Starling Bank
Among many flagship projects I oversaw at Starling, In 2021 I managed the research and design of Starling's Business Credit Card offering.
Challenge
We set out to design a business credit card that broke away from the norm. While most cards offer flexibility, many fall short in clearly communicating the financial risks — particularly around interest. Our goal was to create a product that not only gave businesses the credit freedom they expect, but also led the market in transparency. We wanted to confront the often-overlooked topic of interest directly, empowering customers with clarity and control over any charges on unpaid balances.
The Process
We began by speaking with business customers to understand how well they grasped credit card interest and where confusion typically arose. These conversations revealed that many users either misunderstood how interest accrued or only became aware of it after it had already built up.
With this insight in hand, I began designing the core user flows — keeping interest visibility front and center. Working closely with product and compliance teams, we developed interfaces that didn’t just mention interest but actively monitored, alerted, and explained it in real time. From early warning nudges to monthly summaries, every detail aimed to demystify interest before it became a problem.
Solution
The final product introduced a refreshingly honest approach to business credit. Key features included:
Real-time interest estimations on balances to show exactly what’s accruing.
Proactive alerts before interest kicks in, giving users time to repay or adjust.
Simple visual summaries of how interest is calculated, avoiding fine-print confusion.
A user-friendly dashboard that turned financial risk into manageable, visible data.
The interface didn’t hide the complexities of credit — it translated them into something business owners could act on, confidently.
Takeaway
This project was a clear example of how design can lead with ethics and impact. By championing transparency in an industry often marked by opacity, we created a product that stood apart — not just in functionality but in philosophy.
My contribution helped shift the tone of credit communication within Starling’s ecosystem. This wasn’t just about visual polish — it was about building trust through design. The result was a smarter, clearer credit experience for businesses, and a meaningful step forward for ethical fintech design.