Retail and Business Banking
We may already be one of the biggest names in the market, but we have the highest aspirations for the future of our global retail bank. We currently serve over 50 million customers, in 22 counties, across three major customer segments: Mass Consumer, Mass Affluent and Business Clients. Last year, RBB delivered over £13bn in income, and £2.4bn of pre-tax profits.
We want people to choose us because we offer the most useful, relevant, innovative products and services on the market, because we provide the very best customer experience and because we embody the term Responsible Banking. In short, we aim to be viewed the world over as the bank that plays a truly valued role in society.
What is it that inspires us in this mission? Simple. Our customers. They are the focus of our every activity, giving us the vision and the incentive to continually improve our offer. We focus on three major client segments –consumer, affluent and business clients – and interact with customers through four business units:
UK Retail and Business Banking
We serve over 15 million customers in the UK through phone and online banking alongside the largest network of branches in the UK. Our diverse, innovative financial services and products are carefully conceived to meet the varying needs of those customers. So our personal banking customers benefit from current accounts, Woolwich-branded mortgages, saving, loan and protection products and general insurance, while Premier tailors its relationship-based banking services to affluent customers through dedicated account managers. Barclays Business provides services to over 630,000 UK entrepreneurs, from start-ups to those turning over up to £5m a year.
We currently process a staggering 900,000 transactions per day in our branches, but an even more impressive 640,000 a day through mobile and online. We’re constantly innovating to make these services more efficient, more convenient and more secure than ever before. Our award-winning mobile banking service is a great example of this, and we were the first UK bank to introduce free security software to all online banking customers using their mobile phones.
Barclaycard
Barclaycard is a global payments business with a footprint that extends across the UK, US and key markets in Europe and South Africa. We serve consumers and businesses and have over 10 million customers in the UK and a further 12 million across the rest of the world. Barclaycard credit cards can be used to pay at over 27 million outlets and withdraw cash from 1 million ATMs. We issued 11 million of the 13 million contactless payment cards currently in issue, and operate over 90% of the contactless payment terminals. Over 85,000 merchants trust us as their financial partner in business. We are proud to be the most trusted credit card brand in the UK. Our future growth will continue to be fuelled by focused innovation as we continue to offer and develop payment solutions to our personal and business customers.
Africa Retail and Business Banking
With almost 1,600 branches and over 10,000 ATMs we have the largest distribution network of any bank across the African continent. These operations are organised in four geographic areas: North Africa (Egypt), East and West Africa (Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya), Southern Africa (Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe), and Indian Ocean (Mauritius and Seychelles) and we also operate under the Absa brand in South Africa. Alongside traditional financial products like retail mortgages, current and deposit accounts, commercial and unsecured lending, credit cards, treasury and investments, we offer specialist services such as Sharia-compliant products and mobile banking.
Europe Retail and Business Banking
Barclays provides retail banking and credit card services to almost three million customers in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. With a particular focus and specialisation on the Premier (Mass Affluent) segment, Barclays has over 1,300 branches and distribution points across the region.
Barclays has been present in Western Europe since 1917, and as such is a well established financial institution, even being the first ever foreign bank to enter the Spanish market.
