Barclays do they want customers?

mab3000

Borisjake said:

Emmia said:

subjecttocontract said:

I wouldn't touch Barclays with a bargepole. I believe their accounts are or were all app only which put me off as well.

Personally I've been a Barclays customer for almost 30 years (starting with a children's account) and I've always been happy with their service, whether online, via the app or in branch.

Same here, 40 years with no issues and I have lived overseas for 20 years. I was asked for proof of address 3 years ago when I moved house, understandable as they can't check. I got a notarised copy of my passport and local ID card and sent by snail mail, all good.

OP, just walk into a branch with sufficient ID and some cash to deposit, they are hardly likely to turn you away. Using an app is not compulsory.......

Being a recent ex member of staff, unfortunately the experience the OP has had is the norm now. Gone are the days when you can just walk into Barclays  without an appointment to open an account. So without an appointment it’s far more likely they would just be turned away than you think. This has really accelerated since Covid struck and things in branches have changed enormously since then. 

Using their app is not compulsory, but they are trying their damn hardest to get you to use it…

Rudyson

mab3000 said:

Borisjake said:

Emmia said:

subjecttocontract said:

I wouldn't touch Barclays with a bargepole. I believe their accounts are or were all app only which put me off as well.

Personally I've been a Barclays customer for almost 30 years (starting with a children's account) and I've always been happy with their service, whether online, via the app or in branch.

Same here, 40 years with no issues and I have lived overseas for 20 years. I was asked for proof of address 3 years ago when I moved house, understandable as they can't check. I got a notarised copy of my passport and local ID card and sent by snail mail, all good.

OP, just walk into a branch with sufficient ID and some cash to deposit, they are hardly likely to turn you away. Using an app is not compulsory.......

Using their app is not compulsory, but they are trying their damn hardest to get you to use it…

Everybody seems to be trying their damn hardest to get you to use their app. Obviously some people like apps and some don't, but I have a policy in life about everything: the more someone tries to push you into doing something, the more likely that it's in their interest rather than yours.

Band7

Whilst it is not true that Barclays is app only, app banking is the future, so it’s not surprising that Barclays are encouraging people to use their app. I actually prefer app banking, whether at Barclays or at any other bank. If your phone is too small for your liking, you can use a tablet, and I believe there is also a way to use Android apps on a Windows 11 PC / laptop.

The Barclays Branch service is, in my experience, really bad. Thankfully I don’t normally need a Branch as I can do what I need to do day to day in the app, online or over the phone. I only use Barclays because of the rewards, though, and for an ancient cashback credit card.

adindas

Band7 said:

If your phone is too small for your liking, you can use a tablet, and I believe there is also a way to use Android apps on a Windows 11 PC / laptop.

The screen is not big enough is just one of many reasons some people do not like Mobile Apps.

- Even you use tabs, it will not be able to replace PC/Laptop. Let alone if you are using Powerful gaming PC/Workstation with dual large screen monitors with a proper keyboard and gaming mouse. You could easily copy and paste from other documents, refer/revisit other documents if you are completing a new application form, setting up a new SO, DD mandates. You could easily get access all of your data from the hard drive rather than from the clouds.

- In many cases people are sorting out their financial matters at home or in the workplace, or somewhere where they could concentrate to avoid mistake. People avoid accessing their bank account in the public places, etc. So people will be doing it in the places where they have access to PC/Laptop anyway.

- Some people here on MSEs have more than a few dozens, Current, Savings, credit card Let alone to be added with, Fintech, Investment accounts. How does it looks like if someday you have to install a few dozens of apps just for financial purposes. What about apps for travellings, navigators, gaming, Video entertainments, etc.

- It is much easier to lose, to misplace your mobile devices rather than your laptop.

- Mobile phone and Laptop/PC is a need for many people with routine work. Tab is not as most of the tabs functionality could be replaced with this two devices, 6"+ Mobile phone (say) and Laptop/PC. Why would the people would want to invest in a new Tab that will always be obsolete, need to be updated all the time (e.g buy a new one).

I had been having four tabs in the past. At some point I stop buying it. Complete waste of money, and unfriendly to environment.

In my personal opinion, mobile apps could only replace the online banking if the Mobile device could replace Laptop/PC. Sofar tabs have been around for more than a decade, it is nowhere near they could replace the functionality of Laptop/PC.

Rudyson said:

Everybody seems to be trying their damn hardest to get you to use their app. Obviously some people like apps and some don't, but I have a policy in life about everything: the more someone tries to push you into doing something, the more likely that it's in their interest rather than yours.

In my personal opinion it is more their interest rather than the customer interest. It is clearly the banks, fintech interest to discourage people to install so many apps but their apps in your mobile devices.

Borisjake

I use the app myself, very useful for transfers, payments or checking balances. I may be missing something, but how do you log in to an app if there is no account to log into?
Other issues I will phone.

adindas

Borisjake said:

I use the app myself, very useful for transfers, payments or checking balances. I may be missing something, but how do you log in to an app if there is no account to log into?
Other issues I will phone.

Well, you definitely have missed something. Unless it is originally launched or advertised as an app based banking, Many People could still login using online banking without the need for apps.

People could only see the difference and come to the conclusion if they have tried both cases and compare between the two. If you have not tried the other alternative how could you know the difference ?

Compare the performance and efficiency of using the State of the art of Mobile Devices with the State of the art of PC/Laptops such as Gaming PC, Workstation with large dual screen monitors equipped with a proper Keyboard, gaming mouse (not with dynosour PC which have not been updated for more than a decade)

This is one of the main reason why despite have been more than a decade in the market mobile devices will not be able to replace the functionality of the Laptop/PCs.

Another one that I forgot to mention on my previous posting is that If you have a few dozens, financial apps, it is extremely unlikely you will need all of them on your mobile devices. People will only need a few apps for the banking apps they will use quite frequently and will uninstall the apps they do not use frequently. Let alone if you have another way of accessing it without the need to install anything. This is the typical approach people are using with any any unfrequented used apps on their mobile devices. Why would it be different with Banking, Fintech apps ??

Band7

Seems to be like marmite - some people love apps and some absolutely don’t.

I have in the region of 70 apps on my phone, mostly financial ones. For almost all of them, I have online alternatives which I only ever use if the functionality doesn’t exist in the app, e.g. changing the amount on a Santander standing order. 

Nobody will ever convince me that I want to use online banking in preference to app banking. Probably like nobody can convince people who prefer online banking to switch to apps.