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APY GUY: Maximize Your Savings & Earnings

APY GUY: Maximize Your Savings & Earnings

  • CD Rates
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Barclays

Barclays Online Savings Account – Now 4.00% APY!

Written by: Lauren Graves
May 25, 2023
Fact Checked : Dan Nelson
May 25, 2023

Although London-based, Barclays Bank has been around since 1690 and services just shy of 50 million customers worldwide, the online-only division was established in the US in 2003.

Barclays online deposit product suite is simple – with just an online savings account and a few standard term CDs.

In this review we will cover the variable-rate online savings account. It comes with a higher than average yield and no fees or minimum balance requirements.

You won’t be able to do all of your banking in one place with Barclays as they do not offer a checking account or ATM card, but if you’re comfortable managing your savings digitally in the interest of earning better interest, Barclays online savings account might be a good fit for you.

Barclays Online Savings Account Details + Rate

image credit: barclaysus.com

Barclays has only one savings account, the Barclays Online Savings. This account offers a respectable APY of 4.00% currently and has no minimum deposit requirements to open the account. Once the account is open there are no minimum balance requirements to maintain to avoid fees or account closure. To get paid interest, however, you will have to maintain a balance that would earn you at least $0.01 in interest.

Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly to your savings account or an external account.

Barclays is a member of the FDIC, so all accounts opened with them are insured up to $250,000 or $500,000 for joint accounts.

Minimum Balance RequirementAPY
$04.00%
APY = Annual Percentage Yield

To give this offer some context, the current national average for a savings account and a money market account sit at just 0.40% and 0.59%, respectively, according to FDIC data.

That said some of the top online savings account rates from FDIC-insured online banks and nationally available credit unions are now hovering around 4.50% APY.

How does Barclays Online Savings Account Compare?

Take a look at the table below. We compare Barclays online savings account with other competitive accounts on the market.

InstitutionMin. DepositAPY
BMO Harris$04.50%
Citizens Access$0.014.50%
PNC Bank$04.50%
UFB Direct$04.81%
Barclays$04.00%
Rates surveyed May 25, 2023. Some rates shown above may vary by location.

Pros and Cons

✅ Pros🛑 Cons
– no minimum deposit or balance requirements
– no maintenance fees
– competitive yield that beats the national average handily
– daily compounding interest
– easy account to open and maintain
– fdic insurance
– more competitive rates are available elsewhere
– poorly rated Android app
– no ATM access

How to Open the Account

You’ll need a few basic things to get started with your account. Here is the information Barclays will require:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Date of Birth
  • Phone Number
  • Social Security Number
  • Occupation

Funding the Account

Barclays will also ask for the necessary bank information of where you will be transferring funds from. For this, you will need:

  • your current bank account routing number
  • your current bank account number

As with many online banks, you will need to verify two small test deposits that Barclays credits to your account before funding it. If you are making your initial deposit via check you can use $0.00 for these fields. Just be sure to mail your check in asap.

You can deposit funds via any of the following methods:

  • you can set up direct deposits,
  • make remote deposits through the app or website,
  • transfer funds electronically through an ACH transaction,
  • or mail a check to the following address: Barclays P.O. Box 4538 Carol Stream, IL 60197

Once your online savings account is open, you can easily transfer funds to other accounts and other banks for free (though you will have to wait 2 – 3 business days for these to go through). You can do this up to six times per month without incurring fees per Federal Regulation D. For each transaction after that, you’ll be charged $5.

The other fee to potentially look out for is the $5 non-sufficient funds fee, which is still significantly lower than what most banks charge. For more information on fees, continue reading below.

Fees

As mentioned, the account comes with no monthly maintenance fees and no monthly balance requirements. That said, depending on what actions you intend to take with this account, there may be some associated fees.

Barclays Online Savings Fees

TypeFee
Excessive Transaction$5 each after the sixth
Stop Payment$0
Cashier’s Check$5
Returned Item$5 each
Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) Fee$5 per item
Statement Copy$0.50 per statement
Express Mail/Rush Delivery Charge$25
Legal Documents$0
Account Research$0

Please note that Barclays does not accept wire transfers at this time.

Banking Experience

Barclays has ATMs, but you won’t be able to access them if you’re an online-only customer because the Barclays Online Savings account does not come with an ATM card.

There is also no U.S. branch network. To access your funds, you’ll have to transfer them to another account or cash out checks. And remember, Barclays does not offer a checking account at this time.

So what do US consumers have to say about this online institution?

Reviews are very mixed.

Until recently, customers have generally been satisfied with their experience with this bank. Out of 220 reviews on DepositAccounts, the bank earned a 4-star customer rating. Out of 472 customer ratings on ConsumerAffairs, the institution earned about 3.2 stars. Finally, on WalletHub, Barclays scored a 3.8 out of 24.2 thousand user reviews—overall, the bank is rated somewhere between 3 and 4 stars out of 5. (Keep in mind, however, that some reviews are of the global company and not of the online, U.S.-based retail bank alone.)

In normal environments consumers seem to be satisfied with this bank, especially for its interest rates and the ease of use of its digital platform. However, back in 2020 amidst the panic of COVID-19 and the worrisome financial situations of so many Americans, Barclays received an outpouring of overwhelmingly negative reviews. 

Customers were seeking help in the form of mortgage relief, advice, answers, and more but Barclays has allegedly become flaky and unresponsive. Many users had reported unexpected account closures and freezes and a number of customers were unable to reach customer service representatives at all. Though this might not be the typical Barclays experience, it’s still worth noting.

image credit: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/barclays-us-savings/

As for Barclays mobile apps (US version for online savings account), they score a 3.4 out of 5 on Apple’s App Store and just a 1.9 out of 5 on Google Play. It’s worth noting that the US versions for the online savings account score much lower on usability than their UK counterparts which both score above 4.5 out of 5.

Filed Under: Savings Accounts Tagged With: Barclays

Barclays Bank CD Rates – Now up to 5.00% APY!

Written by: editorial staff
March 17, 2023

The online-only, US division of Barclays Bank has a simple set of bank deposit accounts that feature some noteworthy yields.

Their current product suite consists of an online savings account and 9 regular term CDs ranging from 12 months to 5 years. The current yields on their certificates of deposit are higher than the national average for each term.

Barclays CDs can be opened online in minutes and their products are available to US citizens and residents over the age of 18 in all 50 states.

Barclays Bank CD Rates + Account Details

image credit: barclaysus.com

Barclays Bank is federally insured by the FDIC. All deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor or $500,000 for joint accounts.

Barclays Bank CD Rates

TermAPY
12 months5.00%
18 months4.80%
24 months4.35%
36 months4.30%
48 months4.30%
60 months4.30%
APY = Annual Percentage Yield

To put these offers in perspective the current national average on a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD sit at just 1.36% and 1.26% APY, respectively, according to recent FDIC data.

How is Interest Calculated and Paid

All Barclays CDs compound interest daily and credit it monthly to your account. You can choose to have these funds kept in your deposit to compound further, transferred to a Barclays online savings account or transferred to an external account.

Fo those that would like the interest transferred, here’s how to set that up:

  1. Select the Account detail tab,
  2. Go to the Additional Details section.
  3. Under CD interest disbursement, select the Edit option.

Please note that you’ll need the wiring information and bank account number to where the funds will be disbursed.

Early Withdrawal Penalties

Watch out for early withdrawal penalties. Barclays bank doesn’t offer any promotional, one-time early withdrawal option that some other online banks do.

If you need access to your funds prior to your CD’s maturity you can expect to pay the following:

  • For a CDs with terms less than 24 months, a penalty equaling 90 days simple interest on the dollar amount withdrawn subject to penalty will be imposed,
  • For CDs with a term of more than 24 months, a penalty equaling 180 days simple interest on the dollar amount withdrawn subject to penalty will be imposed.

What Happens When Your Barclays CD Matures

Barclays gives you ample time to decide what to do with your funds when your CD matures. They will send you an email alert notifying you of your upcoming CD maturity roughly 30 days prior to the maturation date. At this time you may login to your account and make your maturity selection. You can choose to do nothing and have the CD renewed, withdraw some or all of the funds, or change the term of your CD.

Upon maturity you will be allotted a 14 day grace period in which you can withdraw funds (or add them) without any penalty. To withdraw funds, you’ll need to contact them in writing or by phone before the grace period is over. For more detailed instructions, call the Barclays Customer Care team at 888-710-8756, 7 days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm ET.

If nothing is done during this 14 day grace period, your CD will automatically renew into the same term deposit with whatever yield is currently being offered at that time.

⏰ Remember: Be sure to set up your own alerts as these emails can be accidentally sent to your junk mail.

Filed Under: CD Rates Tagged With: Barclays

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