Amaiz vs Starling Bank 2026: Which Should You Choose?

Amaiz and Starling Bank both target UK sole traders and freelancers, but they come from fundamentally different worlds. Starling is a fully licensed bank with FSCS protection, a household name in digital banking, and roughly 191,000 business customers. Amaiz is an Electronic Money Institution that has quietly built a platform combining banking with ACCA-qualified accounting and multi-currency capabilities that most challenger banks cannot match.

If you are choosing between the two in 2026, the decision is no longer as straightforward as “go with the bigger name.” Starling is winding down its Business Toolkit invoicing features by March 2026, while Amaiz has been expanding its invoicing and accounting integrations. The competitive landscape has shifted, and what was once a clear gap in credibility has narrowed significantly.

This comparison breaks down everything that matters: pricing, day-to-day banking features, international capabilities, invoicing and accounting tools, and Making Tax Digital readiness. By the end, you will know exactly which account suits your business.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	Amaiz	Starling Bank
Type	Electronic Money Institution (EMI)	Full UK bank
FSCS Protection	No	Yes (up to 120,000 pounds)
Monthly Fee	Free / 49 pounds+VAT / 99 pounds+VAT	Free
UK Bank Transfers	Unlimited (all plans)	Unlimited
GBP Account	Yes	Yes
EUR Account	Yes	Closed to new customers
USD Account	No	Closed to new customers
International Transfers	70+ currencies	SWIFT to 34 countries
Built-in Invoicing	Yes	Closing March 2026
Accounting	ACCA-qualified (built-in)	Third-party integrations
Cash Deposits	No	Post Office (free up to 1,000/mo)
Cheque Deposits	No	Photo deposit via app
MTD Compatible	Yes	Via third-party software
Trustpilot Rating	Limited reviews	4.2/5 (45,600+ reviews)
Business Customers	Growing	~191,000

Pricing Breakdown

Starling Bank: The Free Option

Starling’s business current account is completely free. There is no monthly fee, no charge for UK bank transfers, and no minimum balance requirement. You get a business debit card at no cost, real-time transaction notifications, and access to Starling’s Spaces feature for ring-fencing money for tax or other goals.

Where costs appear is at the edges. Cash deposits over 1,000 pounds per month attract a 0.7 percent fee. International transfers carry SWIFT fees that vary by destination. And while the basic account is free, Starling does not include any built-in accounting or tax tools — you will need to pay separately for software like Xero, QuickBooks, or FreeAgent.

For a sole trader who simply needs a clean, reliable business bank account with no monthly overheads, Starling is hard to argue against.

Amaiz: Tiered Plans With Built-in Services

Amaiz takes a different approach. There are three plans:

• Free plan — basic business account with GBP transfers and core banking features
• Professional (49 pounds + VAT per month) — adds EUR account, international transfers across 70+ currencies, and ACCA-qualified accounting support
• Premium (99 pounds + VAT per month) — everything in Professional plus priority support, advanced accounting, and dedicated account management

The monthly fees are significantly higher than Starling’s free account, but the comparison is misleading if you stop there. The Professional plan includes accounting services from ACCA-qualified professionals. If you currently pay an external accountant 100 to 200 pounds per month, Amaiz effectively bundles that cost into your banking fee. The net saving depends on your current accountancy arrangements, but for many sole traders the maths works out favourably.

What You Actually Pay Per Year

Annual Cost	Amaiz Free	Amaiz Professional	Amaiz Premium	Starling
Account fee	0	588 + VAT	1,188 + VAT	0
Accounting software	Separate	Included	Included	12-50/mo (144-600/yr)
Accountant	Separate	Included (ACCA)	Included (ACCA)	Separate (500-2,000+/yr)
Estimated total	Varies	706 (inc VAT)	1,426 (inc VAT)	644-2,600+

The total cost of ownership tells a different story from the headline price. A sole trader paying Starling nothing for banking but 25 pounds per month for FreeAgent and 1,200 per year for a basic accountant is spending 1,500 per year. Amaiz Professional at 706 pounds per year including VAT covers both banking and accounting.

Day-to-Day Banking Features

Account Management and App Experience

Starling’s mobile app is consistently rated among the best in UK banking. The interface is clean, fast, and intuitive. Real-time notifications arrive instantly for every transaction. The Spaces feature lets you create ring-fenced pots within your account, which is genuinely useful for setting aside tax money, project funds, or emergency reserves. Starling has had over a decade of refinement, and it shows in the polish of the everyday experience.

Amaiz’s app is newer and more functionally focused. It is designed around the workflow of a sole trader: banking, invoicing, and accounting are all accessible from the same interface. The trade-off is that the pure banking experience does not feel quite as refined as Starling’s. But if you value having everything in one place rather than switching between multiple apps, Amaiz has a genuine advantage in workflow efficiency.

Cash and Cheque Handling

This is where Starling has a clear, undeniable advantage. You can deposit cash at any Post Office branch for free up to 1,000 pounds per month. Beyond that, the fee is just 0.7 percent. You can also deposit cheques by simply taking a photo in the app — no need to visit a branch or post anything.

Amaiz does not support cash deposits or cheque imaging. If your business regularly handles cash or receives cheques, this is a significant limitation. Tradespeople, market stall operators, and anyone dealing with physical payments will find Starling far more practical.

Direct Debits and Standing Orders

Both accounts support Direct Debits and standing orders at no additional charge. You can set up Direct Debits for business expenses like insurance, subscriptions, and utility bills on either platform. Standing orders work identically on both.

Business Debit Cards

Both Amaiz and Starling provide business debit cards. Starling’s card is a Mastercard that works globally, with competitive exchange rates for overseas spending. Amaiz also provides a debit card, though international card usage is more naturally complemented by their multi-currency account infrastructure rather than relying on card-based conversions.

International Banking and Multi-Currency

Starling’s International Limitations

Starling used to offer EUR and USD accounts alongside its GBP business account. These accounts were popular with freelancers and businesses dealing with European or American clients. However, Starling has closed both EUR and USD accounts to new customers. If you do not already have one, you cannot open one.

For international transfers, Starling supports SWIFT payments to 34 countries. The fees and exchange rates are competitive but not best-in-class. If you only occasionally send money abroad, Starling handles it adequately. If international payments are a core part of your business, you will likely need a secondary service like Wise anyway.

Amaiz’s Multi-Currency Advantage

This is one of Amaiz’s strongest differentiators. The platform supports transfers in over 70 currencies, and the EUR account is still available to new customers on paid plans. For freelancers working with clients across the EU, having a dedicated EUR account means you can invoice in euros, receive euros, and hold euros without paying conversion fees on every transaction.

The breadth of currency support — over 70 currencies for outbound transfers — makes Amaiz significantly more capable for internationally-facing businesses. A web designer working with clients in Germany, a consultant billing in Swiss francs, or a freelancer receiving payments from Scandinavian companies will find Amaiz far more accommodating than Starling’s current offering.

For sole traders whose income is entirely in GBP from UK clients, this advantage is irrelevant. But if even 10 to 20 percent of your revenue comes from international sources, Amaiz’s multi-currency infrastructure could save you hundreds of pounds per year in conversion fees and intermediary charges.

Invoicing and Accounting: The 2026 Turning Point

Starling’s Business Toolkit Is Closing

This is arguably the most important development in this comparison. Starling’s Business Toolkit — which included invoicing, bookkeeping, and tax estimation features — is being wound down and will close in March 2026. After that date, Starling becomes a pure banking account with no built-in business management tools.

If you chose Starling partly because of its Toolkit features, you will need to find replacement software. This means subscribing to a separate invoicing tool and potentially separate accounting software. The practical impact is that Starling’s total cost of ownership is about to increase for anyone who relied on these built-in features.

Starling continues to integrate with third-party accounting platforms like Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent through Open Banking. But the convenience of having invoicing and basic bookkeeping inside your banking app is disappearing.

Amaiz’s Integrated Approach

Amaiz has moved in the opposite direction. Its platform includes built-in invoicing tools that let you create, send, and track invoices directly from the same app where you manage your banking. On the paid plans, you also get access to ACCA-qualified accounting professionals who handle your books.

The significance of ACCA qualification should not be underestimated. ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is a globally recognised professional body. Having ACCA-qualified accountants as part of your banking subscription means your books are being handled by trained professionals, not just automated software making its best guess at expense categorisation.

For sole traders, this integration means fewer apps, fewer subscriptions, fewer logins, and fewer opportunities for data to fall through the cracks between separate systems. Your bank transactions feed directly into your accounting, your invoices are connected to your income tracking, and your accountant sees everything in real time.

What This Means for Your Workflow

With Starling after March 2026, your workflow looks like this: bank with Starling, invoice with a separate app (like Invoice Ninja, Xero invoicing, or similar), reconcile in your accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent), and potentially send everything to an external accountant. That is three or four separate tools.

With Amaiz Professional, your workflow is: bank, invoice, and get your books handled — all in one platform. The simplification is real and meaningful, especially for sole traders who would rather spend time on their actual work than managing financial admin.

Making Tax Digital Readiness

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment is rolling out from April 2026 for sole traders and landlords earning over 50,000 pounds. From April 2027, the threshold drops to 30,000 pounds. This is not optional — it is a legal requirement that will affect hundreds of thousands of sole traders.

Starling and MTD

Starling does not provide MTD-compatible software. You will need to use third-party tools that support quarterly digital submissions to HMRC. The good news is that Starling integrates with Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent, all of which are MTD-compatible. The cost and complexity sit with you, but the data pipeline from Starling to these tools works smoothly through Open Banking.

Amaiz and MTD

Amaiz’s built-in accounting features are designed with MTD compliance in mind. The ACCA-qualified accounting support on paid plans means you have professionals ensuring your records meet HMRC’s digital requirements. This is a significant comfort factor for sole traders who are anxious about the transition to quarterly digital reporting.

If MTD is something you worry about, having accountants who are contractually responsible for getting your submissions right — rather than relying on your own ability to use software correctly — is a meaningful advantage.

Regulatory Status and Deposit Protection

This is the single biggest structural difference between the two providers, and it deserves careful consideration.

Starling: Full Banking Licence and FSCS

Starling Bank holds a full UK banking licence regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. Your deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to 120,000 pounds per eligible depositor.

In practice, this means that if Starling were to fail, your money (up to 120,000 pounds) would be returned to you through the FSCS, typically within seven working days. For sole traders who hold significant balances in their business account — whether for tax reserves, project deposits, or working capital — this protection is genuinely valuable.

It is worth noting that Starling was fined 29 million pounds by the FCA in 2024 for weaknesses in its financial crime controls. The fine related to screening processes rather than financial stability, but it is a reminder that even regulated banks face compliance challenges.

Amaiz: EMI Regulation

Amaiz is authorised as an Electronic Money Institution by the FCA. Your funds are safeguarded under EMI regulations, which require Amaiz to hold customer funds in segregated accounts at authorised credit institutions. However, EMI safeguarding is not the same as FSCS protection.

If Amaiz were to become insolvent, your funds should be recoverable because they are held separately from Amaiz’s own money. But the recovery process could take longer than the FSCS’s seven-day target, and there is no government-backed guarantee of the full amount.

For many sole traders, the practical risk is small — EMI safeguarding has proven effective in practice, and no major UK EMI has failed in a way that caused customer losses. But if deposit protection is a priority for you, Starling’s FSCS coverage provides an objectively higher level of security.

Customer Support and Track Record

Starling

Starling offers in-app chat support and phone support. Response times have generally been good, though some business customers report longer waits during busy periods. With over 191,000 business customers and a Trustpilot rating of 4.2 out of 5 based on more than 45,600 reviews, Starling has a substantial track record. The volume of reviews means you can get a reliable picture of the typical customer experience.

Starling also benefits from being a mature platform. It has been serving business customers since 2018, and most of the early growing pains have been resolved. Account opening is quick, the app is stable, and core banking functions work reliably.

Amaiz

Amaiz is a smaller operation with fewer public reviews. This means less social proof but also potentially more personalised support. On the paid plans, the inclusion of ACCA-qualified accountants means you have direct access to professionals who know your business, which is a different kind of support from generic customer service chat.

The trade-off is clear: Starling has the proven track record and massive review base; Amaiz has a more intimate, specialist support model but less public validation.

Pros and Cons

Amaiz

Pros:

• Built-in invoicing that continues to be developed while Starling closes theirs
• ACCA-qualified accounting professionals included on paid plans
• EUR account still available to new customers
• International transfers in over 70 currencies
• All-in-one platform reduces app sprawl and data fragmentation
• MTD-ready accounting built into the platform
• No hidden transaction fees on incoming payments

Cons:

• No FSCS deposit protection
• Monthly fees of 49 to 99 pounds plus VAT on paid plans
• No cash deposit facilities
• No cheque imaging
• Smaller customer base with fewer public reviews
• Free plan is limited compared to Starling’s free account
• Newer platform with less established track record

Starling Bank

Pros:

• Completely free business account with no monthly charges
• FSCS protection up to 120,000 pounds
• Free cash deposits at the Post Office up to 1,000 pounds per month
• Cheque deposits via photo in the app
• Award-winning mobile app with excellent user experience
• 191,000+ business customers with strong Trustpilot rating
• Robust integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent
• Starling Spaces for ring-fencing tax money

Cons:

• Business Toolkit invoicing closing March 2026
• EUR and USD accounts closed to new customers
• SWIFT transfers limited to 34 countries
• No built-in accounting features after Toolkit closure
• FCA fine of 29 million pounds for financial crime control weaknesses
• Full accounting and MTD compliance requires separate paid software
• Becoming a pure banking-only product for business customers

Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

Choose Starling Bank if your business is straightforward, primarily UK-based, and you value deposit protection above all else. If you handle cash, receive occasional cheques, and want a free account from a fully licensed bank with a proven track record, Starling remains an excellent choice. You will need to sort out your own accounting and invoicing with separate tools, but for many sole traders that arrangement works perfectly well.

Choose Amaiz if you want banking, invoicing, and accounting handled in a single platform — especially if you work with international clients. The combination of multi-currency support, built-in invoicing, and ACCA-qualified accounting is genuinely compelling, and it is only becoming more so as Starling strips back its business tools. If you currently pay for an accountant and separate invoicing software, Amaiz’s Professional plan could actually save you money while simplifying your workflow.

The timing matters. With Starling closing its Business Toolkit in March 2026, any Starling business customer who relied on those invoicing and bookkeeping features needs a plan. If you are already looking for a replacement, Amaiz offers a natural landing spot that goes further than what Starling’s Toolkit ever provided.

For sole traders earning a mix of GBP and international currencies, the choice tilts decisively toward Amaiz. For those who deal in cash, need FSCS protection, and prefer a no-frills free banking experience, Starling is still the stronger option. The right answer depends entirely on the shape of your business — not on which provider is bigger or better known.