Starling boosts tech workforce and eyes customer-facing GenAI

Starling Bank is going on a major tech hiring spree, aiming to grow its technology and data team from 600 to over 1,000 employees in the next two years. Speaking at Money 2020 in Amsterdam, CFO Declan Ferguson confirmed the move is part of a bigger push into generative AI, which will soon make its way into customer-facing services.

The bank’s already seeing success using genAI behind the scenes—helping agents with call scripts, spotting conduct risks, and identifying vulnerable customers more accurately than human staff. Ferguson said the AI’s performance has been impressive, with a 70% better hit rate in flagging vulnerable clients.

The next big step? Putting genAI in front of customers. That rollout is expected within the next couple of years as Starling looks to stay ahead of the curve in a fast-evolving fintech landscape. But Ferguson also made it clear: AI adoption will have to prove its value. Investors will want to see clear returns, and banks that fail to act now may be left behind as the sector transforms.