Millions of Nationwide customers are being urged to make sure they qualify for a free £100 a year from the bank.
Money expert Martin Lewis is reminding anyone who banks with Nationwide that they could end up getting free cash from the bank this year but will need to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria.
In the past two years, Nationwide has shared its profits with its customers. Last year, £385m was paid to 3.85m customers (£100 each), and the year before £340m to 3.4m customers.
Martin Lewis said: “New. Max your chances of getting a FREE £100/yr from Nationwide.
“Its Fairer Share scheme to reward some ‘loyal’ customers has been running for two years. Here’s what you likely need to do to boost your chances this year.”
The issue is that Nationwide will give out the money based on certain criteria, such as those above, but it doesn’t reveal what the criteria are until the money is already being distributed.
So in order to increase your chances, Martin Lewis and MSE are urging people to take measures now which are likely to factor into this year’s eligibility, based on what happened in 2023 and 2024, which includes three key steps.
He then shared a link to his MSE website, which said: “For the past two years Nationwide has given some existing customers a £100 ‘Fairer Share’ bonus.
“It’s likely, though not guaranteed, to do the same again this year.
“In previous years, the scheme has been announced in May and paid in June, though whether you got it depended on if you met the qualifying criteria in the first three months of the year – so now’s the perfect time to maximise your chances.”
Step one, in order to make sure you qualify, is that you need to have an open Nationwide account on March 31, 2025.
Then, secondly, you need to use your current account in at least two of the first three months of the year. That means you pay in £500 and make two payments out of your account.
Alternatively, you can make 10 payments out of your account in two of those three months.
Third and finally, you need to have at least £100 in savings or £100 on your mortgage in March 2025.
The money is likely to be paid out this summer.
Of course, there’s still time to switch to Nationwide if you’re not currently a customer and get its £175 switching bonus, which would then mean you’re able to get this £100 cash this summer as well for a total of £275.
Although it has not yet been officially announced for 2025, Nationwide said about its scheme in 2024: “At Nationwide we don’t just have customers, we have members. And membership means sharing in our profits through the Nationwide Fairer Share Payment.
“This year, we’re sharing our profits with nearly 4 million of our members.
“The Fairer Share Payment is our way of rewarding those members who choose us for their everyday banking as well as having savings or a mortgage with us.
“If you’re eligible, you can expect to receive the payment between 13 June and 28 June. You don’t need to do anything. So long as you still have an open current account with us, we’ll transfer it straight to you. Should you only have a joint current account, this is where we’ll make the payment.”
