How Nationwide is winning the high street banks battle

Nationwide is aiming to become the most well-known bank on the high street by offering free cash and additional bank branches to both new and devoted clients

Building societies and high street banks have been competing with challenger banks like Monzo and Starling, but Nationwide is retaliating by using its traditional roots and increased presence on the high street while promising to open more branches with customer-facing services.

Additionally, its alluring Fairer Share program, which shares profits with members and has continuously awarded a £100 bonus to devoted customers for four years, is well-liked.

You've probably seen Dominic West's nationwide commercials as A's haughty and disconnected CEO. The N. Yes. bank.

However, according to the most recent data available from the Current Account Switch Service, Nationwide is winning over current account holders behind the humorous campaign, acquiring 65,000 new clients in the first quarter of this year.

In contrast, Barclays, which intends to close 166 branches in 2026 and 2027, attracted 18,500 new clients. Watch the full video here. Since March 2022, Lloyds has closed 397 locations and only brought in 12,000 new clients.

Nationwide's CEO, Dame Debbie Crosbie, stated that the building society was "thinking carefully about whether there are any spots where it would make sense for us to open new branches" during the organization's annual general meeting earlier this month.

She stated, "I can say that it's currently under review, and there may be a few locations where we identify the need for a new branch."

Customers are choosing to switch because "they can see the difference a large-scale mutual is making," according to Tom Riley, group director of retail products at Nationwide.

The bank has also benefited from the Nationwide 175 switching sweetener, which is given to qualified new clients when they transfer existing accounts.

They promise to maintain bank branches across the country.

Banks have defended their closures by claiming that consumers are doing more transactions online, but charities have cautioned that doing so could put the elderly and residents of rural areas at risk of financial exclusion.

In an effort to buck this trend, Nationwide has made a commitment to not close any more branches until at least 2030 through its "Branch Promise".

In November 2025, the building society extended its original commitment to maintain its nearly 700 branches until 2028.

Nationwide's dedication to the high street, according to consumer rights and personal finance expert Martyn James, was a "astute move".

"Millions of carers for vulnerable people, small businesses that take cash, people with specific needs or vulnerabilities, and people who simply don't like online services are among the many people who need an actual branch to go into," he stated."

How other building societies and banks are pledging to keep branches open.

The goals of the nation are also being pursued by other building societies.

In an effort to expand its branch network, Newcastle Building Society will open a new location in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, in April.

Since 2015, the Building Society claims to have invested over £12 million to expand and enhance its branch network.

In an effort to stop the downturn in the high street, Cumberland Building Society promised in July to maintain all 31 of its locations.

"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," stated Andrew Gall, head of savings, consumer, and insight at the Building Society Association."

Recognizing that consumers may value it more than previously believed, major banks have also pledged in recent months to maintain bank branches and invest in their current branch networks.

The company that owns TSB, Santander, declared in July that it would not close any more of its 480 locations before 2028 at the latest.

HSBC committed in December 2025 to maintaining all of its remaining locations until at least 2027.

Payment of a fair share.

For the fourth year in a row since 2023, Nationwide paid 100 "Fairer Share" to over four million customers in June of this year.

Crosbie stated that it was "part of our enduring commitment to rewarding our members" when the building society first introduced it four years ago.

Financial psychotherapist Vicky Reynal, who recently appeared on the BFIA Talks Podcast, stated that the Fairer Share payment's appeal stems from its surprise factor as well as the fact that it gives consumers a sense of belonging in an "increasingly lonely and disconnected world."

Reynal stated: "This handout feels to customers like a different positioning, like a bank that cares about its account holders, because the financial services industry has frequently suffered from a perception that their interests are with shareholders rather than account holders."