Barclays bank has been around for as long as the late 1600s, they have been the oldest, and among the best financial service company, there is. They offer online savings accounts, online CD accounts, personal loans, and credit cards.
Below is a comprehensive elaboration on the Barclays bank online savings account, what you need to open an account, the pros and cons, benefits, drawbacks, plus all the services they offer.
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Table of Contents
All about Barclays Bank
The Barclays bank has over 300 years of existence. In 1690, John Ferame and Thomas Gould started Goldsmith bankers. In the years 1736, the son in law, James Barclay came into the business and remained it to the name we all know and recognize.
Since then, they have been driven by strong values and a goal to help all their clients and customers to achieve their ambitions. Over the years, they have brought about technological advances like the ATM and other banking services.
Barclays Bank in Enfield, England, created the world’s first ATM on the 27th of June 1967. It was only allowing withdrawals of £ 10 at a time.
They are known for providing retail banking services, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management. Their outreach has been globalized over the years with a reach in every continent except Antarctica.
Their esteemed values of respect, integrity, excellence, service, and stewardship has helped the business to be as it is now, shaping the world to be better.
As of now, its online banking business is situated in Wilmington, Delaware. That is also the home to their US division of Barclaycard, their credit card, and forms of payment for Barclays.
As for their wealth unit, it is based in New York and its corporate and finance business located in various cities in the US. They chose their headquarters to be in Delaware as the area offers them a unique opportunity to restore and renovate their previous location in history.
Go to: Barclays Bank’s website
What’s a savings account
A savings account is a bank service that allows you as the client to store and save up money in an account with interest in for an investment. For Barclays bank, the savings account is a standard FDIC- insured account that’s is accessed online for deposits, savings, and withdrawals.
Their savings account attracts no maintenance fees or monthly fees, and they also have no minimum deposits allowable for an account.
Opening an account
This is among the easiest account opening processes you will ever do. It is clear and straightforward for all their clients.
Go to: Barclays Bank’s website
You will need your social security number and an external bank name with a routing and account number.
After that, you will be prompted to fill up certain crucial information for the bank. They include;
Personal information
- Name
- Social security number
- Date of birth
- Country of citizenship
- Email address
- Primary and secondary mobile number
- Home address – city, state, zip code
- Country of residence
- Occupation
Account information
- Single or joint account
- Deposit – can be as low as $1
You are allowed to apply for up to 5 accounts at once.
Funding account
- Routing number
- Account number
- Account type
Log in details
- User ID
- Password
- Mothers maiden name
- Security question
- Security answer
After you have filled all the above details, you will be asked to fill the 2-factor authentication and to accept the terms. Your account is all set to start saving. Ensure you meet their eligibility criteria before you sign up.
They include;
- You must be above the age of 18 years
- You must have a valid bank account
- You must be a US citizen
- You should have a social security number.
- You must have a US residential address.
Fees and interest rates
Barclays bank has one of the highest interest rates nationwide, with as high as 2.20% APY. The interest will apply as long as you have at least $0.01 in your account. They do not have monthly maintenance fees or deposit fees nor the withdrawal fees.
Since they also do not give out ATM cards, there are no ATM fees as well. You have a limit of 7 withdrawals or external transfers a month with any more transactions attracting a fee. In case you regularly exceed your limits, your account is likely to be closed.
Remote and online deposits
Their online savings account does not offer real or direct deposits, but they have four other options.
- Remote direct deposits – you log in, go to the routing and account number details and print the direct deposit form for the employer. You can also do a tax refund for the direct deposit to the account — all free of charge.
- Electronic transfer through the ACH transaction.
- Use of a personal computer or the Barclays bank US savings application. On the app, there is a deposit feature that will allow you to take a picture of your check and upload it to the site.
The service will require your phone to be up to date with the latest version of the operating system. Upon initiating the process, you click on deposit, input the amount on the check and the receiving account.
There are limitations when you are depositing remotely. They include;
- Daily check amount maximum: $5,000
- Daily account maximum: $10,000
- Check number maximum: 10 checks in a single day
- 10 business day maximum: $50,000 / 20 checks
Once you have completed this 1st phase, you should sign at the back of your check and write a small one stating it’s a mobile deposit to Barclays bank. If you don’t get that, you can tick the adjacent box starting; it’s a mobile deposit.
After that, you can submit the check deposit. After that, an email will be sent to you as confirmation. Remember, there is a time limit of 3 PM eastern time. Any deposits made after that will be forwarded to the next business day.
There’s also a 5-day hold on deposits for them to be fully credited to your account.
Withdrawals
For any withdrawals you would like to make, you just log in, click on the tab on transfer funds and add the amount to the external account. The withdrawal amount will be posted to your account after 2 to 3 business days.
You also have the option of receiving a check by mail. The amount will be posted to your shipping address. You only have six free withdrawals or transfers in a month, and any more will get you charged $5 per transaction.
Sometimes, you may not receive your check or to may want to cancel the check altogether, there is a procedure.
If the amount was over $100, you must complete, sign, and deliver an indemnification form to Barclays bank so that they can issue a new check.
The form should be sent via their email address on [email protected] or by mail to:
Barclays
PO. Box 2460
Cranberry Twp. PA 16066
If you received the check, but there needs to be a correction on the check details, you should mail back the check you initially received and request a new check. The check should be emailed back to the same shipping address.
Features and drawbacks
Barclays Bank offers online tools and customer service support for its clients. Their main tool is the savings assistant that is also accessible to noncustomers.
The savings assistant will aid you to choose your savings goals. There are a variety to choose from including;
- College
- Children
- Car
- Vacation
- House
- Retirement
- Hobbies
- Home improvement
- Wedding, among others.
After that, you will have to fill up the total amount you want the account to have and how much you have already saved up.
Next, you should fill up how much you can afford to contribute monthly. The website will then calculate for you the total time you will need to reach the tour target, and you can start to save up.
Based on the constant APY and assuming the interest is compounded on a daily basis and it’s being credited monthly.
Customer service
They offer customer support on a 24/7 basis on their site where you are open to inquire in anything and everything that has not been answered over at the frequently asked questions.
They also offer telephone support that is open to calls between 8 AM to 8 PM daily in eastern time. They do not have official email addresses, but they have a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.
They do not offer any other type of customer service like in-person services where you can pay them a visit and resolve any issues you may have.
Drawbacks
Barclays bank is an incredible banking option that offers many financial services, but for its online savings account, they do not have to check accounts, which can be a drawback for the customer base as some people prefer being able to take care of all their financial needs over at one bank.
They only have two options, the online savings account, and the CD accounts. The savings account can be virtual in terms of their dream account but not for in-person services.
Pros and cons
Pros
- You are allowed to link up a maximum of 3 external accounts, which can be checking accounts that Barclays bank does not have. This makes it simple for you to make online transfers.
- Speaking of easy and simple, the bank also has a mobile application that can be used for instant transfers and mobile check deposits. The mobile convenience is among the best things the bank has to offer as it is downloadable in both Android and iOS phones.
- There is versatility when it comes to making online deposits to the bank, 4 of them in ffact.you can mail, electronic transfer, direct deposit, and through their application.
- There are no minimum deposits to open the savings account. They allow you to open the account with as little as $1.
- They offer 24 hours a day, seven days a week, customer service support. It is that their online, this is the best they can do for their clients.
- There are no monthly fees for the maintenance of your account.
- They have great competitive rates in comparison to other banks, and their yields are among the highest nationwide.
- You have the ability to set saving goals for your self, meaning you get to remain focused and on target every time.
- The account is great for people of all balance levels, low or high. Especially the low balance because you only need $1 to open an account, and interest will be earned with as little as $0.01 in your account, making sure everyone is comfortable.
- They have a $5 non-sufficient fund fee for bank overdrafts. Other banks can charge you as high as $30 for their bank overdraft.
- They have remote deposits to your account. This is made especially easy with the linking explained on the first point.
- They have an easy and simple online interface that is user-friendly. Their site is well designed and modernized for easy and fast navigation.
Cons
- After six withdrawals a month, you will be charged a $5 fee for each other withdrawal or online transfer.
- They do not have atm cards for the online savings account. For those who may like to carry or transact cash via atm may see this as a great disadvantage for them.
- There are limited account options, such as no checking accounts. The online s savings account only focuses on the savings account and the interests it earns, and they don’t look at other accounts like the checking account.
- There is a 5-day hold on deposits made for them to be credited. Meaning it will take as long as five days past for your deposits to start earning interest.
- They don’t offer in-person services like the brick and mortar banks. Their customer service is limited as well for those who prefer to speak to official customer assistants.
Additional information
Other Barclays Bank services
Besides their online savings account, they have the Barclays Online CDs. This is a long term savings certificate of deposits that will give you a great return on an investment after five years in the bank with 3.05 %APY.
The Barclays bank online CD accounts are open for the 3 to 60 months, to maturity. They all earn interest at different rates with three months earning at 0.35% APY and for five years earning 3.05 % APY.
The interest rates can increase in accordance with the term, but the savings will remain locked until the point of maturity when you can make your withdrawal. Interest is compounded daily, with no hidden fees, no minimum balance to open the account, and easy fund transfer options for their clients.
The online CDs usually take 60 months to mature, as explained above. After they mature, you have two options:
- Extend the term
- Withdrawal
Extend the term
This means that you get to renew your CD under the same interest rates and annual percentage yield, or you can choose new terms. Thirty days before the CD matures, you will be notified of its maturity, and after that, you will be prompted to choose the maturity option which, if you choose to renew, you will be taken to another page on the rates.
Withdrawals
On the day of maturity, you will be given two weeks grace period for withdrawing funds. In that period, you will not have to pay any penalties. To withdraw the funds, you will need to write to them or call them before the grace period ends.
To receive interest reimbursement from your certificate of deposit, you will be asked if you want to retain it in your CD account or transfer to the online savings account. For this setup, you will need to log in to your online banking website, select the account detail tab under the additional information section, select the edit option.
One disadvantage of the certificate of deposit account is that they have high penalties for early termination of the term. They charge 90 days simple interest on the amount withdrawn for CD Accounts with terms two years or less.
Any account with a higher term of more than two years will be charged a six months simple interest on the amount to be withdrawn. But they usually wave the penalties over serious cases like death.
Is Barclays Bank safe?
Barclays Bank is FDIC- insured. The federal deposit insurance corporation has securely protected all deposits made to the bank and offer coverage for any money lost within their corporation. Besides that, if the company does go bankrupt, the corporation is determined to reimburse their clients up to $250,000 insurance limit.
The bank is safer than you can imagine; it is protected and insured, meaning you and your money are protected and insured. They have strict policies and security measures as below.
- They use transport layer security and secure sockets layer for 128-bit security between the browser and users.
- They use a Global Digital certificate signed by VeriSign to ensure that you are communicating with the original Barclays bank and not a copy cat.
- They have a built time out login session that is set to log out automatically after a certain period of inactivity.
- They make use of firewalls and other protective technology to block unauthorized traffic to their site. Their information remains private and secure to the system only.
- As for their Email Security Standards, they will input three crucial data to ensure all the data you receive from them is as authentic as possible. The data includes;
- Your first and last name.
- Their mailing address along with information on how to contact them via email or by phone, and
- A unique tracking identification that we can use to verify the email address.
For more security, they will never prompt you to disclose personal information like account numbers, passwords, or social security number.
Reviews
The Barclays bank has had great reviews over the years, offering great financial support to their clients, financial advice, and other services. With over 300 years of business operations, they have mastered the art of finance to be able to give you the best they can give.
FAQS
After I make a deposit, how long does it take for it to start earning interest?
The deposits start earning interest immediately; they have been posted but for the ACH transfers, 2 to 3 days to start the initiation process. For check deposits, it will be once it has been received.
How long does it take an electronic transfer, the ACH transfer from my Barclays account to credit to my external account?
It should take 2 to 3 business days for the process to complete and be fully credited to your account.
What are the test deposits?
They are security measures where they use test deposits to verify external accounts linked with the savings account. After you link your accounts, 2 to 5 days later, they will make the 2 test deposits of less than a dollar to your external account.
Then, you will be asked to log in to your Barclays bank account and report the amount for the test deposits. After you confirm, you will be free to transact and transfer money between your accounts.
In case you don’t vary your account in the first 100 days, your account will be restricted.
Can one make use of third-party financial management software?
Yes, you can. They have updated their site allowing you to use 3rd party financial management programs like mint and hello. Use the new login process to ensure your account is correctly placed, if not you will receive a message by email on its failure.
Conclusion
A savings account should just be a hidden space for your money, it should be an investment in your money. Your money should grow and even double the amount you deposited for it to be worth your while. Barclays bank does that for you, it will not only keep your savings safe but it will grow your investment worth every day that goes by.
This bank has not only shown expertise and diligence in what they do, but they are also dedicated to helping their clients achieve their dreams and ambitions, this should be the bank for you if you want to start saving today.
Go to: Barclays Bank’s website
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