Barclays Bank PLC SWIFT/BIC code

Barclays Bank PLC SWIFT code: BARCAEAD

The 8-character code BARCAEAD and the 11-character code BARCAEADXXX identify one and the same institution: Barclays Bank PLC, with its head office in Abu Dhabi. A SWIFT code tells the banks handling a payment exactly which bank should receive the money. In practice you usually come across it on international invoices, in your banking app and in the bank details that Barclays Bank PLC provides.

Further down we go through the practical side: receiving money at Barclays Bank PLC, sending money abroad and how to check a SWIFT code before you hit send. The SWIFT code on its own does not identify an individual account holder; that is what the IBAN or account number .

What a transfer from Barclays Bank PLC abroad really costs

The price of an international transfer has more than one component. You pay the transfer fee, possibly charges from correspondent banks in between and, most importantly, the margin on the exchange rate.

That exchange rate margin is often the largest cost even though it is not listed as a fee. Compare their rate with the mid-market rate, the midpoint between buy and sell rates you see on financial sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

Money transfer services frequently use rates closer to the mid-market rate and lower fees. GoldexPay lists these services next to each other so you can see what actually arrives. You can still keep your account at Barclays Bank PLC as the source of the money.

About this information

The directory on GoldexPay draws on publicly available sources and we update it periodically. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or retire codes and our data may lag behind. Figures such as the number of codes come from our directory and are not confirmed by Barclays Bank PLC.

Before any payment of any size, check the code with the recipient’s bank or the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site and not part of Barclays Bank PLC. Should you notice something that is out of date, we welcome a short note via the contact page.

Is BARCAEAD still correct? How to check

The best place to find the correct BIC is paperwork issued by the bank like a bank statement or the account page in online banking. When the code you were given differs from BARCAEAD or BARCAEADXXX, stop and ask – contact the recipient or Barclays Bank PLC.

If the code is wrong, the transfer may get stuck, be returned or end up costing more – sometimes after weeks of searching. Do not forget the IBAN: a mistake there is more difficult to undo than a wrong code.

An automatic check in your banking app merely tells you that the code is valid. More and more banks compare the name with the account before you confirm. Sending a small amount first is worth it for large sums.

The United Arab Emirates Dirham and what conversion costs you

United Arab Emirates pays in the United Arab Emirates Dirham. Money sent in a different currency is converted into AED before it reaches the account – and the bank that does it picks the rate. You rarely see a separate line for that conversion – the cost sits in the rate.

Who does the conversion affects the final amount. Sending the money directly in AED often avoids an extra conversion by Barclays Bank PLC, provided the rate you get is fair.

Rates for AED change during the day, and some providers let you lock in a rate. For regular payments, a slightly better rate make a real difference over time.

How long does an international transfer to Barclays Bank PLC take?

How fast a transfer reaches Barclays Bank PLC is determined by a few things: which currency you send, how many intermediary banks are involved, daily processing deadlines and time zones. Transfers sent late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday often go out the next business day. Occasionally a bank wants to know what the payment is for.

When a payment takes longer than expected, ask the sending bank about the status so they can trace it along the chain. Save the payment confirmation until the recipient confirms.

A delayed transfer has to be traced by the sending bank on the basis of the transfer details. Request from the sender a copy of the payment confirmation including the reference; that often settles the question quickly.

Getting paid from abroad into a Barclays Bank PLC account

For an international payment at Barclays Bank PLC, the person paying you needs more than the SWIFT code. Share the account holder’s name, your account number or IBAN, the BIC BARCAEADXXX and your address.

Some sending banks also ask for the name and address of Barclays Bank PLC in Abu Dhabi, so keep it at hand. A mistake in the IBAN can be more trouble than you might think, so copy the details from your online banking.

The amount you receive can be less than the amount sent. Charges on incoming payments differ per bank – the price list of Barclays Bank PLC tells you what applies. Agree with the sender who covers the fees before the money is sent.

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 give the country and the two after that mark the location. The result is BARCAEAD.

The 11-character version adds three more characters for a branch or department. If the last three are XXX, they simply mean the head office.

In practice the code is written in capitals and without spaces. A single character can send a payment to a different institution, so check it twice.

Changed bank details? Be careful

A common scam goes like this: you receive a message saying that a contact has a new bank account. The fact that BARCAEAD exists is no guarantee that the account is genuine – fraudsters use real bank codes as well.

Do not rely on a phone number from the same email that announces the change. Watch out for urgent requests, odd spelling or a sender address that is slightly off. Acted too fast? Call your bank without delay and have them start a recall and report the fraud.

Recipients can be targeted as well: one known trick is an overpayment and then sends a request to refund the difference abroad. Wait until the money has really arrived and check with Barclays Bank PLC if anything seems off.

Barclays Bank PLC: head office code versus branch codes

Having 2 codes, Barclays Bank PLC belongs to the banks that register individual codes for branches and departments. The head office code is BARCAEADXXX.

In most cases you do not need to look up a branch: payments sent to BARCAEADXXX reach Barclays Bank PLC without problems. When you receive a specific code, stick to it rather than swapping it for the head office code.

When in doubt, ask the person you are paying which code their bank gave them. Codes can change over time, so a code from an old document is not always valid.