A new digital retail bank called Starling will open for business in 2015, founder Anne Boden announced at a BBA conference in London today.

Boden said that Starling would “resemble Facebook or Google more than traditional High Street banks”, and would be customer driven and technologically enabled, with state of the art security.

The start-up declared that it would offer more personalised banking features, charge low fees and “reset the bar for bank accounts” by using modern web technology.

Commenting on why she decided to launch a digital challenger bank, Boden said: “The music industry has been transformed by iTunes, retailing by Amazon, but banking hasn’t changed its approach in a long time. The same simple services traditionally offered in branches have just moved online and into apps. Empowered, tech-savvy consumers want and deserve more from their banks – they want easy, intelligent banking, not just mobile versions of paper statements.

“Traditional banks are built on outdated systems which prevent them from taking the next big step,” she continued. “Most customers aren’t switching because they see little difference between the big banks that all offer the same old-fashioned services. But now UK regulators have changed the rules to enable new entrants to compete. Finally, the technology behind all the best internet platforms can be brought to banking, allowing us to create a digital banking service that’s truly personal to each customer.”

Boden also claimed that some of the UK’s newer banking entrants were built on top of the systems of “old” banks – something she described as “offering a new veneer on an old way of doing things and still delivering a bare bones service to customers”.

She insisted: “Starling offers something different. For the first time, it is possible to build a bank from the ground up, offering a truly mobile, personalised banking service.”

Boden has worked in the banking industry for more than 30 years, leaving her job as chief operating officer at Allied Irish Bank last year to set up her new venture.

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