Barclays Bank PLC SWIFT/BIC code

What BARCDEFF means for a payment to Barclays Bank PLC

Whether a recipient gives you BARCDEFF or BARCDEFFXXX, it is the same address for Barclays Bank PLC in Germany. Banks worldwide use BIC codes to direct payments between countries to the correct institution. In practice you usually see it on international invoices, in your banking app and in the bank details of Barclays Bank PLC customers.

On this page you can read what the code means, when you need it and which other details you need for a transfer to or from Barclays Bank PLC. Remember that the BIC just identifies the bank, not the person: the IBAN or account number does that part.

Why Barclays Bank PLC has an 8- and an 11-character code

A BIC is made up of a few fixed parts: the first four letters stand for the bank, characters five and six show the country and characters seven and eight mark the location. The result is BARCDEFF for Barclays Bank PLC.

XXX at the end of BARCDEFFXXX is not a placeholder or a mistake: it stands for the main office of Barclays Bank PLC. Some banking apps ask for 11 characters, and then you simply add XXX after BARCDEFF.

Enter the code in one piece, in capitals and without spaces, exactly as shown here. Pasting the code beats typing it by hand, because one wrong letter changes the bank.

Is BARCDEFF still correct? How to check

Have the recipient copy their account details straight from their banking app. Check it against BARCDEFF here and ask if anything does not match.

Mistakes in the SWIFT code are annoying more than disastrous: often the payment comes back, minus fees. An error in the account number is a bigger problem because it can reach the wrong person, so check that just as carefully.

A validity check by your bank merely confirms that the IBAN exists – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. Some banks now compare the payee name with the account – do not ignore a mismatch warning. A small test payment can be worth it for large sums.

Head office or branch code at Barclays Bank PLC?

Our directory lists 3 SWIFT/BIC codes for Barclays Bank PLC in 1 places. Next to the head office code BARCDEFFXXX, there are codes for branches, departments or specific services.

Usually you do not need to look up a branch: payments sent to BARCDEFFXXX are routed within Barclays Bank PLC correctly. If you have been given a specific code, use it as it is rather than swapping it for the head office code.

The best way is to take the code directly from the account holder’s bank details. Branch codes are more likely to be retired than the head office code.

Scams that use SWIFT codes

One of the most common tricks works like this: you receive a request claiming that a company has new bank details and that the next payment should go there. That BARCDEFF is a real code is no guarantee that a request mentioning it is genuine; criminals use the codes of real banks too.

Verify changed payment details through a separate channel, not by replying to the message. Be suspicious of time pressure, unusual wording or an email address that differs by one letter. Acted too fast? Call your bank without delay and ask them to try to recall the payment and report the fraud.

Recipients can be targeted as well: a classic trick is an overpayment and then sends a request to refund the difference to another account. A payment confirmation from the sender proves nothing.

Incoming international payments to Barclays Bank PLC

To receive an international payment into your account at Barclays Bank PLC, the person paying you needs more than the SWIFT code. The basics are: your name, IBAN or account number, BARCDEFFXXX or BARCDEFF and often your home address.

Certain sending banks want the bank’s address, so keep it at hand. A typo in your account number can be harder to fix than you might think.

Money from abroad does not always land in full. Fees for incoming transfers differ per bank; check the price list of Barclays Bank PLC. On invoices, you can agree how the fees are split to avoid a shortfall.

Paying into Barclays Bank PLC in EUR

Germany pays in the Euro, with the currency code EUR. If you send money in a different currency, the amount has to be converted somewhere along the way – by your bank, by Barclays Bank PLC or by a bank in between. There is rarely a separate line for that conversion.

Who does the conversion has an effect on how much arrives, since every bank sets its own rate. In many cases you pay less to send EUR directly through a provider that converts near the mid-market rate, so that the receiving bank does not need to convert again.

Rates for EUR move during the day. For recurring payments, small differences in the rate add up over time.

Euro transfers to Barclays Bank PLC: is a BIC needed?

Within the SEPA zone, euro payments to an account in Germany follow the same rules, so the IBAN does the job in most cases. The BIC field is usually optional or missing for those payments.

You will still need BARCDEFFXXX for non-euro payments or money from outside the SEPA area. A few forms still ask for the BIC; in that case, enter BARCDEFF or BARCDEFFXXX.

Euro payments within SEPA normally land within one business day; instant payments are faster if both banks offer them. As long as no currency is converted, the transfer tends to be cheap; costs rise once a conversion is involved.

Where our SWIFT data comes from

The details on this page are taken from publicly available data which we refresh regularly. Banks reorganise, change names and change codes, and a directory never catches every change immediately. Counts and locations are from our own dataset and may differ from what Barclays Bank PLC publishes.

See our directory on this page as a handy check and rely on the recipient or Barclays Bank PLC for the final confirmation. GoldexPay has no connection to Barclays Bank PLC, we only compare transfer services. Should you notice something that is out of date, we appreciate a message.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to Barclays Bank PLC

There is no fixed delivery time for international payments: many arrive within a day while others need several business days. Transfers sent late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday usually go out the next business day. Extra checks by one of the banks may also cause a delay, regardless of the details.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Each gpi transfer gets a unique reference, the UETR that banks can use to trace it. Money transfer services usually show a status in their app so you can see how far the money is.

If a payment has not arrived within the expected time, the person who paid should contact their own bank. As a recipient, you can check your account to see a partial amount, since fees may have been deducted.

Sending money abroad from Barclays Bank PLC

If you transfer money abroad from Barclays Bank PLC, the fee you see is only part of what you pay. You pay the transfer fee, possibly charges from correspondent banks in between and, most importantly, the margin on the exchange rate when the money is converted.

Banks do not show their exchange rate markup separately. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate; the gap is what conversion costs you.

Specialised transfer providers frequently use rates closer to the mid-market rate. Next time you send money, it is worth comparing the total cost on GoldexPay rather than accepting the bank’s rate by default. Using a transfer service does not mean closing your account at Barclays Bank PLC.