Clients Premium Account

If the prefilled email doesn’t appear, please send your completed questionnaire to CPADD@Barclays.com.

If we approve your application, we’ll then write to you to confirm when the account is opened and provide your account details.  

Please make sure you’ve downloaded the PDF file above – once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to fill it in. You might get an error message if you try to open the link in your browser. 

A Clients Premium Account may be suitable for you if your business is regulated, and has authorisation and a legal requirement to hold money on behalf of your clients.

Clients Premium Accounts are typically suitable for

• Businesses regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with client money permissions
• Regulated insolvency practitioners, accountants and solicitors
• Property managers, estate agents and lettings agents
• Businesses managing money on behalf of vulnerable customers, for example, care homes, care providers and care brokers.

Clients Premium Accounts shouldn't be used as office accounts or for your own money.

If you aren't holding client money, we have other accounts that might be more suitable for you, like a Business Premium Account or Business Current Account. However, you can’t open these accounts in somebody else’s name, even if you’re holding their money. We’ll treat the money inside as if it belongs to your business.

We'll usually be able to open your account around two weeks after we receive your completed questionnaire, as long as we don't need any more information from you.

If you've already completed the questionnaire for a previous account in the past year, we can usually open your account within a week.

Please speak to your Relationship team if you need more information.

Yes. Recent changes to financial regulations mean that everyone with a Clients Premium Account needs to complete our questionnaire to make sure their financial controls are strong enough to meet our anti-money laundering responsibilities.

You'll need to provide this information once a year, either by confirming your existing information hasn't changed or by completing the questionnaire again. We'll let you know which applies to you closer to the time.

We might sometimes need extra details, or to clarify some of your answers.

Yes, you can send us any information you think will support your application. You can attach this to the prefilled email, along with your completed questionnaire.

Every business with a Clients Premium Account needs to complete our questionnaire as part of our legal obligations to help prevent financial crime.

The way these accounts work means there's a higher risk of financial crime than usual, as you may be holding money for multiple people. Our questionnaire helps us check your controls are strong enough to prevent unnecessary risk.

The new regulations mean this is now the industry standard for all client monies account holders.

There are several reasons why we might have declined your application. It could be that

• We don't think your business needs to hold money on its clients' behalf
• You're holding money for a reason we're currently unable to support (for example, for Escrow purposes)
• Your Anti Money Laundering (AML) controls may not be strong enough for a Clients Premium Account
• You’re not regulated by one of our approved regulators, or you’re not signed up with the relevant government-approved scheme for your type of business
• You haven't met all of the customer due diligence requirements required by money laundering regulations.

Unfortunately, we'll need to close all your existing Clients Premium Accounts as you don't meet our requirements under the new regulations.

We'll send you a letter explaining when your accounts will close.

You'll need to be regulated by one of the organisations listed below.

You'll still need to meet the rest of our requirements though, and there are other reasons why we might decline your application.

• Accountants and financial institutions
  • Association of Accounting Technicians
  • Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
  • Association of International Accountants
  • Association of Taxation Technicians
  • Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
  • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
  • Institute of Financial Accountants
  • Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB)
  • International Association of Bookkeepers (IAB)
  • Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
• Insolvency practitioners
  
  • Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA).
• Businesses providing support for vulnerable people
  • Care Inspectorate (Scotland)
  • Care Inspectorate (Wales)
  • Care Quality Commission (England)
  • Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).
• Legal professionals
  • Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX)
  • Faculty of Advocates
  • Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury
  • General Council of the Bar
  • General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
  • Law Society of England and Wales
  • Law Society of NI
  • Law Society of Scotland
  • Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

For the following types of businesses, you'll need to be registered with the appropriate government scheme. Select each job title for more information on how to register.

• Property agents
• Residential letting agents
• Estate agency businesses

These types of businesses also need to be registered with the Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme.

If you need to open a Clients Premium Account to finish becoming regulated, we'll review your case individually.

You'll need to send us proof of the application you sent to become regulated, as well as evidence that a Clients Premium Account is required to complete the process. Attach both to the prefilled email you send us, along with your completed questionnaire.

You'll need to either confirm that the information you provided hasn't changed or complete our questionnaire every year.

We'll be in touch with instructions before this is due, so you can submit everything in plenty of time and reduce the possibility of any disruptions or delays.

Yes – get in touch with your Relationship contact and they’ll be able to give you an update.

If you don't need to hold money on behalf of your clients, take a look at our Business Current Accounts or Business Premium Accounts. However, you can’t open these accounts in somebody else’s name, even if you’re holding their money. We’ll treat the money inside as if it belongs to your business.

Please speak to your Relationship contact, they’ll be able to give you specific guidance.

Yes, please resubmit the full questionnaire and explain what's happened in the accompanying email.

Yes – you'll need to resubmit the full questionnaire and explain why you're doing so in the accompanying email.