In response to suggestions made in a significant national bereavement report, Starling Bank has moved quickly to make life easier for those who have experienced a loss.

The end-of-life admin service Settld and the digital bank have announced a new strategic partnership that will simplify account administration for those managing a deceased customer’s affairs.

With the use of Settld’s award-winning online service, Starling clients’ devastated next of kin will be able to alert the bank and all other pertinent service providers of a death at once. Additionally, Starling ignores the need that people who have lost a loved one use prefixes like Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc. when notifying the company. Given the change in their relationship status following the loss of a loved one, these details frequently cause one half of a grieving couple unnecessary distress.

“As a digital bank we pride ourselves on making life easier for our customers, and we are focusing renewed attention on those who are bereaved and vulnerable”, “Through our new partnership with Settld, Starling Bank now offers even better bereavement customer service and sympathy. We want our customers to know that we are here to help and that we care.”

Charity Wood, Head of Customer Service at Starling Bank

The UK Commission on Bereavement stated in a thorough study that care of bereaved people and families needs to improve. It was published in October 2022. Additionally, the Commission advocated one-stop shops like Settld and urged organisations around the UK to make end-of-life administration, or “sadmin,” simpler.

Customers can avoid spending up to 10 hours contacting individual companies after a death and additional weeks or months trying to settle accounts amicably by using Settld’s service. All service providers are notified by Settld, including banks, insurers, energy companies, mobile service providers, subscription services, social media platforms, and others. Settld’s free online service assists users in closing, transferring, or amending accounts as well as obtaining date-of-death balances for probate in addition to notifying service providers of the death.

“Working across the financial services sector, we see how Starling Bank stands out when it comes to approaching bereavement customer care.” “We’ve been extremely impressed with their attention to detail on this topic, and it’s great to see them taking the lead in responding to the UK Bereavement Commission’s report.” “Using Settld, bereaved families face significantly less effort and stress when it comes to informing Starling Bank and all companies of death – giving bereaved people time to focus on what really matters. We hope other companies follow suit.”

Vicky Wilson, Co-founder and CEO, Settld