Nationwide ‘head and shoulders above’ as 40,000 members get free £175 | Personal Finance | Finance
Nationwide has millions of members across the UK (Image: martinrlee via Getty Images)
Nationwide has a long-standing tradition of offering free money to its members, most notably through its annual Fairer Share Payment.
The building society has been distributing £100 each year since 2023. However, it’s also been rewarding new customers with its switching incentive.
Recent data reveals that Nationwide granted over 40,000 members a £175 switching bonus in just two months.
Current account switches have surpassed one million for the third consecutive year following a surge in consumers seeking superior deals towards the end of 2025.
Nationwide Building Society attracted 41,450 customers between July and September, with savers lured by its £175 switching incentive and annual payments through its profit-sharing scheme.
The final quarter of 2025 proved the busiest period, recording 350,114 current account switches, according to figures from the Current Account Switch Service (Cass).
The service allows consumers to transfer their current account automatically by having payments redirected to a new provider.
Some individuals transfer their funds outside of Cass, meaning the figures provided exclude those switches.
There were 1,054,521 switches in total throughout 2025, marking the third successive year that switches have exceeded one million.
However, this represents a decline compared to the volumes recorded in 2023 and 2024, when elevated interest rates were boosting savings rates in the marketplace.
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Interest rates have been declining since August 2024.
Nationwide attracted the greatest number of customers transferring to its current accounts between July and September, with Cass’s figures released three months behind schedule.
It was trailed by Monzo and NatWest, which gained 9,934 and 8,731 respectively.
At the opposing end of the scale, customers were leaving banks including Santander, which lost nearly 20,000 current accounts during the timeframe. Halifax and JP Morgan’s Chase also suffered a decline, with 17,341 and 7,623 accounts transferring away respectively.
John Dentry, product manager at Pay.UK, which runs Cass, said: “That level of activity is a clear sign of a healthy, competitive banking market, where people feel empowered to shop around and move to an account that better meets their needs.
“At a time when every pound matters, we want consumers to feel confident they can move their money to an account that better suits their needs – quickly, easily, and with the reassurance of a free, guaranteed switch.”
Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at Moneycomms, commended Nationwide for standing “head and shoulders above every other provider” in terms of attracting customers from rivals, and added: “Nationwide has been particularly strong during the last two years, winning a massive 404,207 customers from competitor banks.”
Alastair Douglas, chief executive of TotallyMoney, noted that current account switching “heated up” towards the end of 2025, adding: “And we’re unlikely to see things slow down any time soon, as a magnificent seven banks are currently offering switch incentives of at least £175, including Co-op, First Direct, HSBC Premier, Lloyds, Nationwide, Santander and TSB.
“You might also find a new bank can provide you with better service, an interest-free overdraft or high street branches. Loyalty doesn’t pay, but more often than not, moving your money can.”
