Last Updated On – 18-09-2026

The Nationwide Fairer Share requirements for 2026 meant members needed more than simply having an account with Nationwide.

To qualify for the £100 Fairer Share payment, a member generally needed:

• A qualifying Nationwide current account, and
• Qualifying Nationwide savings of at least £100, or
• A qualifying Nationwide residential mortgage with at least £100 outstanding

The key qualification date was 31 March 2026, although some savings and current-account activity tests covered specific periods during January, February and March.

Nationwide has now completed the 2026 Fairer Share payment round. Eligible members received £100 between 10 June and 30 June 2026.

The requirements are important because having a Nationwide current account, savings account or mortgage by itself did not automatically mean a member qualified.

What Were the Nationwide Fairer Share Requirements for 2026?

The basic Fairer Share eligibility test involved holding the correct combination of products.

Requirement	2026 Rule
Qualifying Current Account	Required
Qualifying Savings	At least £100, if using the savings route
Qualifying Mortgage	At least £100 outstanding, if using the mortgage route
Main Qualification Date	31 March 2026
Payment	£100
Payment Period	10–30 June 2026
Maximum Payment	One £100 payment per eligible member

In simple terms, there were two main routes to qualification:

Route 1: Qualifying current account + qualifying savings

Route 2: Qualifying current account + qualifying residential mortgage

A member did not receive a larger payment simply because they had several qualifying accounts or both qualifying savings and a mortgage.

Which Nationwide Current Accounts Qualified?

A Nationwide current account had to be open on 31 March 2026, but the activity requirement depended on the type of account.

FlexPlus

A FlexPlus account could qualify provided the member was paying the monthly fee for maintaining the account.

There was no separate £500 funding or ten-payment test for FlexPlus under the 2026 Fairer Share rules.

FlexOne, FlexStudent and FlexGraduate

For a FlexOne, FlexStudent or FlexGraduate account, the member needed to have:

• Received at least one payment into the account during March 2026, or
• Made at least one payment out during March 2026

Interest, charges and balance adjustments did not count as payments.

There was an exception for certain customers who completed a Current Account Switch Service switch to a FlexOne or FlexStudent account between 1 January and 31 March 2026.

FlexAccount, FlexDirect and FlexBasic

These accounts had a more detailed activity test.

Members needed to satisfy one of two routes in at least two of January, February and March 2026.

Route A: £500 In Plus Two Payments Out

In at least two of the three months, the account needed:

• At least £500 paid in, and
• At least two payments made out

Transfers from another Nationwide account did not count towards the £500 incoming-payment requirement.

For example, someone who received £500 and made two outgoing payments in February and March could satisfy this test.

Route B: Ten Payments Out

Alternatively, the member could make at least:

• 10 payments out in January, and
• 10 payments out in another qualifying month, such as March

The requirement had to be met in at least two of the three months.

The Two Current-Account Tests Could Not Be Mixed

This is one of the most important Nationwide Fairer Share requirements to understand.

Someone could not qualify by satisfying Route A in one month and Route B in another.

For example:

• February: £500 paid in + two payments out
• March: ten payments out

That combination would not meet the activity requirement.

The same qualifying method needed to be satisfied in two separate months.

What If Someone Had Several Nationwide Current Accounts?

Where a member had more than one FlexAccount, FlexDirect or FlexBasic account open on 31 March 2026, activity across those accounts could be considered together when assessing the requirements.

There was also an exemption from the normal activity test for qualifying customers who completed a Current Account Switch Service switch between 1 January and 31 March 2026.

What Were the Nationwide Fairer Share Savings Requirements?

Savings offered one of the two routes to receiving the £100 payment.

A member needed to have held at least £100 in total across one or more qualifying Nationwide:

• Personal savings accounts
• Cash ISAs

The £100 threshold had to be met at the end of any day during March 2026.

This meant the money did not necessarily have to remain above £100 for every day of the month.

For example, if someone’s eligible Nationwide savings balance stood at £150 at the end of one day during March, the savings threshold could be satisfied, provided the other eligibility conditions were also met.

Which Savings Did Not Count?

Not every product carrying a Nationwide name qualified.

Savings excluded from the 2026 calculation included:

• Nationwide Business Savings accounts
• BusinessInvestor accounts
• PortfolioInvestor accounts
• Treasurer’s Trust accounts
• Nationwide investment accounts
• Stocks and shares ISAs
• Virgin Money savings covered by the Clydesdale transfer
• Other Clydesdale savings
• Certain money held in another person’s name

This distinction matters because a stocks and shares ISA is different from a qualifying cash ISA for Fairer Share purposes.

What About Children’s Savings?

The name in which the account was held mattered.

Where money was held in an account in a parent’s name for a child’s benefit, the balance generally counted towards the named account holder’s savings rather than automatically qualifying the child.

Where a Child Trust Fund or Smart Junior ISA was legally held in the child’s name, the funds counted towards the child’s savings position instead.

However, satisfying the savings requirement alone was not enough to receive Fairer Share because the separate current-account requirements also applied.

What Were the Nationwide Mortgage Requirements?

The mortgage route required an eligible member to owe Nationwide at least £100 on a qualifying residential mortgage on 31 March 2026.

The mortgage needed to have completed by the qualification date.

Members looking more broadly at mortgage costs can also compare how Nationwide features alongside other lenders when reviewing 5-year fixed mortgage rates.

Which Mortgages Did Not Qualify?

The 2026 Fairer Share rules excluded several types of mortgage.

These included:

• Buy-to-let mortgages
• Nationwide commercial mortgages
• Mortgage applications that had not completed by 31 March 2026
• Mortgages held through certain Nationwide subsidiaries
• Virgin Money mortgages transferred from Clydesdale
• Yorkshire Bank mortgages held under the relevant excluded arrangements
• The Mortgage Works mortgages
• Certain UCB, Derbyshire and other subsidiary mortgage products

A residential Nationwide mortgage where permission had been granted to let the property temporarily was treated differently from an ordinary buy-to-let mortgage and could still fall within the qualifying rules.

Having a mortgage associated with the wider Nationwide group therefore did not necessarily mean it qualified.

Did Joint Nationwide Accounts Qualify?

Yes. Joint accounts could qualify, and the rules were particularly favourable where both account holders independently satisfied the membership requirements.

Each account holder was assessed individually.

If a qualifying current account or residential mortgage was held jointly, the product and its full balance could count towards each person’s individual eligibility.

For example, where two people jointly held:

• A qualifying Nationwide current account, and
• A qualifying Nationwide residential mortgage

both could potentially qualify for their own £100 Fairer Share payment.

That means a qualifying couple could receive £200 in total, consisting of one £100 payment per eligible member.

The same general principle applied to jointly held qualifying savings, with the full balance taken into account for each named holder when assessing their individual position.

What If Someone Managed an Account for Another Person?

Special rules applied to accounts operated under arrangements such as:

• Power of attorney
• Third-party mandate
• Court order

If someone managed an account that was legally held in another person’s name, the account did not become the representative’s qualifying product.

Instead, it continued to count for the person whose name appeared on the account.

The same principle applied when assessing qualifying savings.

Did Virgin Money Customers Qualify for Fairer Share in 2026?

Not on the basis of the affected Virgin Money products transferred in April 2026.

On 2 April 2026, personal current accounts, savings accounts and mortgages held with Clydesdale Bank, including products operated under the Virgin Money name, were legally transferred to Nationwide Building Society.

However, the key Fairer Share qualification date was 31 March 2026.

Those products were therefore not held with Nationwide during the relevant financial year and did not meet the 2026 Fairer Share qualification requirements.

This is an important distinction because a Virgin Money customer may have become a Nationwide member following the transfer without becoming eligible for the 2026 £100 payment.

Nationwide has indicated that qualifying Virgin Money products could be considered for future Fairer Share payments. However, future payments are not guaranteed and the requirements may change.

Why Might Someone Have Met the Main Requirements but Still Not Receive £100?

Meeting the current-account and savings or mortgage tests did not remove every possible exclusion.

A member also needed an open Nationwide current account capable of receiving the Fairer Share payment when Nationwide attempted to make it.

The account receiving the money did not necessarily have to be the same account originally used to satisfy the qualifying test.

However, Nationwide would not pay the Fairer Share payment into a current account operated under another trading name such as Virgin Money or Clydesdale.

Other circumstances that could prevent payment included:

• Nationwide having been notified of the member’s death
• Suspected illegal or fraudulent use of an account
• Making the payment potentially breaching a law, regulatory requirement or court order
• Nationwide having notified the member that the current account would be closed

Nationwide could also refuse payment in some circumstances involving ongoing legal proceedings, property repossession action or money previously written off by the building society.

When Was the Nationwide Fairer Share Payment Made?

Nationwide made the £100 Fairer Share payment between 10 and 30 June 2026.

The money was transferred electronically into an eligible Nationwide current account.

Where someone had more than one Nationwide current account, Nationwide could select which account received the payment.

If the member had an account held solely in their name, Nationwide generally paid it there. A joint account could be used where there was no suitable sole account.

The transaction appeared on statements as:

Nationwide Fairer Share Payment

By September 2026, the normal 2026 payment period had finished.

What Should Someone Do If Their £100 Nationwide Payment Did Not Arrive?

Anyone who believes they satisfied all the Nationwide Fairer Share requirements but did not receive a payment should first work through the qualifying tests carefully.

Check:

1. Was a qualifying current account open on 31 March 2026?
2. Did it meet the correct activity requirement for that account type?
3. Were qualifying savings of at least £100 held at the end of a day in March 2026?
4. If using the mortgage route, was at least £100 outstanding on an eligible residential Nationwide mortgage on 31 March?
5. Was an eligible Nationwide current account still open and able to receive money during the June payment period?
6. Was the product actually held directly with Nationwide rather than through Virgin Money, The Mortgage Works or another excluded subsidiary?
7. Did any additional exclusion apply?

Nationwide determines eligibility using the account and product information it holds.

Where incorrect, incomplete or outdated information resulted in someone being wrongly excluded, Nationwide’s 2026 terms allowed it to correct the position and make the payment after reviewing the case.

Is the £100 Nationwide Fairer Share Payment Taxable?

The £100 Fairer Share payment is treated as interest for UK income tax purposes.

Nationwide did not deduct income tax before paying the £100, but the payment is reported to HMRC.

Whether a person actually owes tax depends on their overall circumstances, including the amount of savings interest received during the tax year and any available Personal Savings Allowance.

This means the payment should not automatically be treated as £100 of tax-free cash in every situation.

For many savers it may remain within available tax-free allowances, while people already receiving substantial taxable savings interest may need to consider the payment as part of their overall interest income.

Can Someone Receive More Than One Nationwide Fairer Share Payment?

No. An individual qualifying for the 2026 scheme could receive only one £100 payment.

Holding multiple current accounts, several savings products and a qualifying mortgage did not increase the individual payment to £200 or £300.

Joint holders were different because each person was assessed separately.

Two eligible members could therefore each receive £100 even when their qualifying products were jointly held.

Will There Be a Nationwide Fairer Share Payment in 2027?

A 2027 payment should not be assumed automatically.

Nationwide has said it would like to make Fairer Share payments annually, but whether another payment is made depends on its financial performance.

The amount and qualifying rules can also change from year to year.

This is particularly important for Virgin Money customers.

Products transferred to Nationwide after the 2026 qualification deadline may potentially be considered under a future Fairer Share scheme, but that does not mean the 2026 criteria will simply carry over into 2027.

Members planning for a future payment should therefore avoid relying solely on the 2026 rules.

FAQs

What were the Nationwide Fairer Share requirements for 2026?

Members generally needed a qualifying Nationwide current account plus either at least £100 in qualifying savings or at least £100 outstanding on a qualifying residential mortgage.

How much was the Nationwide Fairer Share payment in 2026?

The payment was £100 per eligible member.

What date did someone need to qualify by?

The principal qualifying date was 31 March 2026, although current-account activity and savings tests covered particular periods during January, February and March.

Did £100 have to stay in Nationwide savings all month?

No. The qualifying savings total needed to reach at least £100 at the end of any day in March 2026.

Did Virgin Money accounts qualify in 2026?

The affected Virgin Money and Clydesdale products transferred to Nationwide on 2 April 2026 did not qualify for the 2026 payment because this was after the relevant financial-year qualification date.

Did buy-to-let mortgages qualify?

Ordinary buy-to-let mortgages did not qualify. A qualifying Nationwide residential mortgage temporarily let with permission could be treated differently.

Can both people on a joint account receive £100?

Yes, where both individuals independently meet the rules. Joint qualifying products can count towards each named holder’s eligibility.

Is the Nationwide £100 payment taxable?

It is treated as interest for UK income-tax purposes. Whether tax is actually due depends on the person’s overall interest income and available tax allowances.

When was the Nationwide Fairer Share payment made?

Eligible members received the 2026 payment between 10 and 30 June 2026.

Is Nationwide Fairer Share guaranteed for 2027?

No. Future Fairer Share payments depend on Nationwide’s financial performance, and both the payment amount and eligibility rules can change.