U.S. consumers can now earn one of the highest interest rates in the nation by opening a new FDIC-insured online savings account or CD with Barclays at www.barclaysus.com/deposits.

"Just as important, the new high-yield account from Barclays delivers market-leading interest rates. With these new products, consumers can now enhance their financial well-being with a safe and secure partner."

The high-yield online savings account from Barclays features market-leading interest rates and an intuitive online experience that provides consumers an easy way to open an account, deposit funds or checks remotely via ACH bank transfer, PC scanner or smartphone, view account balances and link to deposit accounts at other financial institutions in the U.S. There is no minimum deposit to open a savings account and there are no minimum monthly maintenance fees. CD terms range from three to 60 months.

According to a recent Harris Interactive online survey commissioned by Barclays among 2,200 U.S. adults to understand consumer sentiments about savings accounts, 70% of Americans who have a savings account said that savings interest rates are important to them and 70% said they are not at all satisfied or only somewhat satisfied with their current savings account interest rate. Fifty-eight percent (58%) said they would consider opening or switching to an online-only savings account if it offered consistently higher rates.

"Globally, Barclays puts a priority on simplicity and transparency. We're bringing this approach to U.S. consumers by making it easy to open and manage the new Barclays savings account and CD online," said Steve Carp, managing director of deposits for Barclays US. "Just as important, the new high-yield account from Barclays delivers market-leading interest rates. With these new products, consumers can now enhance their financial well-being with a safe and secure partner."

The survey revealed some interesting statistics on consumer saving behaviors and vand viors and sentiments:

A majority of U.S. adults consider themselves "Savers" (62%) instead of "Spenders" (38%)
80% of U.S. adults said they are currently able to save money right now, though 6% of those who are able to save said they are not currently saving money
Of those who are able to save, 49% said they save money for emergencies - which is higher than those who are saving for retirement (43%)
Other reasons for which people are currently saving money include: vacation/recreational spending (37%); major purchases, such as a home or car (30%); medical expenses (15%); family life cycle events, such as a baby or wedding (12%); or other reasons (8%)

"The survey underscores for us that the new savings products from Barclays are aligned with what consumers care about," Mr. Carp said. "By providing an attractive rate with an easy to use online system, we deliver a product that can help consumers meet their goals."

The products are offered by Barclays Bank Delaware, a subsidiary of Barclays PLC.