is presented to users as they need it so they can do their jobs effectively.
Starling has built a bank that customers love, as evidenced by the customer service scores over the last five years, which also runs cost effectively.
Nick then shifts gears to discuss the evolution of Starling’s global expansion strategy. Initially, the plan was to step foot in Ireland and then move to Germany. However, about 15 months ago, a strategic pivot occurred. Recognising the intricate process of building trust, a strong brand, and a loyal customer base country by country, the team discovered a more promising growth path. This new strategy involved partnering with banks worldwide, facilitating the launch of new propositions or brands, with Starling providing the core technological backbone on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis. Thus, the ingenious solution, Engine by Starling, was born!
Take a look at the full catalogue of episodes on the Dave & Dharm Demystify Podcast homepage.
