Finance
Barclays first UK bank to offer face-to-face video banking
In a UK banking first, Barclays will on Monday announce the launch of Barclays Video Banking to provide a new, secure, face-to-face service for customers to carry out their banking wherever they are.
Alongside the availability of colleagues in branch, through mobile, telephone and social media, the service will give customers the choice to carry out a face to face video call with a Barclays colleague from their smartphone, tablet or computer at a time and place convenient to them. The 24/7 service will create a round the clock, face to face banking service for the first time.
Available from the 8th December for Premier customers, the service will be rolled out to mortgage, business and wealth customers from early 2015. It will then be made available to all retail customers, automatically matching customers to a specific member of staff they have spoken to previously, if available.
The introduction of Barclays Video Banking in the UK follows on from the success of video technology available in a number of UK branches, as well as Sign Video, where customers who use British Sign Language can speak to an interpreter through video to communicate at their convenience. The in-branch Sign Video option has also removed the need to wait 3-4 weeks for a traditional interpreter appointment.
Steven Cooper, CEO, Personal Banking, Barclays said:“This is a watershed moment for the way people do their banking in the UK – where we will finally be able to interact with customers completely on their terms, rather than ours”.
“While many of our customers are increasingly using digital channels to complete routine transactions, for the important moments, you just can’t beat face to face conversations, yet traditional branch opening hours don’t always give customers that choice.
“In addition to the availability of our staff in our branches, over the phone or online, we are combining our dedicated staff with digital technology to bring this facility to customers wherever they are and at a time they choose – putting them in control of when and where they want to do their banking”
About Barclays
Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for 48 million customers and clients worldwide.
