We analysed the Bank of England’s “bank compilation lists” to determine which banks offer safety deposit boxes in the UK.
Only four UK banks still offer safety deposit box service to the public.
They include Halifax, Lloyds, Metro Bank, and Natwest (Jump to September 2023 Update)
Services are mostly available in major cities such as London, Manchester, and Leicester with stringent access and restricted hours. If you need something flexible in a great location within the Midlands with easy access from London, you should get a box at Stonewall Vaults.
According to the Bank of England’s 2021 compiled list of banks, there are 155 banks in the UK. Only eight of these banks are national. Half of these are the only banks offering safety deposit boxes in the UK in limited locations.
The shortage of supply has given rise to private and independent safety deposit box services, such as Stonewall Vaults, across the UK.
We explored the existing nationwide safety deposit boxes owned by banks, including their branches, safety deposit box prices, and how you can get one at Stonewall Vaults.
Below are the four national private banks incorporated in the UK offering safety deposit boxes
Only Halifax, Lloyds, Metro Bank, and Natwest still offer safety deposit boxes.
Others such as Co-operative Bank, RBS, HSBC, and Barclays have ceased this service for some time now (as of October 2022).
Halifax Safety Deposit Boxes
You can rent a safety deposit at the New Oxford Street branch in London. Access to the service is available every day from 9 am to 6 pm, 6 days a week including Saturdays. And 11 am to 5 pm Sundays.
Even though it is a Halifax service, it operates independently, very much like a private service. So no appointments are necessary, no bank staff is required to assist you, and with independent opening hours.
The Halifax Centre offers four levels of security; a key card, a PIN, a fingerprint, and a manual key. They have three box sizes available tagged as small, medium, and large. Which are priced at £200, £325 and £475 respectively.
To be eligible for the Halifax safety deposit box service, you must have a qualifying account with them, be over 18, and be a UK resident.
Lloyds Banking Safety Deposit Box
After ceasing this loss-leading service some years ago, Lloyds bank re-opened a centre with a limited number of boxes in their Market Street Branch in Manchester.
It’s also good to know that Halifax and Lloyds are part of the Lloyds Banking Group and therefore both banks offer the same, standalone service and terms and conditions.
If you live in Manchester, have a Lloyds account, and are looking for a safety deposit box, you might consider visiting the Lloyds branch.
Metro Bank Safety Deposit Box
You can sign up for a box in more than 70 locations of Metro Bank branches. The service is robust with 5 box sizes from extra small (XS) to extra large (XL). With an annual price from £240 for the XS to £750 for the XL.
You can do their online quiz for box availability in a location close to you before visiting the branch.
You need to be over 18 and operate a Metro Bank account to be eligible for their safety deposit boxes.
NatWest Safety Deposit Box
You can get a safety deposit service from a few NatWest branches, the most notable being Leicester. The service is quite restrictive in terms of what you can store, availability and access. Information on the bank’s website says you would need to give 24 hours’ notice to access your box.
The NatWest SDC is restricted to documentation and parcels only and their annual charges are based on the size of the item, ranging from £20 – £65 per annum. There is an additional pay-per-visit charge of £10.
As with the other two banks, you must have an eligible account to qualify for a box.
As of November 2022, NatWest is exiting finally exiting the safety deposit market. So If you’re an existing customer and looking for an alternative, see which bank has the cheapest safe deposit box in the UK to choose from.
International Banks Incorporated in the UK
There are five notable UK-incorporated international banks.
Bank of America, Citibank, Santander, Bank of India, and Triodos Bank.
While some of these banks offer a safety deposit box service, information from their UK websites does not show any of them to have a UK centre except the Bank of India.
The demand for safety deposit boxes is on the rise as more people look for a safe place to store their valuables. In some places, demand is outstripping supply. Banks have centres in limited locations such as London, Leicester, and Manchester.
However, if you live in Birmingham or the wider Midlands area, you can get in touch with Stonewall Vaults for your safekeeping needs.
Update – August 2023: As of this month, Natwest has ceased offering safety deposit box services to customers.