Bank Procedures

Barclays
You can contact Barclays online, by telephone, post or at a branch. You will need to have the name, address and date of birth of the deceased person; as well as the original copies of Proof of Death, Proof of Identity and a Personal Indemnity Closure Form.  You might also need a Grant of Probate.

Barclays will make sure there is no further communication with the account holder, and Direct Debits and Standing Orders will be cancelled and the account will be frozen.

Lloyds
When you have registered the death and spoken with Lloyds, the bank also have a Bereavement Guide and Estate Administration service. If the account holder has money in the account, Lloyds state it can be used for help with expenses and funeral bills.

Natwest
By clicking on ‘Notify us of a bereavement’, on the Natwest website, you can quickly and easily answer a series of questions to notify them of the passing.  They also have a helpful Bereavement Checklist available to help.

For multiple banks, you can use the Death Notification Service.  This is a free service which allows you to notify members of the organisations of the death at the same time.

There is also a ‘Tell Us Once’ service on the Government website.  With this service you can report a death to most government organisations in one go.

Nationwide
After sending the bank the death certificate, they will send you a ‘Request to Close Account(s) (SF220)’ form.  If the account has more that £50,000, they will also need a Grant of Probate.  Both of these will come by post and a return envelope is included.

The Nationwide website also has information on how to access funds to help with expenses and releasing money.

For funerals below £8,000, Nationwide will release funds without the need to be referred to the Bereavement Services Team.

HSBC
The steps to notify HSBC of a death are as follows:
Register the death
Check if there is a Will
Arrange the funeral
Notify HSBC via the Bereavement Portal
Dealing with the estate
Letting other organisations know

HSBC also offer advice for commercial customers including Sole Traders and Limited companies.

Royal Bank of Scotland
You can notify Royal Bank of Scotland using their Click and Notify service. There is a Bereavement checklist as well as a ‘What happens once you notify us?’ section; as well as advice on the following:
Deceased person’s account
The Process
What documents are required
Communication
Closure

Santander
Santander have a Bereavement guide.  There are sections within the guide for both Personal and Business Customers, with helpful information, contacts and advice.

For Personal Customers, there is detail on how to get in touch as well as information on personal accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgages etc.
For Business Customers, you can find advice on inheritance tax, funeral costs etc.