Halifax is being retired as a brand and replaced by Lloyds. Lloyds Banking Group announced the change on 1 July 2026, closed Halifax to new customers the same day, and switched off its app and online banking on 1 November 2026. Branches lose the name during 2027.
What Changed on 1 November 2026
Halifax customers lost digital access to their accounts under the Halifax name. The app and online banking were available until the end of Saturday 31 October 2026, and from Sunday 1 November anyone opening the Halifax app saw a message saying it was no longer in service, with an instruction to register for the Lloyds Bank app.
Migration prompts had been appearing inside the app and online banking since early October, alongside email and letter reminders. Customers who moved across kept their existing password and memorable information rather than setting up new credentials.
Nothing about the money itself moved. The switch-off was a change of access route, not a transfer of funds, and it was planned rather than the kind of unplanned digital outage that locked UK bank customers out for eight hours in October 2026.
What Happens if You Missed the 31 October Deadline?
Missing the deadline locks you out of digital banking but does not affect the account. Lloyds says customers who did not migrate can register for the Lloyds Bank app or its online banking service using their existing Halifax details, and can still bank in branch or by phone in the meantime.
Paperless customers lose access to their Halifax online banking inbox once the service is off, so statements and messages held there are no longer reachable through the old app.
Halifax has said it will only contact customers about the change by email, letter, text or a message inside the app and online banking. It says it will not telephone to ask customers to log in through a link or a QR code, and will not ask for a PIN or for money to be moved. The UK anti-fraud line 159 connects callers directly to their own bank.
What Changes for Your Accounts, and What Does Not
The brand on the product changes; the terms of the product do not. Lloyds Banking Group has said repeatedly that the rebrand is a change of name rather than a change of agreement.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Account number and sort code | Unchanged |
| PINs, passwords and memorable information | Unchanged |
| Direct debits and standing orders | Unchanged |
| App and online banking | Halifax versions off since 1 November 2026; Lloyds versions in use |
| Savings accounts | Lloyds branded from November 2026, still provided by Bank of Scotland plc |
| Debit and credit cards | Still working; replaced with Lloyds-branded cards at renewal or replacement |
| Mortgages and insurance | Terms, payments and claims unchanged; rebranded later |
| Branches | Rebranded during 2027 |
Deposit protection is one point worth understanding rather than skimming. Halifax deposits sit under the Bank of Scotland banking licence, which is separate from the Lloyds Bank licence, and Lloyds Banking Group has said that arrangement is unchanged by the rebrand. Savers holding money with more than one of the group’s brands are therefore not automatically pushed under a single limit by the name change.
New Halifax products cannot be opened at all. Existing customers were able to keep using their accounts, but applications for new Halifax accounts and credit cards ended on 1 July 2026.
Is Bank of Scotland Being Rebranded Too?
No. Lloyds Banking Group has announced no change to the Bank of Scotland brand, which continues to trade under its own name.
This causes confusion because Bank of Scotland plc is the legal entity behind Halifax products, a structure that has been in place since 2007, when Halifax plc’s assets and liabilities were transferred to Bank of Scotland plc and Halifax became a trading name. The brand disappearing from the high street is Halifax; the legal entity underneath it is not going anywhere.
Why Lloyds Retired a Brand It Had Owned Since 2009
Lloyds Banking Group says dropping the brand lets it concentrate investment on a single consumer bank. Running Halifax as a separate name meant maintaining a separate app, separate online banking, separate marketing and separate branch signage for customers of the same group.
The name had been inside the group for 17 years before the decision. Halifax began in 1853 as the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society in West Yorkshire and was the largest building society in the UK by 1913. It became Halifax plc in 1996 and floated on the London Stock Exchange on 2 June 1997, a demutualisation that handed shares to more than 7.5 million members.
In 2001 it merged with Bank of Scotland in a deal worth £10.8 billion to form HBOS. HBOS was taken over by Lloyds TSB during the financial crisis, and Halifax became part of Lloyds Banking Group in January 2009. Retiring a consumer brand and moving its users onto a sibling product is a familiar pattern, as it was when Microsoft retired Skype in 2025 and moved users to Teams.
What Happens to Halifax Branches in 2027?
Halifax branches will be rebranded as Lloyds during 2027. Where a Lloyds branch already operates close by, the group has said customers will be served by that existing branch in the same community rather than by two sites under different names.
Lloyds Banking Group has stated that no branch closes and no staff member goes as a direct result of the rebrand. That is separate from the group’s existing programme, which will close close to 250 branches across Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland during 2026 and 2027.
The wider context is a shrinking network. Research by the consumer group Which? found that Lloyds Banking Group had closed 1,609 branches since 2015, more than any other UK banking network. Cost reduction across the sector continues, with Barclays expecting around 5,000 job cuts subject to consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Halifax Closing Down?
No. This is a rebranding, not a failure or an administration. Accounts, deposits and lending continue under the Lloyds name, and no customer is losing a product because of it.
Did My Account Number and Sort Code Change?
No. Both stay exactly as they were, along with PINs and existing login details, so payments in and out continue without anyone needing to be told new numbers.
Can I Still Use My Halifax Debit Card?
Yes. Halifax-branded cards keep working, including for customers who never moved to the Lloyds app. A Lloyds-branded card arrives when the existing one is renewed or replaced.
Will My Halifax Mortgage Change?
The agreement does not change. Rates, monthly payments and the end date stay as they are, and the paperwork is rebranded at a later stage without the borrower needing to act.
How Will Halifax Contact Me About the Change?
By email, letter, text or a message inside the app and online banking. The bank says it will not ring to ask for a PIN, a log-in through a link, or a transfer of money.
