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Pros and cons

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Barclays Online Savings Account review

The Barclays Online Savings Account is an overall great fee-free savings account. It has a $0 minimum opening deposit. You can also earn a high interest rate that’s higher than what many traditional savings accounts pay right now.

How Barclays works

Barclays is an online bank that has a high-yield savings account and CDs. Barclays doesn’t have a checking account, so you’ll need to transfer your money to an external bank account to access it.

Customer service is available by phone or live chat seven days per week. Contact a representative anytime from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.

The Barclays mobile app has received 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store, and 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple store.

Your deposits are FDIC insured for $250,000 for individual bank accounts or $500,000 for joint accounts.

Barclays trustworthiness and BBB score

The Better Business Bureau rates companies by seeing how it responds to customer complaints.

The BBB gave Barclays an A+ rating. A great BBB score doesn’t guarantee your relationship with a bank will be smooth. You’ll want to talk to current customers or read online customer reviews to see if Barclays might be a good fit for you.

Although Barclays has a great BBB rating, it does have one recent public settlement. In 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission required Barclays to pay $6 million in a settlement that accused the bank of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act due to improper hiring practices.

Barclays Online Savings Account vs. Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings Account

We’ve compared the Barclays Online Savings Account to the Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings Account.

Both offer an online high-yield savings account with no monthly service fees or minimum opening deposit, so it could be a bit of a toss-up.

The two institutions also share a similar disadvantage in their savings account — limited access to your funds. If you’d like to take out money from your account, you’ll need to link an external bank account and transfer funds.

The Barclays Online Savings Account currently offers a higher interest rate than the Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings Account. However, keep in mind rates can fluctuate.

Barclays Online Savings Account vs. Discover Online Savings Account

See how the Barclays Online Savings Account stacks up to Discover Bank’s Online Savings Account.

You might lean more toward Discover if you’d prefer opening multiple bank accounts or having quick access to funds.

Discover offers a checking account. If you open both bank accounts, you’ll be able to link your debit card to your savings account and access funds quickly. The Discover Cashback Debit Account
is also a rewards checking account. You may earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 of purchases per month.

Barclays currently pays a higher interest rate than Discover, though. 

Frequently asked questions

Is the Barclays savings account FDIC insured?

Yes. Barclays is a federally insured bank. Deposits are FDIC insured for $250,000 for individual bank accounts or $500,000 for joint accounts.

Does Barclays have a good savings account?

The Barclays Online Savings Account pays 1.80% APY, which is higher than what many traditional savings accounts pay right now.

You may like Barclays if you don’t want to deal with monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements.

It may not be the best option if you want quick access to your funds. Barclays doesn’t have a checking account or ATM access, so you’ll transfer money to an external bank account.