Barclays Online Savings Review: No Fees and High APY

The Barclays Online Savings account might be right for you if: You're looking for a no-frills savings account that pays a competitive APY and has no withdrawal restrictions. The account also offers surprisingly few fees, even compared to its online competitors.

Check out the full Barclays Online Savings account review below to learn more about the account's benefits and drawbacks.

Here's a closer look at what the Barclays Online Savings account has to offer.

Barclays Online Savings interest rate

If you're just starting to save money (for an emergency fund, perhaps?), this Barclays Online Savings account could be a good fit. Its 4.35% APY lines up with some of our other favorite accounts, and best of all, there's no minimum deposit to open the account or earn interest.

The Barclays Online Savings account only has two fees. The first is a $0.50 paper statement fee for those who opt for these instead of electronic statements. The other fee is a $5 fee for requesting a check from your account.

This is even fewer fees than you see with most other online banks. But part of the reason for this is that Barclays doesn't permit certain actions, like wire transfers, that many other online banks offer at a fee.

The Barclays Online Savings account doesn't have a minimum initial deposit requirement nor does it have minimum ongoing balance requirements. However, if you maintain a balance of less than $1.00 for 180 days or more, Barclays reserves the right to close the account.

Barclays doesn't limit the number of withdrawals you're allowed to make per statement cycle. However, the maximum withdrawal you can make at one time is $250,000. This limit also applies to deposits.

The Barclays U.S. Savings app is available for iOS and Android devices. But consumers aren't very impressed by their capabilities. Many have criticized the app for being glitchy and preventing consumers from viewing their account balance or transferring funds.

You have several options for depositing and withdrawing money from your Barclays Online Savings account. Here's a closer look at all of them.

Deposit options

Funds can be deposited into your Barclays Online Savings account in the following four ways:

• Mobile deposit
• Direct deposit
• Electronic funds transfer
• Mailed check

Barclays doesn't accept money orders, cash deposits, wire transfers, or third-party checks that are signed over to a person who isn't named on the front of the check.

Withdrawal options

When you want to withdraw money from your Barclays Online Savings account, you can request:

• Electronic funds transfer
• A mailed check from Barclays

It can take two to three business days for money from your Barclays account to get to your external bank account via online transfer.

Barclays customer reviews are largely negative. It currently has a 1.4 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from over 10,000 customers. The Better Business Bureau hasn't rated it, but it also has a number of negative reviews here as well.

4.35% APY: Barclays Online Savings account delivers a competitively high APY applied to all balances. This is a nice bonus, considering that some competitors offer tiered rates that go up as balances increase or a promotional rate that expires after a set period of time.

$0 minimum deposit and no minimum balance requirement: With no minimum balance required, Barclays is an ideal choice for those who are beginning to build savings. Even super savers will appreciate the fact that you won't be penalized if you have to pull money from savings and leave your account with a low balance.

$0 monthly maintenance fee: Low or no fees are the norm for high-yield online savings accounts. This is one of the most important features for a prospective savings account, given that fees can quickly wipe out interest earnings

FDIC insured: Finally, Barclays Online Savings accounts are covered by the same FDIC insurance as traditional bank savings accounts. You're covered for as much as $250,000 per depositor, per institution, in the event of a bank failure.

Available accounts: Barclays is focused on online savings, and you're limited in the types of accounts you can open. For example, you currently can't open a checking account with Barclays. If you'd prefer to do all of your banking in one place, you'll need to look elsewhere.

No ATMs for withdrawals: Money can be withdrawn only by check or transfer to an external bank. This makes the process of getting your money from your Barclays Online Savings account a slow process that takes several days.

Branch availability: Barclays is a British multinational bank and, as such, has only a handful of branches in the U.S. This means most customers are out of luck when it comes to taking care of transactions or getting support in person.

Yes, the Barclays Online Savings account is insured up to $250,000 per person. This is the standard for all banks in the U.S., whether they have physical branches or operate online.

• You want a high-yield savings account with few fees and no account minimums.
• You prefer online banking over in-person banking.
• You're okay withdrawing money by check or transferring it to an external account and don't need ATM access.

Keep reading about Barclays

• Barclays CD Rates
• Barclays Promotions

Our savings account methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate savings accounts on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). We evaluate all savings accounts across four main criteria: annual percentage yield (APY), brand and reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and perks that really make a difference -- think ATM access, linked checking accounts, or even branch access.

Our scores are weighted as:

• APY: 50%
• Brand and reputation: 20%
• Fees and minimums: 15%
• Other perks: 15%

Learn more about how The Motley Fool Ascent rates bank accounts.