Starling is to offer arranged overdraft interest holidays to personal account holders who are struggling financially as a result of coronavirus. Customers can apply for a three-month interest holiday starting from 1 April 2020.
Starling will waive all interest charges on arranged overdrafts during an interest holiday. The interest will not be added on at the end of the holiday period and interest payments will only resume the day after the holiday ends.
Starling customers can apply for an interest holiday, if they:
- have suffered a drop in income since 10 March 2020 due to coronavirus. For example, work has dried up or they can’t work due to self-isolation or new caring responsibilities and
- already have an arranged overdraft with Starling
This interest holiday won’t be reported to credit reference agencies and so should not detrimentally impact customer credit files.
Applications for the Starling Coronavirus Support Scheme are open from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. Successful applicants will not have to pay any arranged overdraft interest for 90 days from the day their application is accepted. Starling will contact them after 60 days to remind them when interest charges will resume.
For customers with no arranged overdraft, Starling is removing the interest rate and the maximum monthly charge, currently capped at £2 per month, and setting it at £0, commencing 1 April 2020. So customers will not be charged for accidentally slipping into an unarranged overdraft.
Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer at Starling, said: “We wanted to find a sustainable solution to support our customers who may be facing temporary financial difficulties related to the coronavirus emergency and to tide them over for three months.”
