Updating your Clients Premium Account
This page is for existing account holders. Find out more about GBP client accounts and foreign Currency Clients Premium Accounts.
Keep your client money account(s) up to date
As regulations have changed, we’ll need a bit more information about these accounts from you. A company official who holds relevant anti-money laundering responsibilities needs to complete a questionnaire about these for us every year.
Information we’ll need
We’ll ask you to fill in a form in a PDF every year – you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader or another PDF reader to do that (you’ll probably need to use a computer – it might not work on a mobile device). If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free.
We’ll ask for some information about your business, the types of client you serve and the customer due diligence (CDD) and anti-money laundering (AML) processes you use. Please gather this information before you start the questionnaire below.
It’s important that you complete this questionnaire. If we don’t hear from you, we might need to close the account.
How to complete the questionnaire
Using a screen reader or a keyboard without a mouse?
There’s an issue with this PDF eligibility form that means you won’t be able to read and return it if you’re using a screen reader or a keyboard without a mouse.
If this affects you, please call us on 0247 684 2075, choosing option 1, and we’ll talk you through the questions and complete the form for you. We’re here Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Call charges.
We want to make sure that our digital services work for everyone. We’re working to fix the form so that it meets accessibility standard WCAG 2.2 AA.
Please select and fill in the right questionnaire for your business type. This is an interactive form, so you’ll need to download the PDF before you can fill it in. If you try to open it in your browser, you might get an error message.
If the questionnaire opens with a “Please wait…” message and it doesn’t clear in a few seconds, you might still be viewing it in your browser. If that happens
1. Click on the ‘download’ icon (it’ll normally be in the top right corner, next to the printer symbol) to save the form to a local drive
2. Locate the newly saved form in your chosen file location
3. Right click the file and open with your PDF reader
At the end of the questionnaire, please select 'Submit' and we’ll prefill an email for you to send over to us.
If the prefilled email doesn’t appear, please send your completed questionnaire to RCPADD@Barclays.com.
You’ll only need to complete one questionnaire each year, no matter how many Clients Premium Accounts you use. If we ever need any further information, we’ll be in touch.
At the end of the questionnaire, please select 'Submit' and we’ll prefill an email for you to send over to us.
If the prefilled email doesn’t appear, please send your completed questionnaire to RCPADD@Barclays.com.
You’ll only need to complete one questionnaire each year, no matter how many Clients Premium Accounts you use. If we ever need any further information, we’ll be in touch.
FAQs
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If the prefilled email doesn’t appear, please send your completed questionnaire to RCPADD@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.
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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.
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Everyone 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.
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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.
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There are three different questionnaires – you'll need to complete the one most suitable for you. This will be the
- Property Management and Lettings questionnaire – if you're a letting agent, property manager, or residential managing agent
- Vulnerable questionnaire – if you're a care broker, care provider, or care home
- Standard questionnaire – if you don't fall into either of the categories above.
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Clients Premium Accounts are for regulated businesses with both the authorisation and a legal requirement to hold money on behalf of their 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.
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We might sometimes need extra details, or to clarify some of your answers.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
These types of businesses also need to be registered with the Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme.
- Accountants and financial institutions
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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.
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Yes – get in touch with your Relationship contact and they’ll be able to give you an update.
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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.
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Please speak to your Relationship contact, they’ll be able to give you specific guidance.
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Yes, please resubmit the full questionnaire and explain what's happened in the accompanying email.