Nationwide scraps Cash Card only FlexAccount

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Nationwide has stopped offering the Cash Card only FlexAccount (also known as FlexAccount without a chequebook or Basic FlexAccount). There is now a Cash Card Account, which is not a FlexAccount and is only available to people who have no current accounts elsewhere. Of course, there is the question of ‘How do they know?’, as people have been able to open student accounts at more than one bank.

The non-credit scored application option is gone, but so is the option to go for credit scoring but be offered a Cash Card only (if your score is low), still getting free cash withdrawals abroad. Nationwide will now be completely turning away a lot of customers, meaning a wasted credit search. The much trumpeted e-Savings facility will be out of reach for many.

In the past, Nationwide has been notorious for its debit card being the most difficult to get, making free purchases abroad something of an illusion. I don’t know whether the new policy will see a reduction in the credit score threshold, but it does seem that Nationwide only want you if you’re wealthy. It’s possible to apply for a credit card at the same time as a FlexAccount, with the credit card being easier to get than the debit card according to forum posts. However, the separate credit card brochure stipulates a number of qualifying conditions such as needing to have been in employment for the last 12 months.