Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank is one of the UK's best known high street banks. It sells current accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, car finance and share dealing, and its sister brands on the high street include Halifax and Bank of Scotland. Lloyds says its mobile app has 10 million users¹.

Most day-to-day banking with Lloyds now happens through its mobile app, which the bank says has 10 million users². If you hold personal accounts across Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, you can access and service them together through any of the group's banking apps or online banking, a arrangement Lloyds calls co-servicing³. Lloyds also takes part in open banking, letting you share your account data with other financial providers and see accounts held elsewhere inside the Lloyds app³.

What Lloyds offers

Lloyds sells the full range of everyday banking products. Its current accounts come with debit cards, and the bank's savings range sits alongside them¹. For borrowing, Lloyds offers unsecured personal loans, credit cards, car finance and mortgages, with mortgages the only secured borrowing it sells: Lloyds states that it mainly offers unsecured loans and that the only exceptions are its mortgages, which are secured against the value of your home¹⁰. On the investing side, Lloyds offers a Share Dealing Account and a Share Dealing ISA, with a choice of UK and international shares, ETFs, funds, bonds and gilts⁶.

Lloyds is also part of open banking. It provides an account information and payment starting service to other financial providers, and you can share data for accounts with most of the major UK banks, including Monzo, NatWest and Starling. The data you share can be used to display external account data, provide insights, check product eligibility and suggest products if you have opted into marketing. Shareable account types include bank accounts and some savings accounts and credit cards, and Lloyds says your payments through open banking are protected in exactly the same way as when you use online banking³.

If you bank with more than one brand in the group, co-servicing means you can manage any personal accounts you have with Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland in one place, through any of the group's apps or online banking¹¹. Lloyds notes that the Halifax brand is changing to Lloyds for a range of credit cards⁵. For guides to each product type, see current accounts, savings, ISAs, mortgages, credit cards, loans and investing.

Lloyds mortgages: who can borrow and how the fees work

Lloyds mortgages are secured against your home, which distinguishes them from everything else the bank lends. If you already have a mortgage with Lloyds, the bank says you could borrow up to 85% of your home's value¹². Lloyds does not offer equity release: its own guidance states plainly that "Lloyds do not offer an equity release mortgage"¹². Equity release is a different market, typically a lifetime mortgage or a home reversion scheme, both of which have long-term financial impacts; a lifetime mortgage lets you borrow some of your home's value, with the loan repaid when you sell the property, die or go into care¹³. If you are considering releasing money from your home, the guides to mortgages and home buying set out the alternatives, including remortgaging to release equity.

Existing Lloyds mortgage customers receive an annual mortgage statement showing the balance, payments made and the total repayable including interest and fees if the mortgage were repaid on the date shown. Lloyds notes these figures change day to day¹⁴. The balance can increase for several reasons: missed or partial payments, fees added to the mortgage (which could include Product, Additional Borrowing and Arrears Fees), unpaid linked insurance premiums, a payment holiday, or a changed payment due date. Some customers also have a sub-account 98 on their statement if they have a mortgage account fee¹⁴.

When you repay your Lloyds mortgage in full, you pay the total figure shown on your redemption statement, and payments sent from another bank go to the account name Lloyds gives you for that payoff. Lloyds says a payment may take up to 2 working days after you expect it to appear in your mortgage account, so timing matters if you are completing a house sale. If you pay your mortgage by standing order, Lloyds says to cancel the standing order with your bank after the mortgage account is closed¹⁵.

Borrowing from Lloyds: personal loans, credit cards and car leasing

Lloyds offers unsecured personal loans, which are not secured against your home or anything else you own⁴. To be accepted, Lloyds says you need a good credit score, with no history of bad credit such as County Court Judgements (CCJs) or bankruptcy¹⁰. Any credit agreement and borrowing amount is subject to an assessment of your personal circumstances¹⁶. How your credit score looks will therefore shape both whether you are accepted and how much you can borrow. The guides to loans and credit scores explain how lending decisions work across the market.

Lloyds also sells car finance. You log in to your online banking and access your car finance quote in a few steps, and the funds are sent to the dealership rather than to you: payments made after 2.30pm are received by the dealership before 12pm the following day¹⁷.

On credit cards, Lloyds requires applicants to be UK residents⁵, and it offers balance transfers and money transfers. Money transfers, which move funds from your credit card to a UK current account, are only available on selected products and when your account is set up for them¹⁸. Lloyds warns that transfer fees may apply to balance transfers¹⁹. A second cardholder can be added to some cards, and Lloyds notes that any credit agreement and borrowing amount is subject to an assessment of your personal circumstances¹⁶. When you use a Lloyds credit card abroad, you do not need to tell the bank in advance where and when you are going, though Lloyds notes this may vary depending on your card, and its fraud and security systems may still stop payments made abroad if they suspect they may be fraudulent²⁰. For how credit cards work across the market, see credit cards.

Saving and investing with Lloyds: ISAs and share dealing

Lloyds offers two investing accounts: a Share Dealing Account and a Share Dealing ISA. Both give you a choice of UK and international shares, ETFs, funds, bonds and gilts⁶. The Share Dealing Account is the plain version: Lloyds pitches it for people who have reached their annual ISA allowance⁶. The Share Dealing ISA holds the same investments inside an ISA wrapper, so growth and income are sheltered from UK tax, subject to the annual ISA allowance; see ISAs for how the wrapper works.

You can transfer an existing Lloyds Bank cash ISA, or a cash ISA from another provider, into a Lloyds Share Dealing ISA²¹. To open one, you need your address, debit card details and national insurance number, and existing Lloyds investors can log in and select 'Open a new account'²¹. Lloyds also offers free investing with a regular investment plan, which lets you invest set amounts on a schedule rather than in one-off trades³. Investing carries risk: the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and the guides to investing and pensions explain the choices across the market.

For cash savings, Lloyds sells a range of savings accounts alongside its current accounts. You can close a Lloyds savings account online if you have another account with Lloyds to transfer the closing balance to; the account is fully closed the day after your request, and any remaining interest is transferred with the balance within 24 hours²². Joint savings accounts are possible: a maximum of 2 people can open a joint account, and both must each hold one or more Lloyds products, such as a current account, savings account, credit card, loan, mortgage or share dealing account²³.

How charges work on everyday banking and international payments

Lloyds does not publish its full fee schedule on its help pages, and fees change, so always check the current figures on the Lloyds website or in your product terms before you rely on them. What the bank does set out is how the charging works.

For international payments sent using online banking or the app, the payment will always be sent using the shared charging option, which means the fee can be split between you and the recipient rather than all of it falling on you²⁴. If Lloyds needs to trace an international payment, it will not charge you a fee, but other banks involved may apply a charge²⁴. Requests made before 3pm on a working day are processed and taken the same day²⁴.

For CHAPS, the same-day high-value payment system, each payment carries a fee, and requests made before 4.25pm on a working day arrive the same day, while later requests are processed the next working day²⁵. See money transfers for how CHAPS compares with other ways to send money.

On credit cards, Lloyds says fees may apply to some transactions and account features, including balance and money transfers, cash transactions, non-sterling purchases, instalment plan fees and account fees²⁶. Cash-equivalent transactions on a credit card, such as gambling, buying foreign currency and wire transfers, attract a cash transaction fee and interest may apply¹⁸. Using a Lloyds debit card to buy foreign currency or travellers cheques from another provider is not charged by Lloyds, though the currency provider may charge you¹⁸. If you use Apple Pay to pay with a Lloyds card overseas, standard overseas charges apply according to your card's terms and conditions²⁷.

Banking with Lloyds: app, online, phone and branches

Most Lloyds customers bank through the mobile app, which the bank says has 10 million users². Mobile banking is available to online banking customers²⁷, and to use the app you need a device running a recent version of iOS or Android, an Apple App Store or Google Play account, Wi-Fi or data on your phone, and an up-to-date phone number registered with Lloyds²⁸. Lloyds says it will refund any money you lose to a scam in which you are tricked into making a payment yourself, if you do all you can to keep your details and devices safe²⁸.

Through the app and online banking you can manage accounts, make payments, order a replacement card and apply for products. If you hold accounts with Halifax or Bank of Scotland as well as Lloyds, co-servicing lets you manage all of them in one place¹¹. Lloyds also supports open banking in the app, so you can see accounts held with other banks alongside your Lloyds accounts; transactions from shared accounts appear as soon as possible but may take up to two hours³.

Branches continue to close across the Lloyds network. When a branch closes, Lloyds says it may sometimes have a Community Banker visit the area afterwards, and customers can use a range of services in their local area to bank in person¹¹. If you are not registered for online banking, you can call Lloyds instead, including to report a lost or stolen card²⁹. For how branch banking works across the UK, see banks.

Making and receiving payments: how long each type takes

Payment speed depends on the type of payment you send. Payments to another UK account sent by Faster Payments are usually available within two hours³⁰, and Lloyds says most payments are sent within two hours, with a receipt available². Direct debits and standing orders are collected shortly after midnight on the due date³⁰. CHAPS payments requested before 4.25pm on a working day arrive the same day²⁵.

International payments take longer, and the timescale depends on where the money is going. Payments in any other EEA currency, pounds sterling or Swiss francs to another EEA country should arrive no later than four working days. Payments in any currency to North America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and the Far East should take no longer than four working days, and payments to any other country no longer than five working days²⁴.

New cards arrive by post: Lloyds says it usually takes 5 to 7 working days to receive a credit card and 7 to 10 working days for the PIN, depending on Royal Mail working days, with cards and PINs sent separately⁵. When a credit card application is approved, the PIN is delivered by post within 5 working days and the card follows, arriving within 7 working days²⁶. Mortgage redemption payments may take up to 2 working days after you expect them to appear in your mortgage account¹⁵.

How to apply for a Lloyds account, loan or card

Lloyds takes applications online through online banking, in the mobile banking app, by phone, or in your nearest branch⁴. For existing customers, the app is the main route. To apply for a personal loan in the app, you select Apply, then Loans and Car finance, then Loan calculator; you must be registered for online banking to apply in the app³¹. For a credit card, existing customers select 'Apply', then 'Credit cards', again needing to be registered for online banking¹⁶.

A credit card application asks for your main bank account number and sort code, and an email address and phone number¹⁹. Any credit agreement and borrowing amount is subject to an assessment of your personal circumstances¹⁶. For a joint account, both people must be registered for online banking, logged in to online banking or the Lloyds app, and together when you apply; a maximum of 2 people can open a joint account, and both must each hold one or more Lloyds products²³.

If you are new to Lloyds, or switching to it, the process follows the same pattern as any UK bank: MoneyHelper, the free government-backed advice service, sets out how to open, switch or close a bank account, including the Current Account Switch Service³². See current accounts for how switching works.

Scams, fraud warnings and when Lloyds will refund you

Lloyds gives a clear list of things it will never ask you to do: it will never ask you to move money to a so-called secure, safe or holding account, or to transfer funds to a new sort code and account number². If you receive a message or call asking you to do either, it is a scam whatever the caller claims. Lloyds may not refund your money if you ignore a warning from it and fail to act².

The refund position depends on the type of fraud. Lloyds says it will refund any money you lose to a scam in which you are tricked into making a payment yourself, if you do all you can to keep your details and devices safe²⁸. More generally, MoneyHelper's guidance is to check transactions and report any you do not recognise quickly, because you will usually get a refund if it is fraud³². If you have sent money to the wrong account, Lloyds will try to recover the money for you, but it warns it may not be able to help; Which? also advises contacting the recipient directly³³.

One scam pattern reported by Which? targeted Lloyds customers with a phishing message, followed days or weeks later by a call claiming to be from the Lloyds fraud team, quoting part of your password and asking for one-time passcodes while criminals log in to your real bank account³⁴. A genuine bank will not ask for your full password or a one-time passcode over the phone. For the wider picture, see scams and fraud.

To report a lost or stolen card, enter 'lost or stolen' in the search bar of the Lloyds website or app and fill out a quick form, or log in and select 'help & support' at the top of your account overview page. The card is blocked straight away²⁹. After reporting, you can view your new debit card details in the app the next day, and your credit card details within five days; credit card details reported before 5pm Monday to Friday show the next day, while those reported after 5pm on Friday or at the weekend show the following Tuesday³⁵.

How your money is protected and where to complain

Money you hold with Lloyds is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme: Lloyds states that the FSCS protects up to £120,000 of the eligible money you hold with it⁷. Because Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland are part of the same group, check the FSCS website for how the limit applies across brands. If something goes wrong, Lloyds states that it is covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service⁸. The Ombudsman's own guidance is to explain to your lender what you are unhappy about first, and if you are not happy with the response, bring the complaint to the Ombudsman with as much information as possible⁸. See consumer protection for how the scheme works.

If something goes wrong, complain to Lloyds first. The Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints about bank accounts and bank cards, insurance, and problems with loans, but only after the firm has had the chance to resolve the matter: explain to the firm what you are unhappy about, and if you are not happy with its response, bring the complaint to the Ombudsman with as much information as possible⁹. If your complaint concerns open banking data you shared with a third-party provider, complain to that provider first, and if it does not resolve the issue, you can lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service³⁶.

Lloyds has its own complaints process, and if you are unhappy with how a fraud or data complaint is handled, you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹. For free, impartial help with money problems, MoneyHelper offers guidance on banking and complaints³², and for problem debt see debt.