Starling Bank is opening a US subsidiary to sell its tech infrastructure platform Engine to North America's mid-tier banks, community banks and credit unions.
Engine by Starling Services US, registered in Delaware, is now building a team and scouting for a regional headquarters on the US East Coast.
The bank says that the office will be staffed by a mix of local hires, led by a president, and employees from Engine's UK-based team of product specialists.
“This is a significant step as we take the technology that has enabled Starling’s success in the UK to more financial institutions around the world,” says Raman Bhatia, group chief executive, Starling Bank. “In Engine we have a world-class SaaS business that delivers the technology and the expertise that banks need to succeed in the digital age.”
Salt Bank, Romania’s first digital bank, has now reached 500,000 customers in just a year since becoming the first new business to launch on Engine by Starling’s core banking platform.
AMP in Australia also built a new digital bank targeting small businesses on Engine’s core banking platform, launching in February 2025.
VC firm Chrysalsis believes Starling could reach a valuation of £10 billion at IPO depending on the performance of its SaaS platform, which it says has potential to generate hundreds of millions of pounds a year for the UK digital bank.
Sam Everington, chief executive, Engine by Starling, says of the US launch: “We are already having really positive discussions with a number of potential partners in North America because Engine solves some of the major challenges facing banks and credit unions here. Engine delivers a unique ability to unify tech stacks, drive efficiency and encourage innovation through one managed service. It is a very compelling proposition that’s specifically designed to bring digital propositions to life faster and with very high quality outcomes.”