An Engine of growth, Sam Everington, CEO, Engine by Starling

By Robin Amlot

Starling Bank was founded as a digital challenger bank in the UK in 2014. The company received its banking licence in 2016. Unlike many new banks, Starling did not buy its BankTech solutions off the shelf, instead opting to build its own systems.

Sam Everington is CEO of Engine by Starling . Previously, he led the development and design of Starling’s core banking platform. Engine created its first overseas subsidiary in the US in 2025. According to Everington: “North America is hugely important for us. It’s a sophisticated, highly competitive banking market, but also one where many institutions are grappling with legacy technology that limits the pace of innovation. This is especially true for the 4,000+ US mid-tier banks that are navigating an incredibly pressurised landscape. What we’re bringing with Engine is a proven digital banking blueprint, a fully cloud-native, AI-ready, coherent technology platform that’s already been tested at scale. US banks, in particular, are looking for ways to modernise without taking on excessive risk, and that’s where our SaaS model resonates. Establishing a presence there was a natural next step as we scale internationally.”

What other geographies are you active in and what influenced your decision to establish offices there?

“We’re active across Europe, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and each location reflects a combination of regulatory maturity, customer demand and the scale of transformation opportunity. These are markets where banks recognise that incremental change isn’t enough. They need a step change in their technology stack and operating model. Engine provides the technology platform but also a team with extensive banking and technology expertise that enables that shift. We’ve chosen locations where there’s both appetite and urgency to modernise, and where our experience running a highly successful digital bank gives us a real edge. There are long term partnerships and establishing local offices is important too, as it allows us to work closely with partners, understand regulatory nuances, and support delivery on the ground. Ultimately, we go where we can help banks move faster and innovate with confidence.”

Engine signed a 10-year deal in Canada with Scotiabank subsidiary Tangerine Bank in November 2025. What does this entail? What will you be providing over the life of the contract?

“The partnership with Tangerine is a great example of what Engine is designed to do; it’s about enabling long-term transformation. Tangerine will continue to accelerate from their market leading position, delivering faster product launches, further improved customer experiences and ongoing innovation, which directly supports their ambitions to be the digital bank of choice for millions of Canadians. Because the platform is built to work in harmony across all aspects of running a digital bank at scale, it reduces complexity and operational cost. We’ve already proven with clients that this approach accelerates time to market and creates a foundation for continuous improvement and innovation.”

Engine unveiled its fourth international deal in February – with NZ-based mutual SBS Bank. You now have clients in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Romania – what are the challenges of adapting your SaaS solutions to different jurisdictions?

“Every jurisdiction brings its own regulatory, operational and customer nuances, but that’s exactly why we built Engine the way we did. It can work across numerous banking business models – large and small – and different use cases such as SMB and retail.

“Because our core system is coherent and API and event based to the core, it’s readily integrated to local providers and configured for product policies and regulatory requirements. The challenge for many banks is stitching together and configuring behaviours across multiple systems to meet those needs – ours is designed to work in harmony from the outset. The key is balancing standardisation with flexibility, and that’s where our experience running a regulated bank in the UK and now multiple banks in different markets, is invaluable. It means we can support transformation without adding unnecessary complexity.”

How are you integrating AI into your products?

“AI isn’t just a new feature to ‘add on’ at the edge of a product, it’s becoming a foundational method of interaction across both back office and customer facing interfaces. Engine enables AI native interactions across the bank, accelerating innovation of use cases thanks to the comprehensive, unified data model and easy access.

“We’re focused on practical applications that help banks reduce cost, improve service and innovate faster, further we are uniquely placed to share real world experience of operating AI models at scale in a bank directly with customers. AI should enhance the digital banking blueprint we provide, helping our clients operate more intelligently and respond to customer needs in real time.”

Transformation is complicated, risky, and expensive. How do you work with banks to derisk this journey?

“Transformation is only risky when it’s poorly structured or seen as a pure cost-cutting exercise. When banks approach technology change as a real strategic exercise, that is often where success starts. The way we have engineered our platform and the way we work with clients also fundamentally de-risks the transformation process. Instead of stitching together multiple vendors, clients adopt a platform that’s already designed to work in harmony from day one. That significantly reduces complexity and execution risk.

“We also work closely with clients throughout the process, drawing on our experience of building and running a fully digital bank to ensure the transformation is delivering clear gains for customers and the employees running the bank. The result is faster delivery, lower cost and a clearer path to value. Crucially, once live, banks can continue to innovate at speed, so the value compounds over time.”

What key trends do you see in banking for the coming year and the longer term – and how will they affect your product solutions?

“AI is clearly top of most agendas this year, as already discussed and this is driving a clear shift away from incremental upgrades towards full-scale modernisation. Banks recognise that legacy systems are holding them back, both in terms of cost and in their ability to innovate for customers and adopt new technologies. There’s also a growing focus on efficiency and resilience, particularly in a more challenging economic environment. Customers expect digital-first experiences, management requires effective and efficient operations, and banks need the infrastructure to support that.”

Where do you see the biggest opportunities and the biggest challenges going forward?

“The biggest opportunity is the scale of transformation still ahead of us. Many banks know they need to modernise but haven’t yet taken the step, often because of perceived risk or complexity. That’s exactly the problem Engine solves. By providing a clear path to success, we make transformation more achievable and more predictable. The challenge is helping institutions move beyond incremental thinking and commit to meaningful change. There’s also the broader regulatory and economic environment to navigate. But ultimately, banks that embrace modern, cloud-native systems will be better positioned to reduce cost, increase efficiency and innovate. Our role is to give them the tools and confidence to do that.”

What do you expect Engine to look like in five years’ time?

“In five years, we see Engine as a global platform underpinning an improved generation of modern banks. The core proposition won’t change; we’ll continue to provide an operating system that acts as a digital banking blueprint. But the scale and reach will be much greater. We’ll be supporting more diverse institutions across more markets, helping them modernise and compete effectively. The platform itself will continue to evolve, incorporating new capabilities, such as AI, but always within a unified system designed to give banks a real 360-degree view that drives business value.

“Ultimately, our goal is to make true bank transformation the norm rather than the exception, enabling banks to innovate at speed and operate far more efficiently for the betterment of their customers.”