MILLIONS of Nationwide customers could be due to get a free £100 payment in the coming months.
The bank has revealed to The Sun when customers will hear about its popular Fairer Share scheme, which in previous years has seen millions of people receive a £100 cash boost.
Nationwide has previously given out millions of pounds in bonuses[/caption]
Nationwide has run the scheme for the last two years, and it’s not guaranteed it will do the same this year – but it does look likely.
It’s now confirmed to us that customers will hear whether the scheme is running or not on May 29.
The decision will come down to Nationwide’s financial performance, and this date is when the bank releases its full-year results.
The bank has said it does intend to give out the £100 payments again this year.
Nationwide’s boss said in December it was “well positioned” to do this.
If you want to be among the lucky people getting the cash boost, you may need to act fast.
Even if you’re not currently a Nationwide customer, there’s steps you can take to potentially get the bonus.
The scheme has previously been announced in May and paid in June.
Last year, the bank paid out a total of £385million to 3.85million customers.
The year before it was £340million paid out to 3.4million people.
Those who got the payment previously had to meet the qualifying criteria in the first three months of the year.
If it’s the same again this year, that means you don’t have long left to make sure you meet the criteria.
It’s worth knowing that this payment is separate to the one-off £50 bonus being paid next month to over 12million Nationwide customers.
How you could get the payment
As we mentioned, the bonus hasn’t been announced yet and it’s not guaranteed.
But if things stay the same as in previous years, this is what you’ll need to do to qualify.
If you’re already a Nationwide customer, you shouldn’t close your account until March 31.
Your next step to make sure you qualify is to have at least £100 in savings in a Nationwide account or owe at least £100 on a mortgage with the bank.
You will need to do this by the end of the month – so you have less than two weeks from today.
If you don’t have either of these, you could put £100 into one of Nationwide’s savings accounts before March 31.
You also will need to have used your account within the first three months of this year.
How you can qualify depends on what type of account you have.
If you have a FlexAccount, FlexBasic or FlexDirect account, you will need to do ONE of these two things:
- Pay at least £500 into your account (this could be your salary) and make two payments out of your account by March 31. You must have also done this in January or February (but if you didn’t, you may still be able to qualify by switching – we’ll explain more below)
- Make at least 10 payments out of your account before March 31. Again you must have also done this in January or February but you could still qualify by switching
If you have a FlexPlus packaged account, all you’ll need to do is pay the fee.
Those with the FlexOne, FlexGraduate or FlexStudent accounts will need to make a payment in or out of their account in March.
What if you’re not a Nationwide customer?
There is still time to switch – but you’ll need to move quickly.
If you don’t already have an account, there’s another incentive to switch as Nationwide is offering newbies a free £175 cash payment.
This offer is available up until March 31 for those switching to Nationwide’s FlexDirect account.
Switchers can also get 5% interest on up to £1,500 held in the account and up to £5 a month cashback on debit card spending for a year.
Some existing customers can also get the £175 bonus by switching a non-Nationwide current account to their already open Nationwide FlexAccount, FlexPlus or FlexDirect account.
However you won’t be eligible if you previously switched your account to Nationwide or if you had a switch bonus from the bank since August 18 2021.
How do I switch bank accounts?
SWITCHING bank accounts is a simple process and can usually be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up – there’s a full list on CASS’ website.
Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days.
You don’t have to remember to move direct debits across when moving, as this is done for you.
All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you’re moving.
There are a few things you can do before switching though, including choosing your switch date and transferring any old bank statements to your new account.
You should get in touch with your existing bank for any old statements.
When switching current accounts, consider what other perks might come with joining a specific bank or building society.
Some banks offer 0% overdrafts up to a certain limit, and others might offer better rates on savings accounts.
And some banks offer free travel or mobile phone insurance with their current accounts – but these accounts might come with a monthly fee.
Even if you don’t qualify for the switch bonus, you may still want to switch to Nationwide for the potential Fairer Share payment.
If it’s the same as in previous years, you will need to complete your switch to Nationwide FlexDirect by March 31.
You must use the official Current Account Switch Service by requesting the switch through Nationwide.
You will see the option to do this when you apply for the bank account.
Switches normally take seven working days – so we would recommend applying TODAY to boost your chances of the switch going through on time.
The deadline for switching is currently seven working days away.
Once you’ve made the switch, you’ll also need to put £100 into a Nationwide savings account or owe at least £100 on a Nationwide mortgage by March 31.
