Lloyds cash deposits: the machine is nearly half the price

What it is

Lloyds charges roughly £0.85 per £100 for cash paid in at a self-service paying-in machine, and around £1.50 per £100 over the counter.

Same bank, same money, same day. The only difference is which part of the branch you walk to.

What the gap costs

A shop banking £2,000 a week pays roughly £676 more a year for using the wrong part of the same branch.

Where Lloyds sits against the rest

At the machine rate, Lloyds is one of the cheaper high-street options for cash. At the counter rate it is mid-table. Against the app-based accounts the comparison is different again — they route everything through the Post Office, which has its own charges and its own limits.

Worth knowing: Monzo charges a flat fee per deposit rather than a percentage, which is cheaper than Lloyds at almost any deposit size but caps out on Post Office network limits. See Monzo cash deposits.

Who it genuinely helps

• Cash businesses near a branch with a working paying-in machine. That is the whole proposition.
• Businesses banking large amounts infrequently, where a percentage rate beats a per-deposit fee.
• Anyone who needs counter access as a fallback and will use the machine day to day.

Where it falls short

• The counter rate is nearly double. If your branch has no machine, you are on the expensive tariff.
• Branch access is shrinking. Check before committing, not after.
• Lloyds pays 0.50% on instant access savings — the lowest rate of any provider we track. Cash handling is not the only cost.

What else to consider

Barclays and NatWest have larger branch networks and counter access, which matters more than the headline rate if you bank cash daily.

Santander gives the first £1,000 a month free at its own machines, then £1.25 per £100 — better for modest cash volumes.

Monzo charges a flat fee per deposit, which is cheaper for large occasional deposits.

Full comparison: best accounts for cash deposits.

Our verdict

The rate you get depends on a decision most people make without thinking. This is not a trick and Lloyds publishes both figures, but comparison tables quote one number for cash handling and it is usually the cheaper one.

If you take cash and there is a working paying-in machine you will realistically use, Lloyds is competitive. If there is not — and branch networks have thinned a great deal — you are on a tariff that is nearly double, and Barclays or Santander will likely serve you better.

Either way, model it on your own volumes with the true cost calculator rather than on a headline rate.

Read our full Lloyds review →