Cookies policy
What are cookies?
Cookies are harmless text files that web servers can store on your computer's hard drive when you visit a website. They allow the server to recognise you when you revisit. There are two main types:
- Transient (or per-session) cookies. These only exist for the duration of your site visit and are deleted on exit. They recognise you as you move between pages, for example recording the items you add to an online shopping basket. These cookies also help maintain security.
- Persistent (or permanent) cookies. These stay on your machine until they expire or are deleted. Many are built with automatic deletion dates to help ensure your hard drive doesn't get overloaded. These cookies often store and re-enter your login information, so you don't need to remember membership details.
We use both types of cookie.
Additionally, cookies can be first- or third-party cookies. First-party cookies are owned and created by the website you're viewing. Third-party cookies are owned and created by an independent company, usually a company providing a service to the owners of the website.
What we use cookies for
Internet cookies are common and do not harm your system - they just store or gather site information. They help you do things online, like remembering login details so you don't have to re-enter them when revisiting a site.
We use cookies to:
- Gather customer journey information across our sites
- Ensure your privacy in our secure sites
- Store login details for our secure sites
- Temporarily store input information in our calculators, tools, illustrations and demonstrations
- Store details of your marketing, product and business unit preferences to improve our targeting and enhance your journey through our sites and partner sites
- Evaluate our sites' advertising and promotional effectiveness (we own the anonymous data collected and don't share it with anyone)
- We use both our own (first-party) and partner companies' (third-party) cookies to support these activities.
We don't use cookies to track people's Internet usage after leaving our sites and we don't store personal information in them that others could read and understand. We will not sell or distribute cookie information without your prior consent.
Services requiring enabled cookies
Some of our services, including Barclays Online Banking, require cookies in your browser to view and use them and to protect your financial and personal information.
Changing your cookie settings
To enable or disable cookies, follow the instructions provided by your browser (usually located within the 'Help', 'Tools' or 'Edit' facility). Alternatively, an external resource is available at All about cookies providing specific information about cookies and how to manage them 1 .
Please note that if you set your browser to disable cookies, you may not be able to access secure areas of this website, for example any online accounts you may hold.
Secure online services
Any secure online services you subscribe to may use cookies to enable information about you and your preferences to be stored and to prevent unauthorised access to your services and information. Cookies must usually be accepted in such circumstances; without them we cannot ensure your information is secure. People who reject cookies can't use these services.
By 'our/we/us/ours' we mean Barclays Bank Plc and its wholly and partly owned subsidiaries, any company in which it has an interest by way of shareholding or any company in a group of companies to which it may belong ('our group'). By 'our sites' we mean any Internet website operated by Barclays Bank Plc or any company in our group.
New requirements on cookies
With regard to the new requirements on cookies following the revision of the e-Privacy Directive, Barclays is working towards implementing the new requirements in line with guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office.