HALIFAX CUSTOMERS FACE DEADLINE TO SWITCH BANKING APPS

Halifax customers have until Saturday, 31 October, to switch to the Lloyds Bank app before the Halifax app closes on 1 November. The bank began closing the app in stages on 5 October and sent customers instructions for making the move. Customers who want to check balances, make payments and manage their accounts through an app will need to use Lloyds. Halifax said on its website: “We've started to close the Halifax app and online banking so it's now time to start using Lloyds.” Lloyds Banking Group said the change would make its services “simpler and more consistent”.

Customers can start the move in the Halifax app, which directs them to download the Lloyds app. They can use their existing login details there. Halifax said customers would find their accounts, scheduled payments, statements and digital letters in Lloyds’ systems. The bank said account numbers, sort codes, card details and PINs would stay the same. It said standing orders and Direct Debits would continue without customers setting them up again.

Lloyds Banking Group announced earlier this year that it would gradually phase out the Halifax brand, which has operated for 173 years. Customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland can already use one another’s branches. The group said bringing its services together would give customers more choice and convenience. It has said falling use of face-to-face banking contributed to branch closures. Twenty-three Lloyds branches and three Halifax branches had closed or were due to shut by the end of October, including sites in Birmingham, Nottingham and Southampton.