Brits can get £370 of free money in new Nationwide deal but there is one catch

Nationwide is attempting to entice new customers to their FlexDirect current account with offers that could see you get up to £370 of money for hopping over to them.

Offers of cash to bring in new customers are nothing new for banks, they do it all the time, but you might not get as much as the headline figure suggests and you're best off making sure it's the right account for you so the switch is worth a few hundred quid.

New customers who switch their main current account to Nationwide can get £175 for switching, as well as up to £60 cashback on both their debit card and their direct debit.

So really if you're switching you're getting £175 and if you use the account's other features then a first-year switcher can increase the amount of money they can get to £295.

Getting the amount up to £370 in that first year comes from five percent interest on balances up to £1,500, which could earn you another £75, which is how Nationwide have arrived at that figure of £370 a year.

Nationwide say you could get 'maximum potential value' of £370 in your first year (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Making as much as £470

They've also suggested you might even get another hundred quid on top of that thanks to their 'Fairer Share' scheme which pays out money to customers.

Of course there are all sorts of terms and conditions to meet when you switch.

You'll have to pay in at least £1,500 a month to activate the extra rewards you can get for switching over, and that five percent interest rate you get on your money is going to drop to one percent after your first year.

To take advantage of the deal it'll need you to use the Current Account Switch Service and fully switch to a Flex Direct account within 28 days.

The account you're switching over will need at least two direct debits and you'll have to pay in at least £1,000 to get it started, as well as make a debit card payment within 31 days of opening the account.

Make sure you're eligible before you start the big switcheroo (Getty Stock Photo)

Why you might not be eligible

Provided you do all of that then you'll get £175 for switching and have the chance to use the extras which can allow you to get as much as £370 more, and then you'll be crossing your fingers for the 'Fairer Share' scheme.

You'll also need to be over 18 and a UK resident, and you can't have had a Flex Direct account in the last three years so if you're the type to keep hopping around accounts to take advantage of new deals this might not work for you.

You also cannot have received a Nationwide current account switch incentive since 2021.

Even if you don't qualify for this deal it's worth looking around other banks to see what their bonuses for switching your current account are, plenty of other banks offer them and by regularly moving around you're getting the best deals they have to offer.