UBS I believe. I thought they couldn’t be knocked down because they were listed?
They were in those buildings before they built the giant silver thing. Article below on the buildings possibly getting listed as a classic example of 80s architecture. Guess it didn’t happen!
https://www.ft.com/content/e6d64584-66cb-11e0-8d88-00144feab49a
1 Like
I called them and asked whether Apple Pay would still work without an active physical card - the answer was no. Not quite the same as your question admittedly. I was told it is more about fraud avoidance - if an account holder never uses the debit card then it’s one less card to get lost, in the wrong hands etc.
3 Likes
Although I suppose you could say the same thing if you never use the physical card and only rely on the Pays…
Mine is kept in my safe, so they would have to break into my home and my safe first 
Admittedly, it is not a high tech safe. More one to protect documents in the event of a fire. Though again, if my house burnt down, I am not sure my passport and a few bank cards would be my prime concern 
Most of my physical cards never leave the house.
2 Likes
I have just applied to open an account with Starling.
For those that already have signed up with them, how long did the “checking your details” part of the process take?
From memory, my account was up and running within 24 hours.
2 Likes
Thanks 
Reason I ask is that I’ve just collected a batch of post from an old address I lived at and one envelope contains a cheque which needs cashed before the 24th.
There’s not really enough time for monzo to deal with it so opening an account with Starling for the cheque imaging.
2 Likes
Only took a few hours for me 
1 Like
From memory, mine was up and running in about 2hrs but this was back in 2019.
1 Like
Update.
Account opened and cheque is now being processed, all in less than 2hrs.
Pretty pleased with the overall experience.
11 Likes
Cool. Money should be in your account on Tuesday at a guess.
3 Likes
An hour or so, on the first day of business.
Edit: Ah, see you’ve had a similarly easy experience.
1 Like
Further update
Have raised it with in app chat asking for this to be reviewed. They came back saying that cheques older than 6 months cannot be cashed and that it was out of date.
I pushed back saying that the cheque is still less than 6 months old (just about), and now its been escalated to someone in the payments team who will get back to me.
Somewhat less pleased with the whole Starling experience now.
2 Likes
Seems a factual error. For clarity, what was the date on the cheque?
Interesting link https://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/information-hub/faqs/cheques-and-cheque-clearing
A cheque is valid for as long as the debt between the two parties (i.e. the person writing the cheque and the person they give it to) exists. In other words, cheques don’t have an expiry date. However, it is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the person who has written the cheque, in case the payment has been made another way or the cheque has been lost or stolen. This six-month timeframe is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques older than six months would automatically be rejected as the only definite way to cancel a cheque is for the person who wrote it to request that a stop be placed on it. If you have a cheque that you want to pay in that is more than six months old, your best course of action is to not pay it in and instead obtain a replacement from the person who gave it to you. Where there is a dispute, a cheque remains legally valid in order to provide proof of the existence of a debt for a period of six years, which is the Statute of Limitations.
I guess the key bit is this
Where there is a dispute, a cheque remains legally valid in order to provide proof of the existence of a debt for a period of six years, which is the Statute of Limitations.
I would say that IMO Starling aren’t technically doing anything that any other bank wouldn’t do, so I wouldn’t necesarily judge them too harshly.
I would add at least with cheque imaging you didn’t need to wait a week or two (where there would be a risk of it going over six months) or have to venture out into Covid/Zombie land to pay it into a bank
1 Like
I wonder how precise they are with their 6 months.
Maybe its 180 days, which is today (If the cheque is dated 24/10/2020)
2 Likes
I would assume his annoyance is not the 6 months limit but the fact that it is less than 6 months old but they say it isn’t.
6 Likes
Appalling English in that caption 
3 Likes
Cheque is dated 24th September 2020
It’s not so much that I’m judging them harshly but rather holding them to what they themselves say in their app. They say that cheques must be dated within the last 6 months, which mine is.
What annoyed me more was the customer service agent telling me to hold at the start of my conversation them so they could look into it. They then came back and confirmed the date, and then said it was out of date. Implies they either didn’t look too much into the actual date or they did but aren’t giving me the full story.
I understand they were just the first line of customer service and they have escalated it, which I appreciate, but the overall experience has still rubbed be up the wrong way.
Maybe, and I’d accept that if their app to said 180 days and not 6 months.
Anyway, I’ll wait and see what comes of it.
2 Likes