Barclays kills its mobile banking app for Windows phone

Barclays has been remained one of the few major banks to continue supporting its Windows phone app, even as Microsoft has largely put the platform into maintenance mode. However, even Barclays is now preparing to pull out in the near future.

In an email to customers, Barclays says that it will drop support for its mobile banking app (opens in new tab) on Windows phone in 2018. Starting in February, the bank says, you'll no longer be able to log into the app from your Windows phone. Barclays explains:

We're making some important updates to your mobile banking app. From February you'll no longer be able to log into your app from your Windows phone. We're sorry for any disruption this may cause.We're committed to providing you with the best, most secure version of the app. With these devices we're no longer able to meet the extremely high standard that we set ourselves and that you deserve. We hope that the options below will allow you to continue carrying out your banking quickly and easily.

As we've seen with other retiring apps, Barclays recommends that anyone currently use the app look to the Barclays apps on other devices instead. Alternatively, of course, you can use the Barclays website or telephone banking as well.

Barclays originally launched on Windows phone in 2014 as a way for customers to manage their accounts and locate nearby ATMs. And although Windows phone has been on its way out, Barclays has kept the app occasionally updated to continue working.

For now, you can still make use of the Barclays app on Windows phone if you already have it installed, but your time is running out. For everyone else, it looks like the app has already been pulled from the Store.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl

26 Comments
  • Didn't get a chance to down load it, just opened a Barclays account.☹
  • Lol
  • Not really news, given the state of W10M.
  • Considering WoA has just been released and it's looking like the expected hand held Surface not-Phone will be coming along next year, I'm surprised apps like this are going. Especially when they point to security reasons as to why they are removing themselves from Windows. Is Windows now a security risk for apps like this? That's rather worrying.
  • The only WoA devices that have been announced are laptops so no need for an app for those devices when the full website is available.
  • Microsoft barely supports UWP, why would anyone else?
  • Even though they are giving up on Win Mobile. At least their website accepts check deposits with photos of check (at least Barclay US does) unlike Wells Fargo and Chase when they killed their app. Normally, deposits of checks are the only reason to have the app over the website.
  • Who even uses checks? Not a single bank in Estonia uses that antique thing...
  • Same here in the UK, you can still use them to pay for things but most shops don't take them either.
  • Checks are still commonly used in the US. Some people still get paychecks that they deposit or in my previous apartment I had to pay rent via checks.
  • That's 11 people including me... Seriously, though, Barclays could very well make a UWP app for the Store. It's basically just a web wrapper with authentication linked to the device the app is stored on. Their Web site is a pain to use, and needs a mobile app just to log in (no option to send a security code by SMS even), or a clunky "card reader".
  • Expected
  • Apps are old school and only run on certain devices.  Web is the future and runs on all devices.
  • Says Google my friend.
  • OK, I'm surprised by this -- not that they're pulling the app, but that they had one. Sounds like I should have known. I'm a Barclay's customer and a Windows Phone user and fan, but I've never had this app or even knew it existed until now. Oh well.
  • 0.0... I'm surprised It's always been prominently displayed for me when I open up the store app, well used to before the Store rename to Microsoft Store.
  • So how do you log in to your account? The app provides the secure code that's needed.
  • Oh no, if only there was some way I could access a company in an app independent way, like over some world wide network... Geez, just use Edge.
  • To all those people saying just use the mobile web instead of am app, it just isn't the same. Shame about this app, not that it particularly matters as I jumped ship earlier this year when the galaxy s8 came out, but if I hadn't of jumped ship losing this app would have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Unless Monzo is on windows phone but I seriously doubt that.
  • Remember when these articles used to get hundreds of comments. It's a shame what MS has done. 
  • Micosoft even not supporting their own apps on windows phone. We started to use Staff Hub by MS and to roll out to all we had meeting with MS representative. I asked which platforms are supported. He said all. I asked what about Windows phone and it was long silence and then he said we are looking into this option but no support today.
  • I am sure there are a bunch of dead platforms they don't support. Why would you be surprised about this?
  • Because its theirs own platform
  • To be fair Barclays were the first and pretty much ONLY bank to support Windows 10 Mobile/Phone here in the UK anyway.
  • RBS and Nat West still have an app. It's UWP and just got a December "festive" update...
  • Well... as much as it sucks... it's been a long time coming since Microsoft has not really given companies to focus on UWP. Given they themselves have not been focusing on UWP.