Barclays Introduces Online Savings Account for U.S. Consumers

London-based Barclays continued its foray into the U.S. market as it introduced an online savings account for American customers.

Barclays announced Monday it is rolling out a FDIC-insured savings account and certificate of deposit for U.S. consumers. The savings account has no minimum deposit and there are no monthly maintenance fees, the bank said.

According to the bank, customers who sign up can deposit funds or checks remotely via ACH bank transfer, PC scanner or smartphone, view account balances and link to deposit accounts at other financial institutions in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Barclays announced it was getting into the U.S. card market, releasing a credit card designed and built using community crowdsourcing dubbed the BarclayCard Ring.

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According to a recent Harris Interactive online survey commissioned by Barclays among 2,200 U.S. adults, 70 percent said that savings interest rates are important to them and 70 percent also said they are "not at all satisfied" or only "somewhat satisfied" with their current savings account interest rate. According to Barclays, 58 percent resounded that they would consider opening or switching to an online-only savings account if it offered consistently higher rates.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio