Loads of Nationwide customers will be waking up to a nice surprise in their bank account after a scheme to reward customer loyalty started paying out.
The Fairer Share scheme was set up by the building society to pay out dividends from company profits to members, provided they meet a number of eligibility rules.
Of the building society's 16.4 million worldwide customers, it is reported that 3.4 million are set for a payment.
You don’t need to do anything, as if you’re eligible the building society will do the work for you.
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After Nationwide secured record profits of £2.2 billion last year, they are paying out £340 million of that into customer accounts directly.
If you’re one of the lucky folks who is eligible for the payments, you’ll notice it on your bank statement as ‘Nationwide Fairer Share Payment’ and it will appear between 13 June 13 and 30 June.
So, check today – you might already have had £100 snuck in there.
On those eligibility rules, you have to have a qualifying current account, as well as a savings account or mortgage product with Nationwide.
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Your current account needs to have been opened before the end of March and still open in June if you’re to receive the dividend payment, and there are other eligibility criteria that must be met, depending on what account you actually have with Nationwide.
So, you’ll have to have had at least £100 in one or more savings accounts at the end of any day in March, including personal savings accounts and ISAs.
If you have a mortgage with Nationwide, you’ll have to have had at least £100 left to pay off on that product on 31 March to qualify, too.
One more thing – if you’ve got a FlexAccount, FlexBasic, or FlexDirect account – we’re assuming you’ll know what those are – then you’ll have to have received or paid in at least £500 in two out of three months from January, February and March this year.
That can’t include transfers from other Nationwide accounts.
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There are some other criteria too – would you believe? – but you’ll have to check the Nationwide website to get those.
Still, despite these fairly exacting criteria, a load of people are set to get a payment.
Chief Executive Debbie Crosbie said: "We have delivered a strong financial performance by providing banking that is fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society.
"Our strongest financial performance means that we are able to launch the Nationwide Fairer Share Payment, as well as the Nationwide Fairer Share Bond – with a highly competitive interest rate on savings for our existing members.
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"We can do this because we're a building society, not a bank, and our profit is reinvested for our members' benefit."
Tom Wood