Three major banks are making a huge change to the way customers cash in cheques at the Post Office. Lloyds, Halifax and the Bank of Scotland have said they’re ending the practice from December 31 because not enough people are using the once-popular service.
This means customers will either have to travel to their nearest branch or use mobile banking to cash in their money. The camera on your phone processes the details on your check and will pay the amount into your account.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson told The Sun: “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.”
It comes as Lloyds Banking Group announced 135 branches would close between May this year and March 2026. This includes 60 Halifax, 61 Lloyds Bank, and 14 Bank of Scotland branches.
That’s on top of the 102 closures the banking group already has pencilled in for 2025. Lloyds said the closures are down to fewer people going into branches to carry out their banking.
The bank said there were 10 million fewer in-branch transactions in 2024 compared to 2023. A spokesperson said over 20 million customers currently use Lloyds’ banking apps for on-demand access to their money. They said this gives customers more choice and flexibility to carry out their day-to-day banking.
They said: “Alongside our apps, customers can also use telephone banking, visit a community banker or use any Halifax, Lloyds or Bank of Scotland branch, giving access to many more branches. Customers can also do their everyday banking at over 11,000 branches of the Post Office or in a Banking Hub.”
It comes after Santander Bank confirmed plans to scrap its text alerts service this Spring. The service sends customers weekly updates about their bank account balances and transactions but also alerts them if they’ve exceeded a set limit.
From May 12, the bank will stop sending these texts. However, the bank will still send alerts about changes to your account that could lead to you being charged, such as approaching your overdraft limit or entering into an unarranged overdraft.
Santander says customers can monitor their account activity by registering for online or mobile banking or by visiting a branch in person.
