Personal finance expert told the person to carry out vital checks first
Martin Lewis has issued a warning to anyone thinking of closing under- used bank accounts. Speaking on his BBC podcast this week, the personal finance expert was asked by a listener if they should close their unused current accounts as it might impact their credit rating.
The person said they had opened a number of bank accounts to get access to savings services at different times, which had left them with a lot of redundant accounts. Mr Lewis said that it should be fine to close them – however in one case he suggested they check to see if they might be eligible to get a payment.
He explained that Nationwide would soon be running its scheme to reward users with payments of £100. He said: “Nationwide is running its fairer share that it runs every year, and we’re getting close to the eligibility criteria for existing customers. But you also have to have either savings or a mortgage with them as well as a current account in order to get a payment which is £100 or £150.
“I don’t know the details for this year, they haven’t announced it. I’m basing it on what it’s done in past years, but i suspect it will be doing something similar.
“So if one were Nationwide, it would be having a look at the details of the fairer share scheme and what you can do to be eligible and then you might be able to get your £150 bonus on top.”
The Nationwide Fairer Share payment is a £100 cash bonus distributed by Nationwide Building Society to eligible existing members, intended to share profits with customers rather than shareholders. Paid annually (in June/July) since 2023, it is not guaranteed and requires meeting specific criteria for holding current accounts, savings, or mortgages.
Although criteria have not been announced for 2026 usually people generally need to keep a current account open until March 31, 2026, and meet specific account usage, such as receiving £500+ and making 2+ payments out, or completing a full switch.
People must have had at least £100 in savings with Nationwide at the end of any day in March 2025, or owed at least £100 on a Nationwide mortgage on 31 March 2025 – assuming it’s the same this year.
The money will be paid directly into your Nationwide current account between Wednesday 18 June and Friday 4 July and will appear on the statement as ‘Nationwide Fairer Share Payment’.
Nationwide has 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.” Nationwide is also presently providing a £175 incentive for people who transfer their current account to the building society.
The payment is available when switching from a non-Nationwide bank account to either a new or existing FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus. The transfer must be requested through the Current Account Switch Service and completed within 28 days.
Account holders must also deposit at least £1,000 and do one debit card transaction, either within 31 days of opening the account or when applying to switch into an existing one.
Many banking institutions offer their own switching incentives. Mr Lewis suggested that the opportunity to claim one of these bonuses is a compelling reason to close a dormant current account sooner rather than later.
He said: “You might be eligible for a new customer offer again in a few years’ time once you’ve had this closed. So you may as well close it in case they do a new customer offer and in four years’ time, you count as a new customer again, whereas by keeping it open you wouldn’t count as a new customer.”
For more information about the payment from Nationwide click here.
To listen to the full podcast click here.
