Halifax scrapped after 173 years on the high street with millions of users in for a huge change
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Roger Hutchings/In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images
A major name on the British high street is set to close up shop after 173 years, with millions of customers soon seeing a big change to their bank accounts.
Halifax will gradually be phased out and replaced by Lloyds, with parent company Lloyds Banking Group confirming that existing customer accounts will be rebranded over time.
The banking giant, which has owned Halifax since 2009, said customers do not need to do anything and will be contacted directly as the changes begin.
The decision follows reports earlier this year in May that Lloyds Banking Group was considering retiring the Halifax name as part of plans to simplify its portfolio.
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Lloyds will become the group's main banking brand across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Bank of Scotland will continue to operate as normal.
Despite the historic change, customers are being reassured that their everyday banking will stay exactly the same.
Customers will receive updates through the Halifax app, online banking, email and by post over the coming days and weeks.
They'll also be invited to switch across to the Lloyds app and digital banking, while their accounts will gradually begin carrying the Lloyds branding.
Jas Singh, Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive of consumer relationships, said: "As Halifax changes to Lloyds, our Halifax customers will keep everything they know and love today – the same fantastic app design, the same friendly faces in our branches – even the same sort code and account number.
"But as Lloyds customers, they’ll get the best innovation and experiences we offer."
The move also means Halifax will stop opening new customer accounts as the brand is phased out.
Halifax was founded in West Yorkshire back in 1853.
Lloyds said it remained committed to the town of Halifax and the wider Yorkshire and Humber region, having recently invested £116 million in the Trinity Road office where some 3,000 staff are based.
The office is set to feature a celebration of the Halifax brand through the years.
There are no job losses linked to the rebrand, with Halifax branches either expected to become Lloyds branches or merge into nearby Lloyds locations throughout 2027.
But hundreds of high street branches have been shut over recent years, and more will be closing under existing plans.
It recently announced 79 new closures on top of 95 already planned over the coming year, across the three brands.
This will leave the group with 531 branches in total across the UK.
Customers have been able to go into the branches of all three brands and get help from staff, regardless of the brand on their account, following a significant change last year.