"Barclays Bank sets limits on in-branch cash deposits for individual account holders"
Barclays has announced a new cash deposit limit of £20,000 per year for personal accounts, including children's savings accounts, effective from January 2025. This move is part of a growing trend among major banks to strengthen their anti-money laundering measures.
The new limit applies to deposits made in bank branches or through self-service devices. It does not affect business accounts or online transactions or cheque deposits. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wrote to more than 1,000 financial services firms in March 2024 to remind them of their anti-money laundering responsibilities.
Several high-profile cases involving money laundering in recent years have made regulators and big-name banks more alert to financial crimes. The rise in investment scams has also contributed to the implementation of these new limits.
Other banks have followed suit. For instance, NatWest has a daily limit of £3,000 for over-the-counter deposits, with a rolling 12-month limit of £24,000 at Post Offices or via any deposit machine. HSBC customers can deposit up to £3,000 a day and £20,000 a year via Post Offices.
Nationwide has no over-the-counter limit, but you cannot deposit more than £2,500 into an in-branch machine per day. Lloyds has no in-branch limit, but people can only deposit up to £5,000 a day at mobile branches. In Post Offices, there is a monthly limit of £2,955, and an annual maximum of £20,000, if you have your debit card with you.
TSB has no in-branch limit, but there are daily deposit limits of £1,500 and £10,000 per year in Post Office branches. Santander has a maximum of £20,000 that can be deposited per day, and an annual rolling limit of £240,000.
The new rules come as Barclays plans to close 57 sites by 2025. This, and several other scandals, contributed to Credit Suisse's collapse in 2023 following a wobble in market confidence in the global banking system. In 2022, Credit Suisse was found to have laundered money for a Bulgarian drugs ring.
Danske Bank was caught out for funneling ill-gotten gains through a branch in Estonia in 2018. Barclays recently acquired Tesco Bank in a deal expected to be worth £600m.
While the new cash deposit limits may inconvenience some customers, they are an important step in the fight against money laundering and financial crimes. Barclays, along with other major banks, is committed to ensuring that their services are not used for illegal activities.
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