Around 4 million Nationwide customers received a £100 Fairer Share payment today (10 June).
Nationwide plans to send the bonus to a total of 4.4 million customers between 10 June and 30 June, distributing a total of around £440 million of the building society’s profits.
Almost all of 2026’s payments have already been sent straight into eligible Nationwide accounts, but the building society says around 400,000 eligible customers are still yet to receive their bonus.
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Nationwide has given itself a deadline of 30 June to complete all remaining payments, so do not be alarmed if you expected to get a bonus and have not received it yet.
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The payment has been one of the major benefits of banking with Nationwide since 2023, when it made its first Fairer Share payment.
As a mutual owned by members not shareholders, Nationwide is able to share some of its profits with members rather than paying dividends.
The number of customers eligible for the bonus has climbed massively since Nationwide first started the ‘Fairer Share’ scheme in 2023, when around 3.4 million people qualified.
That number climbed to 3.85 million in 2024, 4 million in 2025, and 4.4 million in 2026.
However, not all Nationwide customers receive the bonus. It is just those who meet a certain set of eligibility criteria.
Who was eligible for the Nationwide Fairer Share payment in 2026?
Nationwide announced the eligibility criteria for this year’s Fairer Share payment when they delivered their 2026 results in May and confirmed the payment would go ahead.
The criteria were broadly the same as in previous years, with the building society saying the payment is designed to reward members who “choose Nationwide for their everyday banking, alongside holding a qualifying savings or mortgage product”.
The full criteria for 2026 is listed below.
2026 Fairer Share eligibility criteria
To get the bonus, you must have either had a qualifying current account and qualifying savings account, or a qualifying current account and qualifying mortgage.
If you had the FlexPlus account, you needed to have paid the monthly fee for maintaining the account to qualify.
For FlexOne, FlexStudent or FlexGraduate, you must have made one payment out of the account, or received one payment into the account in March 2026 to have been eligible. Any account charges or interest did not count.
If you completed a switch to your FlexOne or FlexStudent account using the Current Account Switch Service between 1 January 2026 and 31 March 2026, you did not have to meet the above criteria.
Finally, for FlexAccount, FlexDirect or FlexBasic, you needed to have met one of the following requirements:
- In two of the three months of January 2026, February 2026 and March 2026, you must have received at least £500 into your current account (transfers in from other Nationwide accounts do not count), and have made at least two payments out of your current account. For example: you paid in £500 and made two payments out in both February and March 2026.
- Or, in two of the three months of January 2026, February 2026 and March 2026, you must have made at least 10 payments out of your current account. For example: you made 10 payments out in January 2026 and 10 payments out in March 2026.
What are the qualifying savings accounts and mortgages?
To get the ‘Fairer Share’ payment, you needed to have had a qualifying savings account or mortgage on top of your current account.
You would qualify for the savings account element if you held at least £100 in one or more in Nationwide personal savings accounts or cash ISAS at the end of any day in March 2026.
Nationwide investment accounts (like a stocks and shares ISA), business savings accounts, or accounts with Clydesdale and Virgin Money did not qualify.
As for mortgages, you had to have owed at least £100 on a Nationwide residential mortgage on 31 March 2026 to be eligible.
Commercial and buy-to-let mortgages from Nationwide did not qualify, and neither did mortgages from Nationwide’s subsidiaries.
Will Nationwide's Fairer Share payment be taxed?
In 2025, the £100 Fairer Share payment was treated as interest for UK income tax purposes.
While Nationwide did not deduct any income tax from the payment, it was reported to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
How much tax you pay on the 2026 bonus will depend on how much you’ve already earned from savings interest this tax year.
If you are a basic rate taxpayer, you do not have to pay any tax on savings interest up to £1,000. This is known as the personal savings allowance (PSA). Interest earned above that will be taxed at 20% (rising to 22% from April 2027).
The tax-free PSA falls to £500 for higher rate taxpayers – interest earned above £500 is taxed at 40% (increasing to 42% from April 2027).
Additional rate taxpayers have to pay tax on every penny of interest their cash earns, taxed at 45%.
If you haven't used your personal allowance (£12,570) on wages, pension or other income, then you can also use it on interest on savings.
If your income is less than £17,570 then you'll qualify for the starting rate for savings. This means you can get up to £5,000 of interest without being taxed on it.
Our "savings tax trap" guide explores the rules in more detail.
"Nationwide says I’m not eligible for a Fairer Share payment, but I think I am. What should I do?"
Nationwide said it “will decide whether you are eligible for the Fairer Share payment based on the information we hold about you and the products you have with us”.
If it has incomplete, inaccurate, or out-of-date information, it may incorrectly exclude customers from the payment. The building society says: “We will make the payment if we find out you were wrongly excluded, but we will not be liable for any other loss you may incur if this happens.”
It advises: “If, after checking your eligibility, you think you have been wrongly excluded, please get in touch and if we have got it wrong, we will take steps to put it right.”
Will there be a Nationwide Fairer Share payment in 2027?
Nationwide will likely announce whether it will distribute a Fairer Share payment in 2027 when it releases its next set of full year results. This will probably happen in late spring 2027.
Nationwide has previously said it wants to make a Fairer Share payment every year to give back to its customers – though this is dependent on how well they have performed in a given year to ensure it is not “detrimental” to the strength of its finances.
The first Fairer Share bonus started in 2023 and payments were also made in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Nationwide is under no legal obligation to make the Fairer Share payment and it can be stopped for any reason whatsoever.
The building society has said the payment is dependent on Nationwide’s financial strength and is subject to board approval.
If Nationwide has a good financial year in 2026/27, we can expect to see one, but if it misses expectations, there may be no payment.
