Barclays Bank PLC SWIFT/BIC code

What BARCJES1 means for a payment to Barclays Bank PLC

BARCJES1 and BARCJES1XXX are the short and the long form of the same SWIFT/BIC code, and both lead to Barclays Bank PLC in St. Helier. A SWIFT code tells every bank in the chain exactly which bank should receive the money. You will need it mostly when dealing with transfers between countries.

On this page we explain how the code is put together, when you need it and what else you need for a transfer to or from Barclays Bank PLC. The SWIFT code alone does not identify an individual account holder; for that you need the account number or IBAN .

Tracking a transfer to or from Barclays Bank PLC

There is no single delivery time for international payments: many land within a day. Weekends and public holidays in the sending or receiving country can add extra days, since banks do not process on those days. Extra checks by one of the banks can also cause a delay, even when all details are correct.

Many banks are connected to SWIFT gpi. Each gpi transfer carries a unique reference, the UETR. Money transfer services usually show tracking online showing how far the payment is.

If a payment has not arrived after a few business days, the person who paid should contact their own bank. Ask the sender for the payment receipt with the date and reference; that often settles the question quickly.

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

The layout of every SWIFT code never changes: a bank code of four letters, two for the country and two for the location, plus an optional branch code. The result is BARCJES1 for Barclays Bank PLC.

XXX at the end of BARCJES1XXX is not a placeholder or a mistake: it indicates the main office of Barclays Bank PLC. Certain payment forms ask for 11 characters, and then you can add XXX behind BARCJES1.

As a rule the code is written in capitals. Watch for the letter O and the digit 0 or the letter I and the digit 1; they are easy to mix up.

Receiving money from abroad at Barclays Bank PLC

To receive a transfer from abroad into your account at Barclays Bank PLC, the person paying you needs more than the SWIFT code. What they need is: the account holder’s name, IBAN or account number, BARCJES1XXX or BARCJES1 and often your home address.

Their bank might request the bank address of Barclays Bank PLC; the head office in St. Helier is usually fine. Double-check the details before you send them, because the sender’s bank usually copies them as is.

Expect that the incoming amount is smaller than the amount on the sender’s receipt. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee, Barclays Bank PLC may charge for incoming payments, and if the money is converted, a markup on the rate comes on top. Agree with the sender who covers the fees.

Changed bank details? Be careful

Stay wary when a contact unexpectedly wants you to pay into another account abroad. The fact that BARCJES1 exists does not mean that the account is legitimate; criminals use the codes of real banks too.

Check new bank details through a separate channel, not by replying to the message. Watch out for urgent requests, unusual wording or a sender address that is slightly off. If a payment was sent to a fraudster, contact your bank immediately – speed improves the chance of getting it back.

Fraud also target the receiver. Someone sends more than agreed and wants you to return the difference. Do not act before the money has really arrived.

Paying into Barclays Bank PLC in GBP

Most accounts at Barclays Bank PLC are typically held in GBP, the local currency of Jersey. If you send another currency, the amount has to be converted at some point – by your bank, by Barclays Bank PLC or by a bank in between. Each conversion costs something.

Which bank converts the payment matters, because each party uses its own rate. Often you pay less to send GBP directly via a provider with a good rate, so that the receiving bank does not need to convert again.

Exchange rates change all the time – some services let you fix a rate in advance. If you pay regularly, small differences in the rate add up over a year.

What a transfer from Barclays Bank PLC abroad really costs

When you transfer money to another country via Barclays Bank PLC, the fee you see is rarely all of the cost. You pay the fee for the transfer itself, sometimes fees charged by intermediary banks in between and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup when the money is converted.

The markup on the rate tends to be the biggest item even though it is not listed as a fee. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate – the rate you find on financial news sites. The difference is your real conversion cost.

Specialist money transfer services often use a rate near the mid-market rate and lower fees. Next time you send money, it is worth to compare what arrives on GoldexPay rather than accepting the bank’s rate by default. Using a transfer service does not require leaving Barclays Bank PLC: you simply pay the service from your account.

Is BARCJES1 still correct? How to check

The safest source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details. Compare that code with BARCJES1 here; if they differ, ask before you pay.

An incorrect BIC can cause delays, a returned payment or additional charges for investigation. Do not forget the account number: a mistake there can be harder to correct than a wrong BIC.

An automatic check by your bank only tells you that the code exists – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. Where available, a name check on the recipient adds an extra layer of safety. For a first payment, some people start with a small test amount and wait for confirmation.

How up to date is this code?

We gather bank codes from publicly available data and check our list regularly. It is possible that a code here is no longer current after a merger or reorganisation. Figures such as the number of codes are from our directory and are not confirmed by Barclays Bank PLC.

See our directory here as a helpful check, and let the details from the recipient or Barclays Bank PLC have the final say. We are a comparison site for money transfers and not part of Barclays Bank PLC. Spotted outdated information? Let us know via our contact form so we can correct it.

Which of the 6 codes of Barclays Bank PLC do you need?

Barclays Bank PLC has 6 different SWIFT/BIC codes. One of them is the head office code; the others identify branches.

In most cases you do not need to look up a branch: transfers addressed to BARCJES1XXX reach Barclays Bank PLC correctly. If you have been given a branch code, stick to it instead of replacing it for the head office code.

If you are not sure, ask the person you are paying for the exact BIC in their bank details. Branch codes are sometimes changed or retired over time, so a code from an old document is not always valid.