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Barclays Review

Premium bank with online services

Reviews 5
Barclays Online Savings
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Barclays Online Savings
Barclays Online Savings
Average
Reviews 5
Sarah Badani
Feb. 21, 2024
3 min read
Sarah Badani
Barclays Online Savings Summary
Barclays is a trusted name in banking, and although its roots stretch back to 17th century England, it’s as innovative as any financial institution on the market. Given its reputation, we were anxious to review the latest Barclays offering, online banking, and we weren’t disappointed. Barclays offers high APYs and low or no fees. Now let’s take a closer look at this banking solution.

Pros

  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • No minimum balance to open a savings account or earn APY
  • FDIC-insured

Cons

  • No checking accounts
  • No immediate access to your funds

Barclays Online Savings at a glance

9.2
Editorial score

Fees?

No monthly maintenance fees
10.0

Security

FDIC insured, SSL/AES encryption and supports 2 factor and biometric authentication
10.0

Customer service

Customer service during extended business hours
6.0

Online experience

Excellent user friendly site with transparency of rates and full online banking capabilities
10.0

Mobile experience

Excellent mobile app with all mobile banking features enabled, including digital check deposits
10.0

Barclays Online Savings Barclays Online Savings Visit Barclays

Advantages Over Regular Bank

Online banking is becoming increasingly more popular because of how convenient, fast, safe, and easy it is to use. Barclays online savings account is no different. To begin with, you won’t have to meet a minimum deposit amount in order to open your account. You also won’t have to struggle with the usual fees, like a monthly maintenance fee or application fee. Add to that the wide variety of online tools for ease-of-use, and on-the-go account management, and Barclays online banking is a natural choice, at least for anyone who enjoys convenience and big savings.

Cutting-Edge Banking Services 

Barclays excels at putting modern technology’s greatest developments into the hands of its customers. With up-to-the-minute security measures, a cool mobile app, and automatic features, here’s how Barclays is making your banking life easier every day:

  • Convenient account linking

Barclays doesn’t have a checking account option, but it has something just as good. You can link as many as 3 of your other accounts with your Barclays online savings account. These accounts can be checking or savings, with Barclays or with another bank or credit union. Once the accounts are linked, transferring money in and out between accounts is a breeze.

  • Easy money transfers

Fast and efficient funding is another advantage Barclays offers its customers. It’s easy to fund your online savings account with Barclays. You can make regular money transfers to and from other banks and other accounts with Barclays, and you can even set up direct deposit for the ultimate set-and-forget ease.

  • Check scanning

If you're already a Barclays customer, you can use the Remote Deposit feature to fund your online savings account as well. This feature allows you to scan a check using your computer or smartphone, and the money will instantly be deposited into your account. Not only is this more convenient, it is the fastest way to get funds into your account.

Traditional Banking Services

As mentioned, you are allowed to link up to 3 external accounts with your Barclays online savings account. This is a good way to fund your savings account, but it is also a convenient way for you to withdraw money when you need it. Through ACH transfers, you can transfer money from your online savings into one of your linked accounts. The process takes about 2-3 days.

Barclays online banking doesn’t have any ATM services available, but that’s not surprising for an online bank. Barclays does have credit card and personal loans products, but these are considered separate products from the online banking accounts.

Barclays Online Savings

Barclays savings accounts offer high APY rates, going as high as 4.35%. There’s no minimum balance required, so you can start saving with whatever you’ve got, and no monthly maintenance fees. There is also no minimum deposit amount in order to start earning APY. Saving is simple and Barclays also offers savings planning tools to help you understand your money. The savings assistant can help you set savings goals. Up in the middle of the night worrying about your funds? No need to fret, because you can check everything online securely, anytime.

Customer Service

Barclays customer service is available Monday to Friday from 8:00 am- 8:00 pm. You can use the 866 numbers available to reach a specific department, and Barclays customer service even has a collect call line you can use in case you’re overseas and need to speak with a representative. There is also an internal email center that allows you to send and receive messages securely through the system. You can even reach customer service via Twitter, and Barclays reps are known for responding quickly through this forum.

Mobile Apps

Barclays has a mobile app available on both the Apple Store and the Google Play Store.  Aside from being attractive and easy to use, we were happy to see that the Barclays mobile app also has some excellent features like:

  • Account management

You can manage all of the settings of your online savings account using the mobile app as well. This includes changing your username or password, setting notifications, checking your balance, reviewing account activity, and setting up automatic deposits or transfers.

  • Check scanning

As mentioned above, Barclays’ mobile app allows customers to snap a picture of a check and have it automatically deposited into their account. This is definitely the easiest way to deal with checks, and it beats standing in line or looking for an ATM that provides this service.

There are other features available through the mobile app if you have other types of Barclays accounts as well.

Security

Barclays keeps its customers safe numerous security measures. For one thing, the entire website is secured with Norton Secured by VeriSign, an industry-recognized leader in online security. Additionally, Barclays uses RSA digital risk management software for an added layer of protection against hacking attempts. All pages use Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security with 248-bit encryption and built-in firewalls. Finally, Barclays has a timeout function that logs you out if you’ve been inactive for a few minutes.

In addition to its own site security, Barclays employs several measures to keep your data private and safe as well. Every account is accessible only through a SecurPass code chosen by the user, comes with $0 fraud liability protection, and constant monitoring. The monitoring service scans your account, checking for fraudulent or suspicious activities. If anything ever raises a red flag, you’ll be notified immediately via the fraud alerts, so the issue can be dealt with quickly.

Barclays Online Savings Barclays Online Savings Visit Barclays

Conclusion

Barclays focuses on delivering a personal touch while giving you cutting-edge features technology. The high-interest rates and low fees structure make their online savings accounts appealing, and the friendly service completes the package.

Sarah Badani
Written by
Sarah Badani
Sarah Badani has extensive research and review experience in the finance industry. With a degree in psychology and education, she brings a level of depth and understanding to her writing along with her own flavor to spice up each topic in a unique and inviting way. She writes for BestMoney and enjoys helping readers make sense of the options on the market.‎
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Trustpilot reviews
See what some customers are saying about Barclays Online Savings
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Dennis Hollander
9 months ago
I have a Carnival credit card though…
I have a Carnival credit card though Barclay which was in my wife’s name as the primary holder, I was an authorized user, my wife passed away in May of 2021. I kept using the card with no problems, but in May of 2023 they thought my card was compromised so I called them and when they asked to talk to the primary user I told her she had passed and she said she would have to close the card and I would lose my Carnival fun points. I ask to talk to a manager and he said I wouldn’t lose them and just let them know when I wanted to use the points. When I went to use them the girl kept telling me I couldn’t use them because the account was closed, I ask to talk to a manager which she never did let me do, this went on for an hour, finally I was so frustrated I hung up and called a number they have given me a few phone calls earlier and got ahold of the nicest customer service person I have ever dealt with, within 15 minutes she had it all straightened out and I was happy to have this taken care of. I hope someone at Barclays see this and understand they need to get all their personal on the same page. Her name was Leslie and she was in Henderson, Nevada, she explained to me exactly what to do to redeem my points and now that I have redeemed them I wish Barclays recognizes her for a job well done, you need more employees like her. If Barclays would like to check this my name is Dennis Hollander
pa
pamela
1 month ago
Barclays does NOT back their cardholders
Despite proof that linenlocker agreed to give me a refund for merch in the wrong color if i provided the tracking # for the return, barclays refused to support me and left the charge on my account, claiming that they left me voicemails which i did not receive. i no longer use this card, not trusting them to support their cardholders.
Ka
Kara
3 months ago
Do humans work here
Do humans work here? Seriously -- I don't think they do. I've called four times in a row and have been disconnected four times in a row. Paying off this card and never using it again.
JG
Jordan Garrett
7 months ago
I purchased airport parking and shuttle…
I purchased airport parking and shuttle to and from the offsite parking lot for an airport in Charlotte NC for my July 4th vacation. Long store short the company did not pick us up and shuttle us back to our car on the return end of our trip. We had to call and pay for an Uber. I did a charge back because they did not fulfill the agreement. Barclay's customer service is awful. When making credit card purchase it is just as important to have a credit card company that will stand by you and provide support to you as it is needed. This is not Barclay! Barclay sided with the company that I paid to provide me shuttle. I got no help from Barclay.
Walter White
1 year ago
The employees at Barclays USA exhibit unprofessional and impolite behavior.
The behavior of the staff at this bank is both unprofessional and offensive. I have never encountered disregard, dismissiveness, and rudeness from a service team toward customers. It is unacceptable to refer to this establishment as a bank. Such conduct has no place in our country. Perhaps the staff should return to the UK and treat people poorly there. In the United States, we do not tolerate such behavior.