Nationwide Fairer Share Payment 2024

harz99

I've been a NWide Flexplus account holder for years, but no loyalty payment for me as I don't hold a savings account with them🙄

kaMelo

Section62 said:

wmb194 said:

kaMelo said:

In response to a question at last years AGM it was disclosed that at any one time members collectively hold around £35 Billion in current accounts. As interest rates had increased savers had benefitted from those rate increases, mortgage holders had benefitted from interest rates not increasing by as much as they could have done but those with money sat in current accounts had not benefitted at all. The fairer share payments scheme was to benefit those current account holders..

We can all debate the criteria and what it could or perhaps should have been, but this is the scheme that Nationwide came up with and the rationale behind why they did so.. 

All NW had to do was/is pay better interest on current accounts. There’s no law to stop it. The “fairer share” is pitched as a marketing gimmick.

Indeed. And Nationwide used to pay interest on the standard FlexAccount until they stopped - claiming that they couldn't afford to continue doing so.

As the ASA ruling showed, Nationwide have developed a habit of being less than candid with members and the general public.  One of the things I expect of a mutual building society is to be absolutely honest in its dealings.

Indeed they did, the FlexPlus account used to be interest bearing also and given the background to setting the criteria for the fairer share payments it may seem more logical to have made current accounts interest bearing to benefit those who hold a collective £35 Billion in Nationwide current accounts. 
But then there is the decision as to whether all current accounts are interest bearing or just some of them and at what rate for each. Would the FlexPlus, as a paid for premium account, have a higher rate of interest to the FlexAccount?   

Doing this would of course not satisfy those who have large savings accounts or mortgage balances, they may not currently qualify but they wouldn't benefit either with current accounts being interest bearing either.

We can debate the why's and wherefores until the end of time but ultimately either they pay every member a  smaller equal amount or they have a qualifying criteria and pay a larger amount to those who qualify. In developing a qualifying criteria a line is drawn in the sand and some people are inevitably going to fall the wrong side of it and feel aggrieved. 

2010

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

Section62

2010 said:

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

If everyone did that then Nationwide couldn't afford to pay each one £100.

Nobody knew for sure what they needed to do to qualify for this year's payment, if any.

WillPS

Section62 said:

2010 said:

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

If everyone did that then Nationwide couldn't afford to pay each one £100.

Yes, they could. Whether they would or not is another matter.

Section62 said:

Nobody knew for sure what they needed to do to qualify for this year's payment, if any.

Yes, but if you wanted to have a guess then following last year's criteria would have done the trick. Nationwide themselves even suggested having a look at those terms back in February in a member update email.

boingy

2010 said:

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

Only people on this and similar forums (and maybe some of their mates, colleagues & family). The wider world was mostly oblivious to it, even many those who qualified for probably just thought "hey, bonus!" rather than seeking out the criteria.

2010

Section62 said:

2010 said:

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

If everyone did that then Nationwide couldn't afford to pay each one £100.

Nobody knew for sure what they needed to do to qualify for this year's payment, if any.

It was a no brainer.
After all the posts on here last year and this year about missing out, it would have been a smart move to open a savings account with £100 if you had a mortgage or a current account.

The main reason for the payout is because profits rocketed due to higher interest rates.
With a takeover of Virgin money on the agenda, this years fairer payment could well be the last if it goes through.

2010

boingy said:

2010 said:

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

Only people on this and similar forums (and maybe some of their mates, colleagues & family). The wider world was mostly oblivious to it, even many those who qualified for probably just thought "hey, bonus!" rather than seeking out the criteria.

The "wider world" 16 million members didn`t hear about it after it was in all the news, unless they were on forums such as this. Get real!

It would be interesting to know how many who missed the payment last year actually took action to get it this year.

anoukis

This was a nice surprise. I had the FlexPlus for travel insurance/back-up account for years and decided back in Dec to open a regular savings for their 8% rate. Will keep it in mind next year. 

Section62

2010 said:

Section62 said:

2010 said:

After last year`s NW payment and all the furore that went with it, I would have thought that anyone with a NW account towards the end of last year, would have placed themselves in a position for this years payment.

If everyone did that then Nationwide couldn't afford to pay each one £100.

Nobody knew for sure what they needed to do to qualify for this year's payment, if any.

It was a no brainer.
After all the posts on here last year and this year about missing out, it would have been a smart move to open a savings account with £100 if you had a mortgage or a current account.

I suspect you are grossly overestimating the number of Nationwide members who spend as much time on this forum as we do.

2010 said:

The main reason for the payout is because profits rocketed due to higher interest rates.

That was certainly the story that Nationwide spun, people can opt to believe it if they wish.

But it is an excuse which only really works the first time.  The second time Nationwide should have managed their interest rates with more diligence to avoid making these excess profits.

After all, with all the headlines about high interest rates, Nationwide's senior management shouldn't have been caught out a second year in a row.

2010 said:

With a takeover of Virgin money on the agenda, this years fairer payment could well be the last if it goes through.

On the contrary, one of the reasons Nationwide are giving for why they think the deal is a good idea is that they hope the acquisition will generate more profit and allow the (un)fairer share to be an ongoing proposition. (subtext: if you don't support the deal then you won't get the (un)fairer share next year)

Although argubly once Nationwide management have got their way with the Virgin takeover they may feel less need to keep 'active' members onside, so you could be right this is the last year they do it.