Nationwide to pay £340m of profits into customers’ accounts - who is eligible for £100 cash boost?

Nationwide is set to pay £340m directly into customer accounts for the first time. It comes after an increase in deposits and higher interest rates drove its annual profits up by 40 per cent to record highs.

Nationwide, which is the UK’s biggest building society, usually uses profits to offer better rates on savings, loans and mortgages for its members. But today (Friday, May 19) it launched an inaugural programme that will distribute funds directly to customers.

The payout amounts to about 15 per cent of Nationwide’s annual profits and will benefit 3.4 million eligible customers, who will receive about £100 directly into their accounts this summer.

Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide’s chief executive, said: “We don’t see anyone else doing this, as such, and we think, in the cost of living crisis, it was really important to get people cash where we could, and we think it will have the most impact.”

Nationwide recently reported a 40 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profits to £2.2bn, topping its previous record high of £1.6bn a year earlier. The building society benefited from the rise in UK interest rates, which have increased by 4.5 per cent over the last year.

Nationwide also benefited from an increase in deposits, which rose by £9.1bn to £187bn. Its overall market share also grew to 9.6 per cent from 9.5 per cent a year earlier.

Unlike listed banks, building societies such as Nationwide are owned by their customers rather than shareholders. The lender’s bosses said they now plan to make payouts to members every year.

Ms Crosbie added that the distribution of profits “is the biggest statement yet about how we use our financial strength to benefit our members”.

Who is eligible for a payout from Nationwide?

To be eligible for the cash payout, members must use Nationwide as their main current account and have one other product, either a savings account or a mortgage, with a minimum £100 balance.

Around 3.4 million eligible customers will receive about £100 directly into their accounts in June 2023.