Personal Finance Bank accounts

How to cancel a payment with Halifax?

Zorica Lončar

01.02.23 (updated more than 1 year ago)

Read time 2 minutes

It’s easier than ever to make a payment from your bank. In most cases, you can use online or mobile banking, where you can transfer money in just a few taps. But what happens if you make a mistake, or send the money to the wrong account?

In this guide, we’ll run through how to cancel payments with Halifax. This includes how to stop scheduled Direct Debits, flag up fraudulent transactions and contact Halifax to cancel payments before they leave your account.

Thinking of making international payments? It can be expensive to send money overseas with a bank, so consider using Wise instead. You can send money with Wise for low fees¹ and the mid-market exchange rate, making it cheaper overall.

But for now, let’s focus on getting that Halifax payment cancelled for you.

¹ Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees

Why might you need to cancel a payment?

There are lots of reasons you might want or need to cancel a bank payment. For example:

You entered the wrong account details, so the money was sent to the wrong person or company
You made a mistake entering the amount
You suspect that an unauthorised or fraudulent payment has been made from your account
You need to cancel a Direct Debit or Standing Order for a service or subscription you don’t use anymore.

Any of the above sound familiar? If so, read on. We’ll run through how you can contact Halifax to cancel payments, plus some other options you can try to get your money back.

Is it possible to cancel a payment with Halifax?

If you’ve made a payment in error, the first thing to do is check whether or not it’s been automatically returned to your account. This can happen if you used the wrong account information².

If it’s not there, Halifax recommends contacting the recipient to ask them to return the payment². This of course is only really an option if you know the person or company.

If you don’t know the person, don’t feel comfortable making direct contact or the recipient refuses to send the payment back, here’s what to do.

You need to contact Halifax to cancel the payment, calling 0345 720 2040². They’ll do all they can to recover the money for you².

You should be aware though that if you entered the wrong account details, Halifax may not be able to help.

What if I suspect I’ve been a victim of fraud?

If you spot a payment made from your account that you don’t recognise and didn’t authorise, it’s possible that you’ve been a victim of fraud.

If you’re concerned, you should call Halifax as soon as possible on 0800 500 3914 or +44 1132 888 408 if you’re outside the UK³.

How to cancel a scheduled Direct Debit or Standing Order

Want to cancel an upcoming payment? For example, you may have cancelled a magazine subscription but the Direct Debit payment hasn’t been automatically cancelled.

To prevent any more payments going out, you can cancel it by following these simple steps⁴:

Sign into your Halifax online banking
Select ‘More actions’ next to the relevant account
Select ‘Direct Debits and standing orders’
Choose ‘Manage Direct Debits’ and locate the payment
Tap the ‘Cancel’ button next to the payment and then ‘Delete’ to confirm
You should receive a message confirming that the Direct Debit has been deleted.

If you haven’t already, remember to let the company you’re paying know.

Sources used:

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees
Halifax - Payments and transfers FAQ
Halifax - Contact us about fraud
Halifax - View or cancel a Direct Debit

Sources last checked on date: 16-Jan-2023

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.