The UK neobank said that it wanted its new debit cards to feel sleek and simple as well as the appearance of the redesigned debut cards to reflect its larger mission to optimize the complexities of traditional banking.
The design of the new debit card is more of a natural extension of its mobile app, claimed Starling Bank, which has gone ahead with stripping everything on the back of the card and flipping all the card details to the back.
As a result, the digital, mobile-only challenger bank, said that it has got rid of all the bumpy embossing and clutter while coming up with something that feels far more clean, refined and attractive to use.
Starling Bank art director Mark Day said: “When we’re designing the app, our approach is generally: how can we create something that fits effortlessly into – and improves – people’s everyday lives, and how can we do that in a way that hasn’t been done before?
“We approached redesigning our card the same way, and while we were determined to create something far more distinctive and memorable than our previous card, we also knew any changes had to reach beyond just making something beautiful. They also had to make sense.”
Starling Bank said that it had studied consumer behavior before deciding to come up with a portrait design for its debit cards.
The UK neobank said that it makes sense with the portrait design as people don’t interact with their bank cards the way they did before when old card machines were used.
Day said: “From how you slot your card into an ATM or a card machine to how you tap it for contactless, our lives are largely lived in portrait now, even down to how we use our phones. A portrait bank card reflects how we actually use our cards today; it’s intuitive, instinctive, and in short: it’s just common sense.”
It was about two years ago that Starling Bank secured banking license from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
Unlike traditional banking where customers’ finances are spread across different accounts, loans and cards, the UK neobank provides everything from one account by using data-led insights to give detailed picture of customers’ financial situation.
