Nationwide’s £175 cash incentive is currently market-leading and will be paid to customers switching via the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
If you already have one of these bank accounts, you can still switch over your non-Nationwide bank account and get £175 if you log in to Nationwide online banking.
To get the £175, customers will need to transfer a minimum of two active direct debits to the new account and close their non-Nationwide bank account as part of the switch.
The switch must be completed within 28 days. Within 31 days of requesting the switch, customers will need to pay at least £1,000 into the account and make at least one debit card transaction.
A report by Finder.com earlier this week found that banks and building societies have increasingly stringent requirements for customers claiming cash switching incentives.
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What does Nationwide offer its current account customers?
Nationwide’s FlexPlus account costs £13 per month, rising to £18 per month from December, and includes travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and car breakdown cover.
The FlexAccount is a fee-free ‘everyday’ account.
FlexDirect for customers is also fee-free. Customers can earn 1% cashback on debit card spending up to £5 per month for 12 months. In the first 12 months of holding the account, 5% AER interest is paid on balances up to £1,500 – after that, the rate drops to 1%.
To get both the cashback and 5% interest on in-credit balances, you’ll need to pay in at least £1,000 each month.
The absence of monthly fees means any cashback or interest earned isn’t diluted, making FlexDirect a “great contender” against similar offers, according to Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk.
However, she said the Chase Current Account also currently pays 1% cashback on spending, but has a higher cap of £15 per month for new customers.
Nationwide customers also benefit from the society’s Fairer Share payment, which shares the society’s profits with its members. This summer saw eligible account holders paid £100.
Tom Riley, director of retail at Nationwide Building Society, said: “We want to give people every reason to join Nationwide. Our new incentives are the latest demonstration of how we are making banking more rewarding for customers. We believe this shows the difference of being part of a modern mutual, which reinvests it[s] profits for the benefit of members and customers, not shareholders.”
In November, Nationwide is launching a £50 interest-free buffer to support new and existing customers who may occasionally dip into their overdraft. The buffer will apply to overdrafts on the FlexPlus, FlexDirect and FlexAccount accounts and will reduce the representative APR to 38.2%.
However, it should be noted the introductory overdraft offer on the FlexDirect account will be withdrawn for new accounts and instead replaced by cashback. Existing customers who are already benefitting from a previous offer will also see no change.
