Once your account has been opened, we can then start arranging for the delivery of all the items you need to operate it. Within the first 3-5 working days you will receive all your online and telephone banking details (if you have registered) as well as your card reader to log onto the Online Bank. Following this you will receive your card, PIN number and chequebook (if you ordered one) within 5-7 working days. If you were eligible for an overdraft and decided to accept it you will also receive your overdraft agreement in this time.
To find out your upgrade options and how to apply for an upgrade, take a look at our Account upgrades section. Upgrading is really easy, especially if you’re registered for online banking.
An overdraft is a credit facility that is set up on your account to help you manage your short-term cash flow needs. To find out more about overdrafts on a FlexAccount, see the rates, fees and overdrafts page or if you fancy a short read, have a look at our Understanding Overdrafts guide.
Overdrafts are only available to those aged 18 or over and are subject to approval.
EAR stands for ‘Equivalent Annual Rate' which allows you to compare the rates offered by different providers. It's the cost of an overdraft stated as a yearly rate, taking into account the compounding rate of interest. At Nationwide, we work out interest each day on any overdrawn amount and take it from your account monthly, giving you 28 days' notice of the amount we intend to take. Any interest charged is added to the balance outstanding.
We offer a range of services to help you run your account. See our Managing your account page for more.
You can request a change to your overdraft any time.
Just log in to the Online Bank and then:
Please note that the overdraft link will not be available if:
Of course! When you apply we’ll ask you at the very start if you want to open a sole or joint account. It’s as simple as that.
Want to turn your existing account into a joint account? Just request an 'addition of an account holder form' from any branch or you can send us a secure message via online banking and we’ll send a form to you.
Note: Both account holders will need to be present when the account changes are made.
See our cheque clearing calculator to see when your cheques will clear.
As long as you have enough in your account, you can withdraw up to £300 in any one day with a FlexAccount.
You can withdraw up to £500 a day at your local branch, as long as you have the money in your account or an authorised overdraft. If you need more than £500, please give your branch at least 2 full working days' notice. (Some requests may take up to three full working days – so we recommend checking with your branch beforehand.) For cash withdrawals over £500, you will need to present one piece of ID – either your passport or driving licence (with the paper counterpart (copy).
You can withdraw up to £300 in cash at any Post Office branch using your card and PIN.
If you have Card Protection, contact the company immediately and they will arrange to cancel all your cards. Otherwise, call us immediately on 08457 30 20 10, or speak to us at any Nationwide branch.
Transfers to cover outgoing payments must be made before midnight on the working day before the payment is due. If the payment is due on a Monday, the transfer must be made by 9:00pm on Sunday. To find out when a cheque you are paying into your account will clear, please use our cheque processing calculator.
We want all our customers to feel happy with the service they receive. If we’ve made a mistake, or let you down, please tell us so that we can put things right and do better next time around.
Our making a complaint page talks you through how to complain and when to expect a reply from us.
If you’re not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you can also ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into it. You can write to them at this address:
Financial Ombudsman Service South Quay Plaza 183 Marsh Wall London E14 9SR
Our products and services are designed to be accessible to all our customers. For more information please visit our accessibility page.
Once your account has been opened, we can then start arranging for the delivery of all the items you need to operate it. Within the first 3-5 working days you will receive all your online and telephone banking details as well as your card reader to log onto the Online Bank. Following this you will receive your card, PIN number and chequebook (if you ordered one) within 5-7 working days. If you were eligible for an overdraft and decided to accept it you will also receive your overdraft agreement in this time.
You need to be 18 to apply for a FlexDirect account. If you are younger than this, you may be able to apply for one of our FlexAccounts provided you are aged 16 or above.
Any external payment into your FlexDirect account will count towards the monthly £1,000 total requirement, in other words a payment which does not come from another Nationwide account.
We won’t be able to pay you credit interest on your balance in any month you don’t pay in £1,000.
On the last day of each month we calculate the interest you've earned each day of that month and then pay you this interest on the 1st day of the next month. We normally pay you this interest 'net' of any tax, which means we deduct any tax due and pass it to the government for you.
At the end of your 12 month introductory period we’ll write to you to tell you that your promotional credit interest rate is coming to an end and that your rate will now revert to the standard credit interest rate for the account.
FlexDirect is a self-service account which provides customers exclusive benefits in return for managing their account remotely. However, this does not mean that customers are not welcome to use the branch. Any transactions that are not possible to complete via the Internet Bank, the Telephone Bank, an ATM or our mobile banking app we are happy for customers to use the branch. Customers can also use the branch in any distress situations where they require assistance to resolve.
If you don’t feel FlexDirect is the right current account for you, you’re welcome to cancel your account within 28 days of opening. We’ll close your account or move your account to another product that suits your needs better depending on what you want.
If you would like to change your FlexDirect to a FlexAccount, please give us a call on 0845 30 11 22 or visit us in branch
You can open up to four Nationwide current accounts, however you are only guaranteed the 5% promotional interest rate on one FlexDirect account.
An overdraft is a credit facility that is set up on your account to help you manage your short-term cash flow needs. To find out more about overdrafts on FlexDirect, see the rates, fees and overdrafts page or if you fancy a short read, have a look at our Understanding Overdrafts guide.
How long does it take to get a decision?
To receive an instant decision online, we recommend that you submit your request during the following hours when we are able to immediately confirm your overdraft limits:
If you submit your request outside the above hours, or if we have to carry out further checks, we will reply to your request with a secure message within three working days.
Or, if you prefer, you can ring our call centre on 08457 30 20 10 or visit us in branch. It’s really important to get our agreement to an overdraft, to avoid higher interest and charges.
Want to turn your existing account into a joint account? Just request an ‘addition of an account holder form' from your any branch or you can send us a secure message via online banking and we’ll send a form to you.
As long as you have enough in your account, you can withdraw up to £300 in any one day from your FlexDirect account from a cash machine (ATM) or in any Post Office branch. If you need to withdraw a larger amount of cash in one day, please speak to your local branch who will advise you on what to do.
If you have Card Protection, contact the company immediately and they will arrange to cancel all your cards. Otherwise, call us immediately on 08457 30 20 18, or speak to us at any Nationwide branch.
Our products and services are designed to be accessible to all customers. For more information please visit our accessibility page.
Our FlexPlus current account offers competitive in credit interest and charges as well as a range of value added features, including Worldwide Family Travel Insurance, UK & European Breakdown and Recovery Assistance, Worldwide Mobile Phone Insurance, Extended Warranty Protection, Identity Theft Assistance and Worldwide Emergency Card Assistance
We’ll pay 3% AER (2.96% gross p.a.) variable on your in-credit balance up to £2,500. This is calculated on the balance in your account at the end of each day.
The total interest for a month will be calculated on the last day of the calendar month and applied to your account on the 1st day of the next month.
FlexPlus has a £10 monthly fee as well as some charges when the account is overdrawn. It is important that you understand these charges before you take out a FlexPlus account, so that you can be sure you get the right account for you.
We have a range of current accounts at Nationwide, designed to meet the different needs of our customers. If you don’t think FlexPlus is right for you, please take a look at one of our other accounts.
If you have any questions about the account, its insurance products or other benefits, please call the FlexPlus helpline on 08457 33 55 44.
If you would prefer to contact the insurer directly when claiming, individual numbers are provided in the policy documentation.
It’ll take you around 10 - 25 minutes to apply for a FlexPlus account online.
An account for one person can be opened within 24 hours (subject to status) and you’ll be covered by the insurance products as soon as the account is opened. It’ll take approximately 5-7 working days for you to receive your Visa debit card and account information.
If you’re applying for a joint account, we’ll need to send you some paperwork to sign. As soon as we receive your paperwork, the timescales above will apply.
Of course! You can open a joint account online or in branch. We’ll ask you at the very beginning of the application whether you’d like to apply for a sole or joint account. Both account holders will need to be present when the account is opened to answer the important eligibility questions.
Accounts can be closed in any of our branches. It must be the account holder (or Power Of Attorney or Court Of Protection) that asks us to close the account.
For security reasons you must return any cards issued with the account when you close your account.
You cannot close your account if it’s overdrawn. If any charges are due on your account, then we’ll close it the day after the charges are paid.
The £10 monthly fee is taken on the last day of the month (even if this is a working day or bank holiday).
The first monthly fee will be taken at the end of the month after you have opened your account. For example, if you open your account on 1st February the first monthly payment will be taken on 31st March.
Manage your money in a way that suits you. See our managing your account page for information on how to sign up for mobile, telephone and online banking.
The insurance policies start as soon as your account is opened but you won’t be able to claim for any incidents which occurred before the account opening date. If the account can’t be opened immediately (for example, for joint applications where we may require additional signatures to open the account), then cover will start as soon as you receive your letter confirming that the account is opened or complete the application in branch.
Customers who upgrade to FlexPlus from an existing Nationwide current account will be covered as soon as their application is completed.
For Annual Worldwide Travel Insurance, if you, an account holder or a family member are 75 years old or over; you must contact the insurer to purchase an age extension to your policy (£50 per account per annum). You will also be required to be medically screened to confirm if you have any existing medical conditions. Some medical conditions will incur an additional premium or we may not be able to provide cover for that medical condition. Your policy will not cover this person until you have done this.
There are no age restrictions on any of the other insurance policies.
It’s really important that you understand your eligibility to claim on the FlexPlus insurance products before you apply for a FlexPlus account. We’ll ask you a number of questions about eligibility during the application process. This is to help you understand if the account will meet your needs. These eligibility checks will indicate which products you will be able to claim against. Any claims will also be subject to the terms and conditions of the policy.
You must continue to consider your eligibility to claim on an ongoing basis. Please do this regularly and always when your personal circumstances change. The policy summary contains an eligibility guide or you can contact the insurers on 08457 33 55 44.
You can download the policy documents online, pick them up in branch or order them by telephone on 08457 33 55 44.
All claims can be made through 08457 33 55 44 (international number +44 1793 541 200).
Emergency travel or breakdown assistance
If you need travel or breakdown assistance, you can contact the insurers directly. The relevant telephone numbers are on the FlexPlus insurance pages and in the policy documents.
Please also read the policy documents to familiarise yourself with any information that may be required to claim. This will help your claim to be processed quickly and effectively.
You will need to provide your account number for all claims. You will need to provide further information for some of the insurance products:
You will be asked for documentation in support of your claim, below are some examples of what type of documents may be asked for, this list is not exhaustive:
Proof of purchase
Please advise Nationwide if you are going to use your card abroad. For security reasons, foreign use can sometimes trigger a temporary block on your card to avoid misuse.
You don’t need to inform the insurance companies if you are going away. You must however check your eligibility to claim before starting your journey.
If you have existing insurance policies that give the same cover elsewhere, you’ll need to consider whether you may be paying for duplicate cover. In this instance, you will need to work out which policy provides the best cover at the best price for you.
You should be aware that the costs of any claims, where cover is provided by both policies, may be shared proportionally between the two insurance companies if you retain both policies.
If you ask us to, we can check for you whether you have any duplicate cover on policies held at Nationwide. You’ll need to check other policies that you hold elsewhere.
Nationwide is committed to providing you with the best possible products and service. Where we feel it is in the interest of our customers we will carefully source products and services from alternative suppliers, who have a track record for delivering an excellent customer experience.
The insurance policies are provided as part of the current account as a package. This has enabled Nationwide to negotiate the best possible prices and keep the fee as low as possible.
As a result, you are not able to cancel the individual insurance policies offered on the account. If the account no longer meets your requirements, you should switch to a more suitable account.
You must give your full name, the full name of the account holder(s), along with their home address and date of birth. You should also tell us the make, model and registration number of the vehicle you are travelling in when you call
Remember, the vehicle must be a private car registered to the account holder and you must have permission from the account holder to use the car before you begin your journey.
Breakdown assistance provides cover for account holders travelling in any private car and for anyone driving a car registered to the account holder(s) and being used with their permission.
Account holder(s) are able to make a claim on the Extended Warranty protection.
Travel and mobile phone insurance provides cover for the family. Family members include: you, your partner / spouse and dependent children who live at the same address as the account holder(s). To be covered any dependent children must not have reached the age of 19 (or 22 if in full time education) and be neither married nor in a civil partnership.
Pre existing medical conditions are not automatically covered by this insurance. You should read the medical warranty on page 10 of the terms and conditions. Alternatively you can call U K Insurance Limited on 0845 246 1692 to be medically screened, you may be informed that they can cover your medical condition for free or you may have to pay an additional premium. They may not be able to provide cover for some medical conditions and if this is the case they will provide this in writing to you.
FlexPlus insurance products come with lots of benefits as standard (travel insurance includes both winter sports and golf cover for example). For this reason, we’re confident the need to upgrade is minimal.
On the travel insurance policy in particular there are a few things you can upgrade your policy to cover. These include extending your cancellation cover or trip duration as well as waiving your policy excess. For the more adventurous, you may want cover for hazardous activity. A premium will apply to all upgrades. Please contact the travel insurer directly on 08457 33 55 44 (international number +44 1793 541 200) for more information.
Please read the policy documentation carefully to determine whether you need to upgrade any of your policies.
Emergency claims:
Travel insurance and breakdown assistance claims lines are open 24/7.
Non emergency claims: Travel insurance: 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday Mobile phone insurance: 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 6pm on Saturday and Sunday Extended warranty protection: 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday
We will not provide you with individual certificates of insurance for each of the policies. Your account number will act as the policy number for reference. Cover will be provided, subject to eligibility, for as long as your FlexPlus account is open.
It’s simply changing the type of current account you have with Nationwide.
FlexAccount holders can upgrade to FlexDirect or FlexPlus. You can also upgrade from FlexDirect to FlexPlus. It’s best to log-in to online banking to see if an upgrade is available.
There are some circumstances where we won’t be able to offer you an upgrade, if:
If you’re registered for online banking, just log-in and look for the upgrade links.
If you’re not registered for online banking, just call us on 0800 30 20 10 to upgrade.
If you would like to change your FlexDirect or FlexPlus to a FlexAccount, please give us a call on 0845 30 11 22 or visit us in branch
No, your sort code and account number will continue to be the same as they were for your FlexAccount or FlexDirect account.
No, your Direct Debits, standing orders and bill payments will continue from your new account automatically
No. You'll never be without a card. You’ll get a replacement card within 7 working days and your existing card will continue to work for 21 days after your upgrade has taken place. How's that for convenience?
We all get second thoughts sometimes, so we give you 28 days to cancel if you change your mind.
Our switching service is a complete service so you can’t choose which payments you want to move. Once your new account is open though, you can always move some payments to an account you hold elsewhere if you need to.
You can manage the switch yourself, although you won't be covered by our Account Transfer Promise.
You don't have to but the good news is that once your account is open you can switch at any time.
You'll need to upgrade your account first and then apply to switch. Most of our existing customers switch their other bank accounts to us via online banking.
We'll keep you informed by regular text message if you give us your mobile number. Or you can call us on 0800 30 20 10, we’re open Mon-Fri 8am - 8pm. Sat & Sun 9am – 5pm.
Please call our helpdesk on 01793 69 19 16. If we’ve already contacted your Direct Debit companies, we won’t be able to cancel the switch.
Yes we do. You can download a copy of our switching leaflet, or pick up a printed copy in branch.