Barclays Bank Review 2024

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The bottom line: Business Insider's personal finance team compared Barclays to the best online banks and decided that most of its banking products and services — with the exception of its CDs — are on par with other online institutions, and don't particularly stand out.

The bank is still a good choice if you're specifically interested in opening a CD online — it pays some of the best CD rates for accounts with $0 minimum opening deposits.

Barclays Bank Overall Rating

Barclays Pros and Cons

About Barclays

Barclays is an online bank. In the U.S., it has high-yield savings account and CDs. The bank also offers personal loans by invitation only, and co-branded credit cards with companies like Jet Blue and Gap. It doesn't have any credit cards for its own brand, though.

Barclays does not offer a checking account, so depositing or withdrawing cash quickly is difficult with Barclays. You'll have to transfer or deposit funds to an external bank account, which can be tedious.

Barclays bank accounts are protected. Your deposits are insured by the FDIC for $250,000, or $500,000 for joint accounts.

Is Barclays Trustworthy?

The Better Business Bureau gives Barclays an A+ rating. A strong BBB rating signifies the company is transparent in how it handles business, responds effectively to customer complaints, and is honest in its advertising.

In 2022, Barclays paid $361 million in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC claimed the bank distributed a high number of unregistered securities and didn't thoroughly keep track of security sales. Although Barclays settled, the bank neither confirmed nor denied these charges.

Barclays Interest Rates and Fees

Barclays Interest Rates on Savings Accounts and CDs

Like other online banks, Barclays savings and CD rates are higher than average bank account interest rates. Online banks tend to offer better rates than brick-and-mortar banks because they have fewer overhead costs.

If you compare the bank's savings accounts to competition from other online banks these accounts fall somewhere in the middle. The Barclays Online Savings Account has a lower APY than the best high-yield savings accounts, but similar rates to other national brands.

Meanwhile, Barclays Tiered Savings offers the potential to earn more interest than the Barclays Online Savings Account, but it has a high minimum balance requirement to earn its best rate. A few of our top picks for high-yield savings accounts have a comparable APY to Barclays Tiered Savings but lower minimum balance requirements to earn interest or none at all.

Barclays CDs stand out because they pay competitive rates compared to other institutions with similar opening criteria.

Barclays Fees and Charges

Barclays doesn't charge monthly bank maintenance fees on its savings accounts. For CDs, you'll only face a charge if you withdraw money before your term fully matures. Online banks tend to be a good option for minimal bank fees, as many won't charge high fees.

Barclays Digital and Mobile Banking

Consider other banks if you value having a strong mobile app. Barclays has mediocre ratings overall — it's received 1.9 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store and 3.2 out of 5 stars in the Apple store. Other banks also have more customer reviews.

Barclays Mobile App Features

While the Barclays mobile app doesn't have the best ratings, it does offer most standard mobile banking features. With the mobile app, you can check your transaction history, make mobile check deposits, and transfer money to external bank accounts.

Barclays Online Banking Tools

You can also log into the Barclay's website to manage your accounts. Furthermore, the website has a CD calculator to determine potential interest earnings and another tool to help you set a timeframe for your savings goal if you have Barclays Tiered Savings or the Barclays Online Savings Account.

Barclays Customer Service and Support

You can talk to Barclays customer service is by phone or live chat seven days per week. Contact a representative anytime from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Barclays FAQs

Barclays Savings Account Review

Barclays Online Savings Account

Barclays Tiered Savings

The Barclays Online Savings Account is a good account for easy opening requirements — you can open it for $0, and there aren't monthly maintenance fees. It pays more than the average savings account, but some online banks have 5% interest savings accounts available.

Barclays also offers a tiered savings account with a higher interest rate. Barclays Tiered Savings also has a $0 minimum opening deposit and no monthly maintenance fee, but you have to keep a high account balance to get the best APY.

Barclays CD Review

The Barclays Online CD offers strong CDs with competitive interest rates, regardless of which term you choose. Unlike most banks, it doesn't require a minimum deposit, so you can start with any amount. The bank also charges relatively low early withdrawal penalties should you need funds before your CD matures.

Barclays Credit Cards Review

Barclays has co-branded credit cards with many businesses, including JetBlue, Gap, American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Emirates. None have been selected for our best credit cards, though.

Barclays Personal Loans Review

Barclays offers personal loans, but you need to get an invitation to apply. The bank's personal loans website doesn't mention how you can get an invitation code.

How Barclays Compares

Barclays vs. Ally

Barclays and Ally pay similar interest rates on savings accounts, and Ally pays slightly higher CD rates for most terms 3 years or longer. Interest rates can fluctuate, though, so this may change in the future.

If you are looking for savings account with budgeting tools, you might like Ally's bucket system, which lets you save for multiple goals in one savings account, such as "Emergency Fund" or "Vacation."

Something to keep in mind is that Barclays only offers a high-yield savings account and CDs. If you're looking for a bank to open a checking or money market account, then you'll prefer Ally to Barclays (which has neither).

Ally Bank Review

Barclays vs. Marcus

Barclays and Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings accounts have a lot of similarities: good interest rates, no monthly services fees, and no minimum opening deposits. If you'd like to withdraw money from either account, you'll need to transfer it to an external bank account, since neither has a checking option. It could be a toss-up between the two banks because the savings accounts are pretty much the same.   

While the two banks offer similar savings accounts, there are a few clear distinctions between Barclays and Marcus CDs.

For example, Barclays lets you open a CD with $0, while Marcus CDs require at least $500 upfront.

If you'd like to open a no-penalty CD, you'll probably favor Marcus. Barclays doesn't have no-penalty CDs. It should also be noted that Marcus has some of the best no-penalty CDs. The Marcus No-Penalty CD pays competitive interest rates for no-penalty CDs and has several term options.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs Review

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Barclays

To review Barclay's savings accounts, we used our bank account methodology. To rate CDs, we used our certificate of deposit methodology. Each account receives a rating between 0 and 5.

We evaluate ethics, customer service, and mobile apps when rating every type of account. Other factors considered depend on the type of account we're reviewing. For example, we look at whether a money market account offers access to your funds with an ATM card, debit card, and/or paper checks. For CDs, we look at term variety and early withdrawal penalties.

Sophia Acevedo

Banking Editor

Sophia Acevedo is a banking editor at Business Insider. She has spent three years as a personal finance journalist and is an expert across numerous banking topics.Erleben SieSophia leads Personal Finance Insider's banking coverage, including reviews, guides, reference articles, and news. She edits and updates articles about banks, checking and savings accounts, CD rates, and budgeting and saving. She is highly knowledgeable about long-term trends in rates and offers at banks across the U.S.Before joining Business Insider, Sophia worked as a journalist at her college newspaper and was a freelance writer. She has spent seven years writing and editing as a journalist.Sophia was nominated for an Axel Springer Award for Change in 2023 for her coverage of ABLE accounts, tax-free savings accounts for people with disabilities. She was also a winner of a 2018 California Journalism Awards Campus Contest for her photography.She loves helping people find the best solutions for their unique needs and hopes that more people will find the tools to solve their financial problems. She’s inspired by stories of everyday people adapting to their financial circumstances and overcoming their fears around money.ExpertiseSophia's expertise includes:

• Bank accounts
• Savings and CD rate trends
• Budgeting
• Saving
• How banks operate

BildungSophia graduated from California State University Fullerton with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.She is an avid reader across a variety of genres, and she started running in 2021. She ran in the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon.

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Kit Pulliam

Personal Finance Insider editorial fellow

Kit Pulliam (they/them) is a banking expert who specializes in certificates of deposit, savings accounts, and checking accounts. They’ve been reporting, editing, and fact-checking personal finance stories for more than four years.Erleben SieKit has spent their career making complicated concepts more accessible to the average person. As a tutor in math and reading comprehension after college, they melded the certainty of numbers with the flexibility of words, a skill that has served them in the personal finance field since. Before Business Insider, Kit was an editorial specialist for Tax Analysts, diving into the tax code to help readers get the best information about a confusing but necessary subject.They find banking similar to taxes in that way: There are some things everyone needs to know because just about everyone needs to work with a bank — and you don’t want to end up with an account that doesn’t serve your needs.As interest rates change, they enjoy the fast pace of reviewing rates for products like CDs and high-yield savings, which can change daily and have a direct impact on readers’ money.ExpertiseTheir expertise includes:

• Certificates of deposit
• Savings accounts
• Checking accounts
• CD rates
• Bank reviews

BildungKit is an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where they studied English and psychology and received the Jum C. Nunnally Honors Research Award for their senior thesis.Outside personal finance, Kit enjoys reading, film, video games, and cross stitching. They are based in the DC area.

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Evelyn He

Compliance and Operations Associate

Evelyn He is a Compliance and Operations Associate on the Personal Finance team to ensure content accuracy and editorial independence so readers get up-to-date and objective financial advice.The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with fact-checked and current stories so they can make informed financial decisions. The team also works to minimize risk for partners by ensuring language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team.

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