News first broke of the Barclaycard rebranding plans late last year. Now, we’re getting ready to meet the new Barclays!
This year, Barclaycard US will become Barclays. The bank will be revamping its image and growing its digital banking footprint in the states. Barclaycard US is a division of UK-based Barclays, so the name change will align their US division more closely with the overall company image.
Digital banking is growing in popularity, and banks are positioning themselves to harness that growth. The Barclaycard rebranding is likely a push to capture some of that new market share in the states. I don’t know about you, but I do the vast majority of my banking online. Transfers, direct deposit, mobile deposit. It’s all done remotely! I do go into the bank occasionally, but that’s really only if I have to. I’d much rather be able to stay home, login, and do what I need to do from anywhere in the world.
Competition is good in any industry, and digital banking is no different. I welcome a new addition to my wallet! Barclays, if you’re listening…here’s my wish list:
- High yield savings rate (see Ally, Synchrony, Capital One, Discover)
- ATM fee reimbursements and no foreign transaction fees on my debit card (see Schwab)
- Simple, straightforward user interface (I’m a fan of Capital One’s online interface, personally)
Barclays Bank
Although we don’t know Barclays very well in the states, it’s a truly global financial conglomerate. The bank includes holdings on every inhabited continent. In many countries (notably the UK and old British colonial areas), Barclays Bank offers a variety of financial and investment services. Barclays trades on the London Stock Exchange (BARC), with a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange here in the states (BCS).
So, while we typically think of Barclaycard as a second-tier credit card issuer, we may soon use it for many banking needs in the states too. Cross your fingers for some great bank sign-up bonuses!
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FYI- While I never see it advertised like Ally (not sure why they haven’t invested more into the marketing), Barclays Bank Delaware (the actual issuer of the US cards from Barclaycard) actually does run an online only deposit bank, with rates that are competitive with Ally. It’s always been branded as “Barclays”, so perhaps when the card side rebrands, they will have more opportunities to cross-market. https://banking.barclaysus.com
There we go! Barclays is already checking off my list of requests 🙂 I do hope they expand to offer a competitive checking account.
Barclay’s is one of the very few US Card issuers that offers a “chip AND pin” option compatible with European vending machines (try refueling your rental car in Iceland without one…). Their banking arm also has fairly good rates for Jumbo CDs.
Thanks Chris! You know, I’ve only run into chip/pin issues once or twice, but definitely a great feature!