Starling enables Euro Debit/ATM functionality

Legacy_user

Starling have enabled the linking of their Euro (EUR) account to their debit card.

You may have to update your app and manually link select the debit card when inside your EUR account.

No fees that I can see for the personal current account other than the 0.4% fee already in place for GBP > EUR transfers.

This should make them very competitive when compared with both Monzo and Revolut

colsten

Heng_Leng wrote: »

No fees that I can see for the personal current account other than the 0.4% fee already in place for GBP > EUR transfers.

I hope there isn't a charge if I pay in Euro from my Euro account!

EDIT: good news - there doesn't appear to be a charge, according to the FAQ

If you have money in your Euro account that you would like to spend, go ahead and activate the "Currency Control" toggle. This way, when you make a purchase of €30, your Euro account will be debited exactly €30, assuming you have sufficient funds available

There's no O/D facility on the Euro account, so the only money you can spend is what you have. Works for me

The only downside I can see is that the card only works against the Euro account if you are purchasing something in Euros. So I couldn't use any funds sitting in my Euro account if I wanted to purchase something in, say USD. Not without first transferring it to the GBP account, anyway - i.e. it would incur two conversions. Would be much nicer if I could decide at the point of purchase which Starling account to debit. It's superb for use in Euroland, though, as it also works on ApplePay (and other xxxxPay methods).

IvanDP

Very handy feature, especially as my Starling account is my primary travel account.

eDicky

I see the option to 'link card to euro account', but not the 'Currency Control' toggle mentioned, which implies the ability to switch back when required. Is that possible..?

If the euros in your account come direct from a euro source it's very useful to use them with the card. But if you are converting your pounds to euros with the 0.4% fee this will cost more than simply spending your pounds in euros at the MasterCard exchange rate.

colsten

eDicky wrote: »

I see the option to 'link card to euro account', but not the 'Currency Control' toggle mentioned, which implies the ability to switch back when required. Is that possible..?

In either your GBP or EUR account, tap Card (at the bottom). Then Card and Currency Controls, and the toggle is on the first option

colsten

I understand how things work for transactions in GBP or in EUR. What I did not understand is which account will be debited if your transaction is in another currency, say USD or CAD or whatever.

Having consulted Starling CS, I now understand that

[STRIKE]IF CURRENCY CONTROL IS OFF
all transactions are debited against the GBP account

IF CURRENCY CONTROL IS ON

• all transactions other than GBP ones are debited against your EUR account
• all GBP transactions are debited against your GBP account[/STRIKE]

[STRIKE]I hope to put this to the test week after next but if anyone has a chance to confirm this earlier, I would appreciate a heads up[/STRIKE]

EDIT: Turns out I was given naff information by two different Starling employees. I called again today because I happened to see that the Help text says that "when Currency Control is activated, all card transactions in euros will be debited from your euro account. All other currency transactions will come from your personal account" - i.e. from your GBP account.

Starling confirmed to me today that their Help text is correct, and apologised for having given me incorrect information. For most people, the way it works is probably not an issue but it's disappointing for those who have income in Euros which they want to spend in currencies other than Euro. They either need another, 'proper', Euro account, or they'll have to live with two currency conversions if they want to spend anything other than GBP.

bomber2

IAM buying a property in portugal,iam looking for the best way to pay the €105,000 transaction,my lloyds account charges £10.00 and the ex rate is €1.12 with the live rate at €1.16 i also have a santander account i could use they charge £15.00 but iam not sure what ex rate i would be getting,is starling a better option or maybe another option.