Our History
Use the slider to scroll through our history. Click on significant dates to see what happened when.
1690
John Freame and Thomas Gould start trading as goldsmith bankers on London's Lombard Street
1728
Freame and Gould move to 54 Lombard Street, at the sign of the Black Spread Eagle
1864
The burgeoning company builds a new banking house on Lombard Street
1896
Barclay and Company Limited is established
1902
Barclays obtains its listing on the London Stock Exchange
1958
We appoint the UK's first female branch manager
1961
The UK's first computer centre for banking opens right here
1966
Britain's first credit card launches in the shape of Barclaycard
1967
We unveil 'Barclaycash', the world's first ATM, at our Enfield branch in North London
1972
We become the first UK bank to advertise on TV
1977
Thanks to us, Britain says hello to Personal Bankers for the first time
1981
As Ian Botham is writing his name into Ashes folklore, we're busy becoming the first foreign bank to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington
1985
Our UK and international are merged to form Barclays PLC
1986
We become the first British bank to have its shares listed on both the Tokyo and New York stock exchanges
1987
We launch Barclays Connect, the UK's first debit card
1991
Our backing of travel show Wish You Were Here? makes us the first UK sponsor of a non-fiction TV programme
1995
We blaze yet another new trail as the very first financial institution to launch a website
1997
Barclays launches the first PC banking service for small businesses
1997
We launch our all-new investment banking business, Barclays Capital
1998
Barclays opens the UK's first drive-through ATM
1999
For the first time ever, UK banking customers can buy a British home with a mortgage in euros. And it's all thanks to us.
2001
Barclays teams up with five international banks to offer 40 million customers free access to ATMs
2005
We set up a new global head office in Canary Wharf, acquired a majority stake in Absa and established Barclays Wealth
2007
Barclaycard Breathe, the first UK credit card to reward customers for making green purchasing decisions, goes live
2007
Barclays in the UK goes carbon-neutral
2008
We set another UK banking first with our mass roll-out of contactless-enabled debit cards
2008
Barclays Capital is boosted by our purchase of Lehman Brothers' North America investment banking and capital markets businesses
2009
We become the first bank in the UK to make free security software available to all online banking customers using their mobile phones
2010
Barclays launches two innovative cycling schemes in London: Barclays Cycle Hire and Barclays Cycle Superhighways, the first initiatives of their kind in the capital
- Firsts
- History
From modest beginnings in 17th century London to our current position as one of the world’s leading banks, our history is crammed with examples of innovation and inspiration. And it’s a trend we mean to prolong way into the future. Here are some highlights from the last three centuries or so.