Starling’s Engine launches first partnership with Salt Bank

Starling’s banking software service Engine has secured its first partnership with Romania-based Salt Bank.

Previously Idea Bank, Engine’s first client is a subsidiary of Romania’s Banca Transilvania Financial Group and expects to launch to consumers and businesses early next year.

Australia’s AMP Bank has also selected Engine to launch a new digital bank division, but the solution, targeting small businesses and consumer markets, is not expected to launch until the start of 2025.

According to Engine, its proprietary, cloud-based banking platform will enable Salt Bank to serve Romanian customers with a wide-range of digital banking services.

“Starling was set up to change the UK’s banking sector for good,” Engine by Starling CEO Sam Everington said. 

“With Engine, our goal is to bring our modern banking platform to financial services firms around the world,” he added.

“Our first client, Salt Bank, shares our vision for better banking. Together we plan to create the best user experiences for customers in Romania — just like Starling has done in the UK.”

Engine is the bank’s cloud-based Software-as-a-Service provider originally built to power Starling and now rolling out to customers worldwide.

According to Starling, using Engine will enable Salt Bank to onboard customers digitally, process payments and card transactions and manage operations through its portal, among a range of other capabilities.

“We have strong ambitions to disrupt the banking market in Romania by offering customers simple and seamless digital experiences,” SaltBank CEO Gabriela Nistor said.

“Engine provides a best-in-class platform that will fit into our digital strategy. We were impressed by Engine's success with Starling Bank in the UK, which has 3.6 million customer accounts and regularly tops the tables for providing the best customer experience.”