Loyalty Reimagined with Starling Bank: Closing the Gap Between Payments and Customer Experience

Customer loyalty is much more than points and perks. Ruwani Hewa, Director of Payments at Starling Bank, jumps in the Hot Seat to discuss how data-driven intelligence is redefining what it means to build trust in financial services. We explore where traditional banks go wrong, how customer understanding can reshape engagement, and why digital design and personalisation now determine retention. This episode is about turning data into meaningful, measurable relationships.   Key Takeaways. [:01] Denise Johansson puts Ruwani Hewa, Director of Payments at Starling Bank, in the hot seat. [3:52] Ruwani introduces herself and explains why this topic resonates with her so much. [4:58] What is loyalty? Ruwani offers an example of how Starling stepped up to protect a customer and create a new gold standard. [6:38] Using customer data to get to know them is one thing, but finding ways to support them with this information may be key to building loyalty and trust. [8:52] Loyalty isn't transactional; anchoring the data with the relevant needs and providing seamless experiences will go a long way to providing services that customers will be loyal to. [10:44] Ruwani explains how to retain customers in a world where switching is really easy and why working with partners can also help drive trust and loyalty. [11:28] Credit or Insta? How engaging different generations requires entirely different strategies. [14:01] How companies outside of the financial sector are building trust and loyalty. [15:07] UX and UI are super important; Ruwani touches on the tech she thinks is critical to engagement. [16:44] Ruwani offers ways to track customer engagement within your loyalty programs. [19:10] What the loyalty and financial services landscape will look like in the coming years. [21:25] How AI fits into the loyalty landscape. [22:22] Denise signs out until the next time she puts an industry leader in the hot seat.   People. Guest Ruwani Hewa, Director of Payments at Starling Bank, one of the UK's most innovative digital banks, changing banking for good. Host Denise Johansson, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Enfuce, a female-founded fintech helping drive business growth, solve customer challenges, and extend financial inclusion.   Links. Starling Bank Enfuce   Guest Quotes (edited). Banks are sitting on this gold mine of data to actually really understand the customer and customer segments. We can see life stages and different changes in someone's life based on what's happening in the account. — Ruwani Hewa, Starling Bank, InTheHotSeat Instant gratification is super important: I don't want to be saving for points for four years only to get like a gift voucher for 10 pounds, right? — Ruwani Hewa, Starling Bank, InTheHotSeat Loyalty is not just about points and cash back. — Ruwani Hewa, Starling Bank, InTheHotSeat Talk to your customers. Understand what they want. Understand what actually excites them, then provide and actually meet their emotional needs. — Ruwani Hewa, Starling Bank, InTheHotSeat Younger generations don't like credit. They would rather have more experience-based things and stuff they can post on Instagram. — Ruwani Hewa, Starling Bank, InTheHotSeat   Denise Quotes (edited). How do banks actually build loyalty? What makes someone stay, trust you, and choose you, especially when switching banks is easier than ever? — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Loyalty isn't built by offering more points or shouting louder than the next bank. It's built by being useful at the right moment, when it actually makes a difference. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Two-thirds of customers feel more positive about a brand because of its loyalty program. At the same time, engagement is failing. So we are great at signups, but not so great at keeping people active and loyal, especially in banking. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat Most consumers want personalized rewards, but less than half of brands deliver them. So customers are clear about the value exchange they want, and are happy to provide the data, but services are not coming to them. — Denise Johansson, InTheHotSeat