Nationwide Media Centre

• Towns across the UK have less than one month left to enter Let’s Celebrate Towns 2026, delivered by Visa in partnership with Nationwide. Entries close on Sunday 25 October.
• Each category winner receives a £20,000 grant towards community-led projects or initiatives that give small businesses a boost.
• Towns can enter across five categories: High Street Revival, Backing Local Business, Protecting Valued Places, Connected Places and Community Pride.
• Towns are entered by their MPs, councillors and Business Improvement Districts, and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Parliament on 14 December 2026.

• 54% of parents return some or all of the rent paid by their adult children to help them save for a deposit
• Just over a third say their children are living at home specifically to save for a house deposit; 45% say they feel like a landlord to their own child
• Parents charge £303 a month on average, rising to £415 in Greater London and dropping to £187 in Yorkshire and The Humber
• 82% of parents say rising housing costs make it more likely their adult children will continue living at home
• Four in ten parents say their adult child cannot yet afford to move out

Lisa Riley MBE shares how falling victim to a convincing scam changed the way she responds to unexpected calls, texts and emails

• Nationwide research reveals one in five (15%) have shared personal information with scammers
• Brits bombarded with over three suspicious calls and texts a week
• 19% would trust an unexpected caller claiming to be from their bank if they knew details of recent account activity
• More than quarter (26%) received bogus texts impersonating their bank
• 20% would trust a caller if their bank’s name appeared on their phone and 10% if they sounded professional
• Nationwide data reveals average impersonation loss is nearly £2,200, affecting all ages
• Lisa Riley MBE shares how a scam left her more cautious about unexpected contact

• Nationwide FlexDirect customers can now earn £120 cashback during first year: £5 a month for direct debit spend and £5 a month for debit card spend
• Eligible customers can also receive a £175 switching incentive to join Britain’s biggest building society
• FlexDirect continues to offer 5% interest on current account balances up to £1,500 for 12 months
• Rachel Springall at Moneyfacts commentary

• Parents could expect to spend more than £15,500 on a child's school years from reception to GCSE, with school clubs accounting for the biggest share of the bill, according to new Nationwide research.
• Back-to-school costs are squeezing budgets, with 49% stressed and families cutting back
• Nearly a quarter use clubs for childcare, with 22% of parents relying on them to cover childcare gaps
• Families confess kids have lost or worn out around 325 items during their time at school
• Nationwide and Finder launch new back to school calculator to find out how clubs, uniform and trips costs compare and money personalities– https://www.finder.com/uk/budgeting/cost-of-the-school-year
• Jordan Banjo talks about the value of clubs to him growing up
• Finder’s parent consumer expert Kate Steere shares her experience and tips on kids clubs