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Starling payment alerts, explained
Each Starling app notification packs the amount, who you paid and which card or account into one line. Here is what each part means, and how to keep a running total without typing anything.
Updated 2026-10-31
What the alert looks like
Format example with made-up names and numbers. Your own alerts may be worded a little differently.
| Part | In this alert | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Money in | Money out or money in. The word that decides it here: “received” |
| Amount | £1,500 | What moved, in the currency of the charge. |
| Paid to / from | Acme Payroll | The shop or person. Card payments often show the company's registered name or the payment processor, not the shop sign. |
| Part | In this alert | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Money in | Money out or money in. The word that decides it here: “received” |
| Amount | £1,850 | What moved, in the currency of the charge. |
| Paid to / from | Employer LTD | The shop or person. Card payments often show the company's registered name or the payment processor, not the shop sign. |
| Reference | SALARY | The bank's transaction number. Quote it if you dispute the payment. |
Alerts that are not spending
Starling also sends codes, declines, reminders and offers. None of them moved money, so a tracker that counts every alert with an amount in it gets your total wrong. These are skipped:
Track Starling spending automatically
Savyit reads Starling notifications on your Android phone, the way this page reads the example: the amount, the payee and the card, sorted into a category, with codes, declines and reminders left out. There is no bank login and no account, and the alert text is never uploaded.
Paste one of your own alerts into the decoder
It runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere.
FAQ
Why does my Starling alert show a different name from the shop?
Card networks pass on the merchant's registered company name, which is often cut short or belongs to a payment processor (for example Square, Stripe or PayPal). Savyit learns these names: once you rename one, it's renamed for every later payment.
Does a declined Starling payment count as spending?
No. A decline, a security code or a payment reminder didn't move any money. Savyit skips them, and so does the decoder on this site.
Can an app read Starling alerts without my bank login?
Yes. Savyit reads the notifications Starling already sends to your Android phone. It never connects to Starling and never asks for your password.
Other banks in United Kingdom
Savyit is not affiliated with Starling. Bank names are used only to describe their alerts. Formats change; if yours looks different, the decoder shows how it's read.