Barclays

Universal bank · London, United Kingdom

Barclays is a London-based universal bank founded in 1690, operating in over 40 countries with about 100,000 staff and five divisions: UK Consumer Bank, UK Corporate Bank, Private Bank and Wealth Management, Investment Bank and US Consumer Bank. UK businesses with turnover under GBP 6.5m get a business account with no monthly fee for 12 months and GBP 8.50 a month after that; larger companies use Barclays Corporate Banking with trade finance and iPortal. Barclays is a G-SIB in bucket 2 and took part in the UK Finance tokenised sterling deposits pilot. Barclaycard has blocked crypto purchases since 27 June 2025.

Legal name: Barclays PLC
Regulated by: PRA/FCA (UK), Central Bank of Ireland / ECB (Barclays Bank Ireland PLC), Federal Reserve / OCC (US), RBI (India)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1690
Website: home.barclays

Scores, 0 to 10

10.0United Kingdom

UK clearing bank: business account with no monthly fee for 12 months then GBP 8.50 a month, and Corporate Banking holds a relationship with over a quarter of UK corporates. · source

9.0Financial strength & stability

G-SIB bucket 2 on the FSB 2025 list; Barclays PLC rated Baa1 (Moody's), BBB+ (S&P), A (Fitch) and Barclays Bank UK PLC A1/A+/AA-; CET1 14.3% at 30 June 2026. · source

7.5Trade, manufacturing & import-export

GTR Leaders in Trade 2026 named Barclays Best Trade Finance Bank in the UK; import and export letters of credit, collections and guarantees are offered above GBP 6.5m turnover. · source

7.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

International payments to over 130 destinations in over 50 currencies with published tariff fees of GBP 15 to GBP 25 per payment on the standard business tariff. Corporate Banking serves companies above GBP 6.5m turnover with iPortal, foreign currency accounts and international corporate banking for multinationals. · source

7.0Startups & VC-backed companies

Dedicated Innovation Banking team, Eagle Labs network, a USD 50m pre-seed vehicle and up to GBP 500m of Climate Ventures capital between 2020 and 2027. · source

6.5Fast digital onboarding

Online application with fraud and credit checks; Barclays aims to open accounts within five working days of receiving the application. · source

6.5Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

The Barclays Business Debit Card is Visa with a 2.75 percent non-sterling fee and app-set spending limits, and Barclaycard adds Select Cashback, Premium Plus and charge cards with 1 percent cashback above GBP 2,000 monthly spend. · source

6.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Business banking pages direct merchants to Barclaycard Payments for card acceptance alongside multi-currency foreign currency accounts. Barclays Eagle Labs runs programmes, mentoring and a Demo Directory for UK founders and scaleups, but the bank publishes no software-specific account, API or receiving-account product. · source

6.0Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot TrustScore 4.1 from 24,908 reviews for barclays.co.uk, with 49% of reviews at one star. · source

5.5United States

Barclays US LLC and Barclays Bank Delaware are key operating entities; the US Consumer Bank serves over 25 million customers with cards and personal loans rather than business accounts. · source

5.5Lowest fees

No monthly fee for the first 12 months, then GBP 8.50 a month, with transaction charges applied per the business tariff. · source

5.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Barclays Innovation Banking supports UK businesses from idea to IPO and Eagle Labs hosts fintech founders, but no public safeguarding-account programme for EMIs was found. · source

5.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Barclays Bank Ireland PLC (Barclays Europe) is a key group operating entity with its own board, and euro payments from EU/EEA accounts with a valid IBAN are free of charge. · source

4.0Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Barclays Bank PLC India in Mumbai offers corporates trade loans, guarantees, letters of credit and cash management for residents and non-residents. · source

4.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Barclays Bank UK PLC states it will only provide services to UK incorporated businesses who trade in the UK and meet its risk appetite. · source

4.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Barclays publishes no list of prohibited sectors; its PSP criteria say it will not support activity illegal in any jurisdiction it operates in, giving recreational drugs as the example, and it stopped onboarding EMIs and small payment institutions. · source

4.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

A June 2026 guide reports exchange withdrawals to Barclays arrive by Faster Payments within minutes, but the business debit card limit of GBP 10,000 a month counts payments in and out, and Barclays publishes no source-of-funds process for business crypto proceeds. · source

3.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

The 2025 Annual Report describes further investment in Middle East and Asia markets for wealth and international corporate banking, serving multinational clients globally. · source

3.5Middle East & Gulf

The 2025 Annual Report cites investments in the Middle East and Asia markets and wealth corridors across the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia. · source

3.5Best interest on business balances

Business Premium Account for micro enterprises pays 1.25% gross (1.256% AER) on GBP and USD and 0.60% on EUR, with instant access. · source

2.5Crypto-friendly bank

Barclaycard blocks all crypto-currency transactions on its credit cards from 27 June 2025, citing debt risk and lack of FSCS or Ombudsman protection. · source

2.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Since 2 December 2025 Barclays caps Faster Payments to crypto exchanges at GBP 2,500 per payment and GBP 10,000 a month across all of a customer's accounts, business accounts included, caps business debit card crypto payments at GBP 10,000 a month, and has banned Barclaycard crypto purchases since 27 June 2025. · source

2.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Barclays was in the ten-bank group exploring a reserve-backed stablecoin in October 2025 but is not among the 21 institutions that committed to the venture on 1 September 2026; it bought a stake in the stablecoin clearing firm Ubyx in January 2026 and takes part in the UK tokenised sterling deposit pilot, with no stablecoin service for clients. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Barclays offers no crypto custody or wallet to personal, business or corporate clients; a June 2026 hands-on guide confirms there is no in-app crypto, and a February 2026 report says the bank is only exploring digital asset technology with vendors. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

No crypto or stablecoin acceptance exists for Barclays merchant or corporate clients; a February 2026 report describes stablecoin and tokenized deposit work as plans under evaluation, not products, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Bitcoin

Barclays sells no bitcoin, custody or bitcoin funds to business clients; the June 2026 guide could not confirm that Barclays Smart Investor carries the London-listed bitcoin ETNs allowed for retail since October 2025. · source

1.0Ethereum

Barclays sells no ether, custody or staking to business clients, and ether ETN access on Smart Investor is unconfirmed, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.