Starling bank - declined Easy Saver account

[James105]

Just throwing it out there as Starling bank have just released an "Easy Saver" account which seemed like a bit of a no brainer to apply for it as it offers 4% interest on cash sitting in the bank that can be accessed immediately at any time without consequence.  I have a bit of cash sitting in there so I applied.  Surprisingly it said it needed to be "reviewed" and 24 hours later I received a notification that it had been declined... for a savings account!  Not a mortgage, not a loan, not an overdraft, not a request to sleep with the bank managers wife/daughter... I have actually been declined for a savings account... this is a first for me.   

 

Anyone use Starling and had success with this?  Don't really want to query it directly with them just in case they start to ask about where I am located etc.  Prefer them to think I am shivering somewhere in the UK and not threaten closure of my account due to being in sunnier climates.   

[theoldgit]

Most, if not all, UK banks do an identity check via Credit Reference Agencies these days to check you are actually a UK resident, would you have passed these checks?
 

l note that one of the requirements of this account is having a Starling Current Account, do you have one, or would you satisfy the identity check to open one?
 

 

[James105]

8 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Most, if not all, UK banks do an identity check via Credit Reference Agencies these days to check you are actually a UK resident, would you have passed these checks?
 

l note that one of the requirements of this account is having a Starling Current Account, do you have one, or would you satisfy the identity check to open one?
 

 

 

Yes, I use Starling as my main bank account and I have a fair bit of cash in the account.  When I had my UK company I also used a business account with them.  It seems I'm not the only one, there is quite a large reddit thread with people getting declined for this savings account with no clear reason given as to why, but it does seem that people with large cash balances are getting turned down.   Strange.  

[Upnotover]

Alternatives: Chase gives 3.5%, Wise currently gives 4.26% (not guaranteed)

[olongapo]

Strange I opened it in minutes.

[phetphet]

Did you open it from Thailand? Maybe they use some sort of geographical location check to see where you are applying from.

[James105]

40 minutes ago, olongapo said:

Strange I opened it in minutes.

 

Their logic doesn't make any sense, I only applied as its "easy" and apparently the automatic interest they apply to current accounts will be zero % next year.   This is a scenario taken from a reddit thread here:

 

"My girlfriend who has a credit rating off 546 was approved almost instantly. She has an overdraft with them too. My credit score is 988 and I have never been in debt and have 30k in my account with them. I got put on a review for 20 mins and then declined. Been declined 4 times now. I’ve taken all my money out now and will try 1 more time next week otherwise I’ll be banking elsewhere"

 

Doesn't seem to be anything to do with location but its a bit annoying as for the visa I want to apply for (next year) I need to keep a significant amount of cash in the bank account to avoid the need to purchase insurance, and would obviously prefer it to make interest.  

[Phillip9]

18 hours ago, James105 said:

I received a notification that it had been declined... for a savings account!  Not a mortgage, not a loan, not an overdraft, not a request to sleep with the bank managers wife/daughter... I have actually been declined for a savings account... this is a first for me.   

 

Unless you used a VPN, they know from your IP address that you were in Thailand when you applied.  That is very likely why you were declined.  

 

Best to always use a VPN with an IP address of your home country when using any online banking there.

[James105]

4 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

 

Unless you used a VPN, they know from your IP address that you were in Thailand when you applied.  That is very likely why you were declined.  

 

Best to always use a VPN with an IP address of your home country when using any online banking there.

 

I doubt it as many people are getting declined for this in the UK as well who happen to have lots of cash in their Starling bank accounts.  Anyway, matters not there are better options than this and Trading212 has 4.9% interest rate for cash sitting doing nothing with interest paid daily so Starling have inadvertently spurred me into action to move some money there instead. 

 

I've never been convinced of the use of VPNs just to trick an app into thinking you are in a location you are not as there are ways to detect if someone is using a VPN (e.g high numbers of uses coming from the same IP address) which could cause a red flag to financial orgs so not something I plan to start doing.  

[Phillip9]

16 minutes ago, James105 said:

I doubt it as many people are getting declined for this in the UK as well who happen to have lots of cash in their Starling bank accounts. 

 

Banks these days don't want expat clients for regulatory reasons, and they are required by law to verify where you live when you open a new account.  How much money you have in another account isn't going to make them circumvent their normal verification procedures and possibly break the law.

 

21 minutes ago, James105 said:

I've never been convinced of the use of VPNs just to trick an app into thinking you are in a location you are not as there are ways to detect if someone is using a VPN (e.g high numbers of uses coming from the same IP address) which could cause a red flag to financial orgs so not something I plan to start doing.  

Good point.  I actually use a cellphone with a SIM card from my home country when doing online banking.  It provides an IP address from my home country without the possible suspicion of a VPN address.

 

[James105]

25 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

 

Good point.  I actually use a cellphone with a SIM card from my home country when doing online banking.  It provides an IP address from my home country without the possible suspicion of a VPN address.

 

 

I use dual sim and have a UK sim but there is no way  (I can think of) that it would give you an IP address from the UK without a VPN.  To connect to the internet here on your phone you would use a Thai mobile provider with roaming (3BB, AIS etc) and they would issue a public IP address from one of their ranges.   

 

If you go to https://www.whatismyip.com/ on that phone does it show your location as UK without a VPN?  

[Phillip9]

11 minutes ago, James105 said:

If you go to https://www.whatismyip.com/ on that phone does it show your location as UK without a VPN?  

 

yes, I check every time.