On 1 July 2026, Lloyds Banking Group confirmed it is retiring the Halifax brand. Over the coming months, Halifax becomes Lloyds: the app, the cards, the branches and the accounts all move across to the Lloyds name. Halifax has been a fixture of the British high street for more than 170 years, so the headline sounds dramatic. The reality, for your money at least, is reassuringly dull. Nothing changes today, your sort code and account number stay the same, and your Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection is unchanged. Here is what is happening, what it means for your savings, mortgage and cards, and the one detail worth knowing if you hold savings with both Halifax and Lloyds.
In short
- Lloyds Banking Group announced on 1 July 2026 that the Halifax brand will change to Lloyds. Bank of Scotland is unaffected and stays the lead brand in Scotland.
- There is nothing you need to do now. Your sort code, account number, interest rates and Direct Debits all stay the same.
- Your FSCS protection does not change. Money in Halifax accounts stays protected separately from money in Lloyds accounts, so if you save with both you keep two separate £120,000 limits (up to £240,000 in total).
- The switch is gradual, over the coming months, with branches rebranding through 2027. Halifax will stop opening new accounts, and you will be invited to move to the Lloyds app when it is your turn.
- Lloyds will never ask you to move money, share a PIN or “verify” your details as part of the change. Anyone who does is a scammer.
Why is Halifax becoming Lloyds?
On 1 July 2026, Lloyds Banking Group said Lloyds will become its lead brand in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the Halifax brand changing to Lloyds. Bank of Scotland stays the lead brand for customers in Scotland and is not affected. Halifax and Bank of Scotland have both been part of Lloyds Banking Group since 2009, and since early 2025 customers of all the group’s brands have been able to use any branch and manage their accounts in a single app. The reasoning is simple enough. As more customers banked through one app, keeping Halifax and Lloyds as separate brands made less sense, and folding Halifax into Lloyds lets the group put more into the products both sets of customers use.
Halifax is one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, with millions of customers across current accounts, savings and mortgages. Its branches will rebrand to Lloyds through 2027. The group said there are no job cuts as part of the announcement: the 3,000 staff at Halifax’s Trinity Road office in the town of Halifax keep their roles, backed by a recent £116 million investment in that site. The name is going; the business behind your account is not.
Your FSCS protection: the detail that matters
The most important question for savers is whether the change touches the protection on your money. It does not. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protects up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence, if a bank fails. Protection follows the banking licence, not the brand name on your card. Halifax sits under the Bank of Scotland banking licence, while Lloyds Bank has its own separate licence, and the rebrand does not change that.
Lloyds put it plainly in its announcement: “There is no change to Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. Anything customers have in existing Halifax accounts will continue to be separate to any balances in new Lloyds accounts.” In practice, if you hold savings with both Halifax and Lloyds, you keep two separate £120,000 limits, up to £240,000 of protection in total, rather than the single limit you would get if the two shared one licence.
This matters because money spread across brands that share a licence counts as one for the £120,000 limit. Halifax shares its licence with Bank of Scotland (and other group brands such as Birmingham Midshires), so balances across those are added together; Lloyds is separate. If you want to see exactly which brands sit under any bank’s licence, and check your own totals, the FSCS runs a free bank and savings protection checker. For a wider look at when your money is and is not covered, see our guide to whether your money is safe with a payments app or e-wallet.
What changes, and when
The switch is gradual, spread over the months ahead rather than landing on a single day. Different products move at different times, so if you hold, say, a Halifax current account, some savings and a mortgage, they may not all change together.
- How you will hear. Lloyds will contact Halifax customers directly over the coming days and weeks, and only through trusted channels: the Halifax app, online banking, email and letter.
- The app. You will get an in-app invitation to move to the Lloyds app, which Lloyds says is the same as the Halifax app with some added features. The Halifax app keeps working until it is your turn.
- Your cards. Debit and credit cards will be replaced with Lloyds-branded versions over time. Your PIN stays the same, and your current card keeps working until the replacement arrives.
- Branches. Halifax branches will rebrand to Lloyds through 2027, or, where there is a Lloyds branch nearby, you will be served by that branch. The group says this follows plans it had already announced, with no job losses as part of the rebrand.
- New accounts. Halifax will stop opening new accounts as the brand winds down.
What stays the same
- Your sort code and account number.
- Your interest rates and the terms of your existing deals.
- Your Direct Debits and standing orders.
- Your card PIN.
- Your FSCS protection (as set out above).
The money, the account details and the terms carry on as they are. What changes is the name, and in time the app and the card in your wallet.
What it means for your savings, mortgage and cards
- Savings and cash ISAs. Same features, benefits and interest rates, and the same FSCS treatment set out above. Because this is a rebrand rather than a move to a new account, it is not a transfer in the usual sense, so it should not affect your ISA allowance or its history. If you are weighing up where to hold cash more generally, see our roundup of the best cash ISA rates.
- Mortgages. No change to your rate, monthly payment, product end date or terms. Halifax mortgages stay available through brokers until 2027, when Halifax Intermediaries becomes Lloyds Intermediaries.
- Credit cards, including Halifax Clarity. Your card keeps working and your PIN stays the same, with a Lloyds-branded replacement sent in time. If you hold both a Halifax and a Lloyds credit card, they stay separate accounts. The Clarity card continues under the Lloyds brand rather than being scrapped.
Watch out for scams during the switch
A big, well-publicised bank change is exactly the kind of event fraudsters exploit, because a genuine “your bank is changing” message is suddenly plausible. Lloyds has been clear about what it will and will not do.
- It will contact you only through the app, online banking, email or letter, and any action will start inside the app or online banking itself.
- It will never call or text to ask you to move money, transfer funds, share a PIN or security details, or log in through a link or QR code sent by text or email.
If anyone asks you to do any of those “as part of the Halifax change”, it is a scam. If you are unsure about a call or message, stop, and call 159, the UK banking-fraud hotline, which connects you securely to your own bank.
Common questions about the Halifax to Lloyds change
- Do I need to do anything now? No. There is nothing to do until Lloyds contacts you and invites you to move to the Lloyds app. Your accounts keep working as normal in the meantime.
- Is my money still protected? Yes. FSCS protection is unchanged: up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence. Halifax stays under the Bank of Scotland licence, separate from Lloyds.
- I have savings in both Halifax and Lloyds. Do they still count separately? Yes. Because Halifax and Lloyds use separate banking licences, you keep two separate £120,000 limits, up to £240,000 in total.
- Will my sort code or account number change? No. Both stay exactly the same, along with your Direct Debits and standing orders.
- What happens to my mortgage? Nothing changes to your rate, payments or terms. The Halifax mortgage brand for brokers becomes Lloyds Intermediaries in 2027.
- Is the Halifax app closing? Eventually, yes, but not until you have been invited to move to the Lloyds app, which the group says is the same app with some extra features.
Savvy Investor’s take
A 170-year-old name leaving the high street is a real loss of heritage, but as a financial event this one is unusually gentle: your account details, your rates and your protection all stay put. The single thing worth taking away is the protection point. If you keep savings with both Halifax and Lloyds, they are still covered separately, so the change does not quietly shrink your safety net. And because a high-profile switch is a gift to fraudsters, treat any call or message urging you to “move your money for the Halifax change” as exactly what it is: not your bank.
Sources
- Lloyds Banking Group, “Lloyds Banking Group announces Halifax to rebrand to Lloyds”, 1 July 2026 (primary)
- FSCS bank and savings protection checker (£120,000 limit; check which brands share a licence) (primary)
- MoneySavingExpert, “Halifax bank brand to be replaced by Lloyds”, 2 July 2026
- Which?, “Halifax brand axed as customers moved to Lloyds”, 2 July 2026
- Savvy Investor Guide: is your money safe with a payments app?, best cash ISA rates.
This article is for general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It summarises Lloyds Banking Group’s announcement of 1 July 2026 that the Halifax brand will change to Lloyds; the change is being rolled out over the coming months and some details may develop. Always check your bank’s own updates and the FSCS for the current position on protection. Fact-checked 8 July 2026.