UK-based Starling Bank has announced that it launched virtual cards for personal current accounts and updated its Spending Insights tool.

The new services form part of the bank’s spend management tools aimed at helping customers track their expenses and offering greater visibility of budgets.

Starling Bank’s new virtual card is just like a debit card but is linked to a Saving Space in the lender’s app and not the main account.

Customers can have up to five virtual cards at a time and each card can be assigned to specific Spaces for expenses such as travel or groceries.

Starling Bank chief banking officer Helen Bierton said: “Our customers asked for virtual cards and we’ve delivered. Virtual cards allow people to completely compartmentalise their personal finances for better control of their spending, making it easier to stick to budgets.”

The updated Spending Insights can now help customers analyse expenditure from specific Spaces, gain deeper insights and access graphs to understand their spending patterns.

“We are constantly thinking of how we can help our customers manage their money better. We have been busy building these new features, as well as our new Budget Planner, to help us continue this mission,” Helen added.

In September this year, Sky News reported that Jupiter Fund Management is set to dilute its stake in Starling Bank.

In April this year, the lender raised an additional £130.5m as part of an internal fundraising round at a (£2.5bn) valuation.