Barclays: Hiring, Background Check & Employment Verification FAQs

Barclays traces its origins to 17 November 1690, when Quakers John Freame and Thomas Gould began trading as goldsmith bankers on Lombard Street in the City of London. The Barclays name entered the business in 1736, when Freame's son-in-law James Barclay became a partner. In 1896, twelve banks in London and the English provinces united as a joint-stock bank under the name Barclays and Co., and the company expanded nationwide over the following decades. Barclays deployed the world's first cash dispenser in 1967.

The group grew through a long series of acquisitions, including London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918, the British Linen Bank in 1919, Mercantile Credit in 1975, the Woolwich in 2000, and the North American operations of Lehman Brothers in 2008, which substantially expanded its United States investment banking footprint. Barclays also acquired a majority stake in South Africa's Absa Group in 2005. The group moved its headquarters from Lombard Street to One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, London, in May 2005, and it is a publicly traded company listed in London with American depositary shares traded in New York.

In the United States, Barclays operates across several sites. New York is home to the bank's United States headquarters and the Americas hub for its corporate and investment banking business. Wilmington, Delaware is the base of the United States consumer bank, which the bank has described as serving more than 10 million customers, and Barclays Bank Delaware is a Delaware-chartered commercial bank supervised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Delaware Office of the State Bank Commissioner, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Whippany, New Jersey houses technology and cyber security command center operations, and the bank also has a site in Henderson, Nevada. Barclays employs tens of thousands of people worldwide across retail and consumer banking, cards and payments, corporate and investment banking, technology, risk, compliance, and operations.

Company culture and employee programs:

Barclays runs structured early-careers programs, including graduate schemes, internships, apprenticeships, and insight programs, alongside experienced-hire recruiting across its business areas. Large banks typically pair those pathways with formal onboarding, mandatory annual compliance and conduct training, and internal mobility programs. Work in regulated functions carries ongoing obligations around record keeping, communications monitoring, and personal account dealing rules. Pay, bonus structures, and benefits vary considerably by country, business area, and seniority, so candidates should confirm details with a recruiter during the hiring process.

Yes. Employers in the banking and financial services industry, including Barclays, are legally permitted to conduct pre-employment background checks on job candidates provided they follow applicable federal, state, and local laws. In the United States, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs employment screening and requires a standalone disclosure, written candidate consent, and a pre-adverse and adverse action process when a report influences a decision. Banking employers also operate under sector-specific rules, and in the United Kingdom and other markets, regulators impose their own fitness and propriety standards for certain roles.

Barclays is generally reported to conduct background checks as part of its hiring process, which is standard practice throughout banking. Financial institutions commonly screen because employees may access customer accounts, payment systems, credit data, trading platforms, and confidential corporate information. The scope of a Barclays background check may vary by role, business area, and country, and roles classified as regulated or customer-facing frequently carry additional vetting requirements beyond the baseline applied to other positions.

Steps vary by business area and country, but the Barclays hiring process generally follows a structured sequence. Candidates apply online, and early-careers applicants often complete online assessments and a recorded or virtual interview before an assessment center. Experienced hires typically complete a recruiter screen followed by several interview rounds with hiring managers, team members, and sometimes a senior stakeholder. Technical roles may include a case study or coding exercise. A conditional offer usually precedes pre-employment screening, which at banks commonly covers identity, right to work, employment and education verification, criminal record checks, credit history, and regulatory reference requests where applicable. Onboarding and compliance training follow once clearance is complete.

Bank pre-employment screening often takes longer than screening in other industries because it typically bundles several checks and can include regulatory references from previous employers. Turnaround depends on the searches ordered, how quickly courts, schools, and prior employers respond, and how many jurisdictions and countries the candidate's history covers. Many individual searches return within a few business days, but a full financial-services package that includes multi-year employment verification and international records can take several weeks. Candidates who want more detail on the factors involved can review background check turnaround times.

The employer determines which searches are included. For a role at a bank like Barclays, a background check may include some or all of the following:

Candidates should review the disclosure and consent documents they receive to see which searches apply to their role.

Lookback windows depend on the search type and the law where the candidate lives or worked. Under the FCRA, consumer reporting agencies are generally restricted from reporting most adverse information older than seven years, with exceptions that can apply to higher-salary positions, a threshold that many banking roles exceed. Several states apply stricter limits than the federal rule, including on the use of credit history in hiring. Employment verification in financial services frequently covers a longer history than seven years, because regulatory reference expectations in some markets ask employers to confirm a multi-year record.

Barclays has not published a detailed public policy on applicants with felony records, and decisions of this kind are generally made case by case. Employers typically weigh the nature and seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed, evidence of rehabilitation, and how the record relates to the role. Many states and cities have adopted "ban-the-box" laws limiting when criminal history may be raised in an application. Candidates should also be aware that United States banking law places specific restrictions on the employment of individuals convicted of certain offenses involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering at insured depository institutions, which can require a regulatory waiver process separate from an employer's own judgment.

Candidates are typically asked to sign a standalone disclosure and provide written authorization before screening begins. Applicants should be prepared to supply accurate personal information including full legal name, any prior names, date of birth, Social Security number for United States roles, address history, and documentation proving right to work. Banking screening usually also asks for a detailed employment history with contact details for verification, education records, and in many cases an explanation of any gaps. Accuracy matters, because unexplained discrepancies between an application and verified records are a frequent cause of delay in financial services onboarding.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a United States federal law governing how consumer reporting agencies collect, use, and share background check information. It requires an employer to obtain written consent before ordering a report, to provide a copy of the report and a summary of rights before taking adverse action based on it, and to give the candidate a reasonable opportunity to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information before a final decision is made. For a fuller explanation of how the FCRA and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance apply to employment screening, see Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Running a personal background check with Checkr lets you preview what Barclays may see and gives you time to correct inaccuracies before they affect your application. In one secure report you can review:

Create your report in minutes at Checkr Personal Background Checks. To share verified credentials proactively, build a free Checkr Profile you can send to recruiters and hiring managers.

Check your report status in the Candidate Portal. Or, visit the Checkr Help Center for FAQs, dispute steps, and to contact support.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.