More branches and free cash: How Nationwide is winning the high street banks battle
Nationwide Building Society is promising more bank branches and free cash to loyal customers and new joiners, paving the way to becoming the most popular bank on the high street.
High street banks and building societies have been battling it out with challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling, but Nationwide is fighting back by leveraging traditional roots with more presence on the high street as it pledges to open more branches with customer facing services.
Plus, its attractive Fairer Share scheme, which has consistently paid a £100 bonus to loyal customers for four years and shares profits with members, is popular.
You’ve more than likely seen the Nationwide adverts of Dominic West playing the pompous and out-of-touch chief executive of A.N.Y. Bank.
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But behind the light-hearted campaign, Nationwide is winning the hearts of current account holders, bagging 65,000 new customers in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest available figures from the Current Account Switch Service.
In comparison, Barclays, which plans to close 166 branches in 2026 and 2027, bagged 18,500 new customers. Lloyds netted just 12,000 new customers; it has closed 397 branches since March 2022.
At its annual general meeting earlier this month, Dame Debbie Crosbie, chief executive officer of Nationwide, said the building society was “thinking carefully about whether there are any spots where it would make sense for us to open new branches”.
“I can say that it's currently under review, and there may be a few locations that we identify the need for a new branch,” she said.
Tom Riley, group director of retail products at Nationwide added that customers were deciding to switch because “they can see the difference a large-scale mutual is making”.
Nationwide’s £175 switching sweetener, paid to eligible new customers when they move current accounts, has also helped the bank gain new customers.
Nationwide’s pledge to keep bank branches open
Banks have justified closures saying customers are increasingly carrying out transactions online, but charities have warned they risk leaving the elderly and those living in rural communities in danger of financial exclusion.
Nationwide is bucking this trend and through its “Branch Promise” has pledged to not close any more branches until 2030 at the earliest.
The building society had initially committed to keeping its nearly 700 branches open until 2028, but extended the pledge in November 2025.
Martyn James, personal finance and consumer rights expert, said Nationwide’s commitment to the high street was an “astute move”.
He said: “Vast numbers of people need an actual branch to go into, including the millions of carers for vulnerable people, small businesses that take cash, people with specific needs or vulnerabilities and people who just don't like online services.”
How other building societies and banks are pledging to keep branches open
Other building societies are also following Nationwide’s ambitions.
Newcastle Building Society is growing its branch network, opening a new site in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, in April.
The building society says it has invested more than £12 million to grow and improve its network of branches since 2015.
In July, Cumberland Building Society pledged to keep all its 31 branches open as it looks to prevent the decline in the high street.
Andrew Gall, head of savings, consumer and insight at the Building Society Association, said: “Building society branches continue to play an important role because they offer something many customers still value: trusted, face-to-face support alongside digital and telephone services.”
In recent months, major banks have also made pledges to keep bank branches open and invest in their existing branch networks, recognising that customers possibly value it more than previously thought.
In July, Santander, which owns TSB, announced it would not close any more of its 480 branches before 2028 at the earliest.
In December 2025, HSBC promised to keep all its remaining sites open until at least 2027.
Fairer Share payment
Nationwide paid over four million customers a £100 “Fairer Share” payment in June this year – the fourth consecutive year it had made the payment since 2023.
When the building society launched it for the first time four years ago, Crosbie said it was “part of our enduring commitment to rewarding our members”.
Vicky Reynal, financial psychotherapist and recent guest on the MoneyWeek Talks Podcast, said the appeal behind the Fairer Share payment was the surprise element, but also that it makes customers feel like they are part of something bigger in an “increasingly lonely and disconnected world”.
Reynal said: “The financial services industry has often suffered a perception from customers that their interests are with shareholders rather than account holders, so this handout feels to customers like a different positioning, like a bank that cares about its account holders.”
