Nationwide has given an update on an upcoming £50 bonus payment which the building society says is ‘a thank you’ to its millions of members.
‘The Big Nationwide Thank You’ comes after the banking giant purchased Virgin Money UK in October, boosting its accounts by £2.3bn.
Nationwide has now confirmed that 12 million qualifying customers will receive their £50 in just a few weeks, on 30 April 2025. This will amount to over £600 million handed out in total.
The payments will go to members who had a savings or current account, or mortgage, at the end of last September. They must also have a payment into or from their current account or savings, or had a balance of at least £100, the company said.
The building society said in November that Virgin Money, which it bought the previous month, was worth more than the £2.8 billion takeover price.
At the time of the deal, chief executive Debbie Crosbie said the benefits would go towards improvements for customers.
The buyout was the biggest banking deal since the financial crisis. Following the deal, Nationwide is the country’s second largest provider of mortgages and savings accounts.
When it bought the lender, Nationwide also paused Virgin Money’s plans to close some of its branches, as part of a promise not to leave any town or city where there is currently a branch until at least 2028.
Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide chief executive, said: “Nationwide became even stronger when it bought Virgin Money and we are already improving services for its customers.
“The Big Nationwide Thank You recognises the role our members played in building the financial strength that made the deal possible.”
Nationwide is the world’s largest building society, and is connected to one in three households in the UK, manages one in ten current accounts, and has more than 25,000 employees and over 700 branches.
This new payment is the latest in a series of moves from Nationwide to return value to its members, following a £100 payment to almost 4 million eligible members in 2023 and 2024.
Since April 2023, it has returned over £3.5bn in member value including £729m through its Nationwide Fairer Share Payment.
The ‘Thank You’ payment is separate to the ‘Fairer Share’ payments scheme, which periodically returns some of its profits to members. Ms Crosbie confirmed she intends to reintroduce the payment later this year, subject to financial performance. In preparation, savers are advised to maximise their chances will just few easy steps.
