Yes. It seems to be a regular feature in response to chat queries. I’m thinking it’s part of a scripted procedure, particularly where the CS op is new, maybe designed to reassure the customer that they’re “on it”.
Trouble is, that reassurance fails when it’s withers like this.
I wonder where the CS function is operating from. Have they outsourced it abroad?
I was a fan of Starling in the early stages but now consider it just to be fairly ‘meh’…Instant notifications were a big plus but have now become mainstream even with the Big Four. I had expected their product portfolio to have kicked on by now but whether it be credit cards or personal loans or the marketplace section…nothing has really kicked on. Annoyingly some things have deteriorated…for example why have a merchant logo improvement section within a transaction if no one ever actions the improvement ?
I suspect the rapid move around business customers and the pandemic and a move to ‘banking as a service’ have changed the focus away from the personal product, which is fair enough as ultimately it’s a business and they choose whichever direction is best for them.
Does anybody know if Starling expose spaces through their API? I’m thinking, in particular, about how Emma would handle paying bills from spaces.
In a nutshell…… 
It’s balance only for Spaces in Emma at the moment.
I was really keen on the pay from spaces feature, until I realised you can only actually see the transactions in the space in the Starling app or on your starling account statement. Not even the main feed or starling Spending. I just don’t get it. Spaces are surely a budgeting feature for lots of people, yet you can’t track spending from them in any way, as far as I can tell
Oh dear - I think I’ll give that a miss, then. Thanks for the info…
I use open banking at work and space movements just show with a blank description…
Anyone feel the app hasn’t had much features added recently, compared to others?
It’s certainly not pressing forward for personal customers. @Shongum pretty much summarises above …. 
Yeah, Starling feels like they’ve given up on the retail bank as anything more than a Proof of Concept
Ever since they closed the community forums, I had my suspicions they’re having cutbacks in the development department. They used to be active on their Twitter handle @StarlingDev, and respond to customer feedback promptly, but now moved everything internally sadly.
I’m as keen as anyone to see Starling innovate more when it comes to the Personal account. However, just playing Devil’s advocate here, what do people feel is missing? Compared to other bank accounts I’ve had, the app is streets ahead and I don’t have any real complaints about the overall service.
Does everything I want it too just wish they would either sort the merchant enrichment or get rid of it altogether
I don’t think it’s necessarily what it’s missing, I just think some of the things Starling has done are a bit crass.
Like, they were very quick to drop their interest rates, but haven’t been so speedy in putting them up now that BoE IR is at 1%
Also not a fan of the way they display savings goals now; they used to be a lot better
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Starling account. In fact, I’ve revived it’s use recently.
Taking @Dan’s point, there’s nothing wrong with it - just a reflection, maybe, that the company has ploughed a furrow which doesn’t include actively looking to improve the offering.
They’ve got market share, a ton of cash, I suspect, and a good reputation out there.
Job done…?
Their Spending analytics are rubbish and their open banking API is non-standard, so it’s harder to track spending eg with Emma than for other accounts.
I don’t like the “custom” solution they’ve got for EUR card payments - a toggle. I’d rather have separate cards, and better still virtual cards, for each currency.
The pay from spaces feature makes transactions completely invisible. See my gripes above.
Data loading times are still (for me) very slow, so I’m often looking at outdated balances and waiting for my list of payees to load.
They’ve faffed around with ways to switch between accounts and landed on a solution that’s a complete mess.
Then they’ve added the connected space, kids account, extra current account, but each with a little fee. I don’t mind fees, but I don’t see why something like an extra current account should cost £24 a year when Chase give you 20 for free. It feels a bit like gouging.
So yeah, it feels half-baked on lots of fronts and the advances they’ve made elsewhere are tied to a weird bolt-on fee structure that makes them uncompetitive and/or the innovation just isn’t quite good enough.
Finally, things that were working get broken from time to time, like the overdraft notifications, which tell you you’re not going to be charged interest because you’re covered by your Spaces, which suddenly didn’t include that info for a while.
I think each of the above on its own wouldn’t matter much to me, but combined, it feels like Starling is just meandering about a bit. The irony being that they do keep bringing out new features, they just don’t quite hit the mark!
Would be nice if they’d just let us not have a physical card, tbh
For the rare occasions I need to pay in cash, they could work out how to do that w/ contactless via Apple Pay. I’m sure the Post Office will do something like it eventually
Aren’t they still your “main” account though - must be doing something to keep you?
I think this is one area that they have let languish for a long time. They really should put some effort into improving this.
Starling have added some new spending categories to the app