Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 23, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
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Starling signed a 10-year deal for SBS Bank to adopt its Engine core banking platform. It is the UK fintech's fourth overseas client, expanding APAC reach after Canada, Romania and Australia.
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Starling Group has announced a 10-year partnership with New Zealand's SBS Bank, the British-based digital bank and software provider said on Monday, as it continues its expansion into new markets.
SBS will upgrade its banking systems to Starling's Engine platform, the fourth such overseas deal for Starling as it extends its provision of software services to lenders around the world in a bid to boost revenues.
The deal comes after Reuters reported last November on Starling's similar deal with Canada-based Tangerine, a digital bank owned by Bank of Nova Scotia.
Starling also provides its Engine platform to Salt Bank in Romania and AMP Bank GO in Australia.
The partnership sees Starling expand further into the Asia-Pacific region, as it doubles down on a model of licensing its Engine software amid tough competition for its core bank account services in its home market.
SBS Bank is a member-owned lender founded and still based in the city of Invercargill in New Zealand's South Island.
(Reporting by Lawrence White. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Starling Group has struck a 10-year partnership for New Zealand’s SBS Bank to adopt its Engine core banking platform, expanding Starling’s global software footprint.
Engine is Starling’s cloud-based, API-driven core banking platform that banks can license to modernize digital services and core systems without building from scratch.
Starling also provides Engine to Canada’s Tangerine, Salt Bank in Romania and AMP Bank GO in Australia, making SBS Bank its fourth overseas client.
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