Nationwide issues update over branch services for older customers | Personal Finance | Finance
A leading official from Nationwide Building Society has issued an update about its branch services. The update from the provider comes after it recently made an announcement affecting all 605 of its high street outlets.
Banking industry leaders spoke to the Treasury Committee recently about efforts to extend financial services to more people. Stephen Noakes, director of retail at Nationwide, spoke about the importance to the building society of having a high street presence.
He told the MPs: “In the last 12 months, 56 percent of our customers used our branches. For Nationwide, it is not a minority offering. If you look to the demographic of the average Nationwide customer using a branch, it is typically older.”
You can access many services at a Nationwide branch, such as making deposits or withdrawals from your account, or paying in a cheque. Guidance from the group explains that each branch has a manager who can offer guidance with financial issues or worries that you are facing.
As many banks are reducing their high street branches, Mr Noakes said it’s important going forward for branch services to continue to be in place. He said: “We are probably seeing a disproportionate number of those customers who are offline, but I think it is good for the development of the banking sector that you have a large mutual—it is not just ourselves; other building societies are in the same situation—that will continue to do more channel of choice.
“I think that situation will exist beyond 2030, when we currently have our branch commitment to.” Nationwide has pledged to keep open all its 605 current branches until at least 2030.
The group will only close or relocate a branch if there is a change beyond its control. Nationwide says on its website it will only shut down or move a branch if “there’s no other workable option”.
£100 payments for Nationwide members
One perk of being a Nationwide customer for the past few years is that you may have received some bonus cash into your account. The group has a Fairer Share scheme, where it shares out profits with its members.
There have been three payments through the scheme to date over the past three years, with £100 issued to millions of members each time. Nationwide said previously that it would decide if there would be another round of bonuses for 2026, depending on its performance.
A spokesperson said: “Nationwide’s Board will decide on a Fairer Share payment for 2026 and it will depend on our financial performance. That assessment will be made after our financial year-end, with the eligibility criteria for this year being agreed then too.
“The decision will be announced as part of our full-year results in May.” More than four million customers received the payment last year.
To qualify, you needed to have a qualifying current account, along with either a qualifying savings account or a qualifying mortgage. Martin Lewis recently shared a practical tip about the payment on his BBC podcast.
