How to manage your current account after Brexit

We’re no longer able to provide current accounts for members living in certain EU or European Economic Area (EEA) countries. You can find a list on our website of the countries where, based on our current understanding of their rules, we can no longer provide current accounts.

If you’re a member living in an affected country, please review your current finances and make alternative arrangements. We’ll write to you to tell you the next steps to close your accounts or to make alternative arrangements.

Your current account must be closed by the deadline for action date in your letter.

Other building societies and banks in the UK may not be able to offer banking services to customers living in the EU or EEA country you’re living in. So, you may need to set up an account with a provider local to where you live.

Make sure whatever account you choose, you can still manage your finances and make transactions in a way that suits your needs.

If you're no longer living in an EU or EEA country, and now live in the UK, please update your address details. This will allow you to keep your current account open.

These accounts can stay open if the account holder living in one of the EU or EEA countries where the services we can provide are impacted by Brexit removes their name from it or moves their registered address to the UK.

To add a joint account holder to an account, both of you need to live in the UK to avoid having to close the account.

Any balance left in the account has been put into a holding account. You can get the money back and tell us where you would like it to be sent by completing a form that we’ll send to you.

We’ll hold the money until we receive the completed form – there’s no deadline.

The form we’ll send to you will advise you of everything you need to do and whether ID is required to get your money back.

Before closing your account, please change any existing Direct Debit arrangements or other regular payments. This will help ensure any payments are processed by your new current account provider in good time.

If you don't change your Direct Debits or other regular payments before the account is closed, they’ll not be paid out. This is especially important if your Direct Debit arrangements or other regular payments are used to pay:

• essential bills and services such as utilities, insurance policies or regular savings, particularly where there is a risk these services may be cancelled or withdrawn due to non-payment
• mortgage repayments
• loan repayments.

If you receive regular payments to your account (for example, salary, rental income, dividends or transfers from friends and family), please contact the senders and provide details of your new account so these payments can continue.

Once your current account is closed, any payments received will be returned to the sender.

If you receive a State Pension, you can arrange for it to be paid directly into a foreign bank if that's what you want to do. For further information, visit the UK Government website (opens in a new window).

If you receive a personal pension, speak to your pension or annuity provider to see what your options are for redirecting any income that you're currently getting into a new account.

You need to be a UK resident to be covered by the FlexAccount or FlexPlus insurances.

So, if you have travel insurance, worldwide mobile phone cover or European roadside recovery with your current account and you live overseas, you won't benefit from the cover.

If you purchased any upgrades, these will be cancelled along with all applicable insurances when the account is closed.

Before you close your current account, you may need it to withdraw your savings or repay any outstanding credit card or overdraft balances.

There are lots of ways you can close your account. We'll also be in touch shortly to explain how we can support you over the phone.

If your account is in credit, please get your balance down to zero.

If possible, please use the Internet Bank to make a payment to another UK building society or bank. You can also send a SWIFT or SEPA international payment to a foreign account.

Before you close your account, ensure you have sufficient funds available to pay any transfer fees. We’ll advise you of these in your letter. You should also rearrange any Direct Debits or other regular payments.

Once you’ve reached a zero balance, please close your account.

If you have an overdraft on your current account, please repay the amount owed in full before the deadline for action date in your letter.

You can do this by transferring money into your current account from another Nationwide account, if you have one, or from an account you have with another provider. You can also make an international payment from a foreign account into your current account.

It’s important to repay your overdrawn balance or get in touch with us by the deadline for action date in your letter so your credit rating isn’t affected.

We understand that repaying the outstanding debt or overdrafts could create financial difficulties. That’s why we’ll write to you soon to explain what other options you have.

Find out more about your options if you're in financial difficulty or get in touch.