Lloyds Banking Group has announced that from December 31, customers of Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland will no longer be able to deposit cheques at Post Office branches. The move affects approximately 28 million customers, who will now need to use bank branches or the group's mobile app to process cheques.
The group stated that its mobile app allows users to deposit cheques by taking a photo with their smartphone, which automatically reads the details and processes the funds. A spokesperson said: 'Most customers use our app as the easiest way to pay in a cheque, by taking a photo on their phone and letting us take care of the rest. Very few customers are choosing to deposit cheques in at the Post Office.'
This change follows the group's announcement that it plans to close 135 bank branches between May 2025 and March 2026, including 60 Halifax, 61 Lloyds, and 14 Bank of Scotland outlets. These closures are in addition to 102 branches already scheduled to shut in 2025.
Lloyds attributed the branch closures to a significant decline in face-to-face transactions, with ten million fewer in-branch interactions in 2024 compared to the previous year. The spokesperson added: 'Over 20 million customers are using our apps for on-demand access to their money and customers have more choice and flexibility than ever for their day-to-day banking.'
Halifax reassured customers that most of the closing branches are less than a mile from other group facilities or Post Office outlets. Customers can also use telephone banking, community bankers, or any branch of Halifax, Lloyds, or Bank of Scotland, as well as over 11,000 Post Office branches or Banking Hubs.
In related news, Santander will phase out its text alert service on May 12, affecting 14 million UK customers. The bank will stop sending alerts for balance thresholds and large transactions, but will continue to send overdraft warnings. Customers are advised to use online or mobile banking instead.
