Nationwide to Pay Bonuses to Customers With Specific Savings Accounts: Who Qualifies, Which Accounts Count, and What to Do Next

If you’ve seen headlines like “nationwide to pay bonuses to customers with specific savings accounts”, it can sound as if Nationwide is handing out cash to anyone with a saver. In reality, Nationwide’s recent “bonus-style” payments have usually been tied to specific eligibility rules, specific dates, and (often) a current account + savings/mortgage combination.

This guide explains which Nationwide payments people usually mean, what “specific savings accounts” actually refers to, and how to check whether you qualified.

Nationwide bonuses and why “specific savings accounts” matters

Which Nationwide “bonuses” does this usually refer to?

Most searches for this topic are really about one (or both) of these Nationwide member payments:

If your question is “Is Nationwide paying right now?”, it’s important to separate ongoing products (like savings rates) from one-off payments that were tied to set deadlines.

What does “specific savings accounts” actually mean in practice?

In Nationwide’s Fairer Share rules, “qualifying savings” has typically meant personal savings accounts and cash ISAs (not every account type Nationwide offers, and not business or investment accounts).

This is why two people can both “have savings with Nationwide”, yet only one qualifies—because one has the right category of savings (and meets the minimum), and the other doesn’t.

Are the bonuses guaranteed every year?

No. Payments like Fairer Share have been presented as dependent on Nationwide’s performance and a board decision, so they’re not something anyone can rely on annually.

That said, knowing how the criteria worked most recently helps you understand:

• why you did (or didn’t) receive it before, and

• what to watch for if something similar returns.

What counts as “specific savings accounts” for the £100 Fairer Share-style bonus?

Which savings accounts usually count as “qualifying savings”?

For Fairer Share-style criteria, “qualifying savings” has typically included:

• Personal savings accounts (held in your name), and

• Cash ISAs (again, personal).

And it has typically excluded:

• business savings accounts,

• investment-style accounts (such as stocks and shares ISA products),

• accounts held with subsidiaries or non-qualifying brands within the wider group.

Does the minimum balance matter?

Yes—and this is where people get caught out.

For Fairer Share-style rules, the minimum has commonly been £100 total across one or more qualifying personal savings/cash ISA accounts, measured at a particular time (for example, “end of any day” during a specific month).

That wording matters because it means the money generally needs to be in the account at the right time, not just “at some point in the year”.

Quick table: what typically counts vs doesn’t count

Here’s what you can do next: if you’re unsure what type you have, check the product label in-app or on statements—“cash ISA” and “personal savings” wording is usually clear.

Do you need a Nationwide current account as well as savings to get the £100 payment?

Is having a savings account alone enough?

For the £100 Fairer Share-style payment, many people did not qualify with savings alone.

A common structure has been:

• a qualifying current account, plus

• either qualifying savings or a qualifying mortgage relationship.

So if you only had a savings account (and no qualifying current account relationship), that often explains why no £100 arrived—even if your savings balance was healthy.

What current account details tend to matter?

It’s not just “having” a current account. Criteria have often included account activity rules (such as pay-ins and/or transactions) over a defined period.

If you used the account as a true “main bank account,” you were typically in a stronger position than someone who opened an account and barely touched it.

Key eligibility dates people missed (and why timing is everything)

When were Fairer Share-style £100 payments typically paid?

Recent Fairer Share-style payments have been paid in a short payout window (for example, late June into early July), rather than dripped out randomly for months.

If you’re searching now because you “never got it,” it’s usually more productive to ask:

• “Did I meet the criteria on the check date?”

• “Was my account open and active during the activity period?”

• “Did I still have the account at payment time?”

What about the £50 “Big Nationwide Thank You” payment?

This was a separate one-off payment with its own routes to qualify, such as:

• qualifying account activity over a set period, or

• meeting a minimum balance/borrowing threshold, or

• qualifying via a completed switch (depending on the rules at the time).

A crucial detail for readers in early 2026: where Nationwide issued cheques for this £50 payment, there was a final pay-in deadline of 1 January 2026. If you didn’t pay in a cheque by then, it was set to be cancelled and not reissued.

Who gets paid on joint accounts or family setups?

If the savings account is joint, do both people get the bonus?

This is one of the most common “People Also Ask” questions.

With Nationwide-style member payments, the answer often depends on:

• whether eligibility is assessed per member (person) or per account, and

• whether each person meets the broader criteria (especially if a current account is also required).

So even if a savings account is joint, it doesn’t automatically mean two payments.

What about children’s savings or accounts you manage for someone else?

Accounts held for children, or where you operate an account under a mandate/power of attorney, can introduce extra complexity.

A safe approach is to treat these as separate from your personal eligibility unless the terms explicitly say otherwise for that scheme.

How do you check if you qualified, and what should you do if nothing arrived?

How can you check eligibility without guessing?

Depending on the scheme, Nationwide has used a mix of:

• in-app/online banking messages,

• emails/letters,

• eligibility check tools (when offered),

• customer support confirmation (if you believe you were wrongly excluded).

If you’re trying to resolve an older payment, focus on the specific scheme name (Fairer Share vs Big Thank You) and the qualifying date window—that’s what support teams will anchor to.

If you think you missed out, follow this checklist

• Identify which payment you mean: £100 Fairer Share-style or £50 Big Thank You-style.

• Confirm you met the “savings” requirement in the qualifying month (not just generally).

• Confirm whether a qualifying current account was also required—and whether yours met activity rules.

• Check how payment was made (current account credit vs mortgage-linked route vs cheque).

• If it was a cheque-based £50 payment, note that 1 January 2026 was the final pay-in deadline.

Is the Nationwide bonus taxable?

Is the £100 Fairer Share payment treated like interest?

In many cases, yes—people often find it’s treated similarly to savings interest for tax purposes (how it affects you depends on your overall tax position and allowances).

Is the £50 Thank You treated the same way?

It can differ depending on how it’s framed and your personal circumstances. If you’re unsure, it’s sensible to keep the payment reference on your statement and treat it as something you may need to consider when reviewing annual interest/tax totals.

What people typically say online about these bonuses (themes, not quotes)

When these payments are announced, discussions tend to follow a familiar pattern:

• Eligibility confusion: “I had savings—why didn’t I get it?” (often solved by the current account requirement or timing rules)

• Timing anxiety: people compare when theirs arrived versus friends/family

• Account-type surprises: cash ISA vs investments, personal vs business savings, and “subsidiary” products

• Joint account debates: whether one household should get one payment or two

• Cheque stress (for the £50): people realising late that a cheque needed paying in by a hard deadline

Final summary: how to interpret “Nationwide to pay bonuses to customers with specific savings accounts”

If you’re searching “nationwide to pay bonuses to customers with specific savings accounts”, the most practical takeaway is this:

• “Specific savings accounts” typically means personal savings and cash ISAs, not every savings/investment product.

• The £100 Fairer Share-style payment has usually required a qualifying current account plus qualifying savings (or a mortgage relationship), measured on specific dates.

• The £50 Big Nationwide Thank You payment was separate, and if you were paid by cheque, 1 January 2026 was the key final pay-in deadline.

nationwide to pay bonuses to customers with specific savings accounts is an attention-grabbing phrase—but the real story is the criteria underneath it. Here’s what you can do next: work out which scheme you’re dealing with, then match your account types and balances to the scheme’s qualifying dates.