The world’s largest building society has contacted millions of members
Nationwide has informed its millions of members about the circumstances under which a ‘small amount’ of their money could be given away. The world’s largest building society is preparing its customers for significant changes set to take place in 2026.
In leaflets distributed to members, Nationwide has explained it can “close your account at any time”, assuring customers that they will usually be given at least two months’ notice prior to this happening. Reasons for an quicker account closure include severe or consistent breaches of the agreement terms, failure to pay money owed to Nationwide despite requests, or suspicion of fraud or other criminal activities associated with the account.
Other grounds for closure mentioned by Nationwide include providing false or misleading information during application – if accurate information had been provided, the account would not have been authorised, abusive or threatening behaviour, or potential legal violations related to the active account. Nationwide said that when an account is closed, all future payments will be cancelled, unless it’s too late to cancel a specific payment, and any remaining money in the account will be returned to the customer.
It added: “We’ll take away amounts you owe us, like charges and interest.” Outlining its policy for dormant accounts, Nationwide said: “If there’s a small amount of money in the account when we close it, we may donate it to charity.
“We’ll only do this if you haven’t used the account for a long time.” Funds will not be donated if the member has another current or savings account with Nationwide, and the money can always be returned upon request.
If an account remains inactive for 15 years, Nationwide may transfer any remaining funds to the Unclaimed Assets Scheme, however: “You’ll still be able to get your money back if you ask us. The Unclaimed Assets Scheme uses this money to help benefit good causes.”
In the event of account closure, members are required to settle any outstanding debts to Nationwide and are advised to destroy their card and any unused cheques.
