Understanding unarranged overdraft text alerts

To help you try to reduce or avoid unarranged overdraft fees, the Competition and Markets Authority has asked banks and building societies to introduce grace periods for all overdraft fee-paying current accounts. This will be supported by text alerts, such as the unarranged overdraft text alerts. This means all members will be automatically enrolled into these alerts - unless they choose to opt out.

If you don’t want to receive these alerts, just text STOP to the following numbers:

- 65037 for unarranged overdraft alerts
- 65180 for payment retry alerts.

FlexPlus – There are no paid transaction fees on this product if we allow a payment despite lack of funds - we'll refund the daily fee for the day you were in an unarranged overdraft.

FlexDirect – You can avoid both the paid transaction fee, if we allow a payment despite lack of funds, as well as any daily fees for being in an unarranged overdraft.

FlexAccount – You can avoid a paid transaction fee if we allow a payment despite lack of funds as well as any interest at 18.9% EAR for balances beyond your arranged limit.

• Direct Debits
• Standing orders
• Future dated bill payments

It’s completely secure – we’ll only show the last few digits of your account number in the texts we send. When you get a text from us, the sender will be ‘Nationwide’ – it won’t show a phone number. Just make sure we have the right mobile number. You can check your details are correct in our Internet Bank or the Banking app. If you think you might be a victim of fraud, call us immediately on 0800 464 3051. You can find out more information about fraud here.

Here’s what unarranged overdraft text alerts might say:

Upcoming payment alert (if it’s going to be paid): 
‘£XXXX is due out of your account ending XXX tomorrow, but there’s not enough money to cover the payment(s). It will be paid, but to avoid unarranged overdraft fees, please check your balance and pay in tonight. To opt out of unarranged overdraft alerts, text STOP to 65037. Thanks, Nationwide’

Upcoming payment alert (if it won’t be paid):
£XXXX is due out of your account ending XXX tomorrow, but there’s not enough money to cover the payment(s). To make sure it is paid and to avoid unarranged overdraft fees, please check your balance and pay in tonight. To opt out of unarranged overdraft alerts, text STOP to 65037. Thanks, Nationwide’

Entered unarranged overdraft alert:
Your account ending XXX is in an unarranged overdraft. To bring it back within your £XXXX limit and reduce fees, please check your balance and pay in by 8.30pm tonight. To opt out of unarranged overdraft alerts, text STOP to 65037. Thanks, Nationwide’

Account {account_number_3digits} doesn’t have enough money for today’s payment(s) of {payments_value_to_retry}. Please pay in enough cleared funds by 2:30pm so your payments can be sent.

If it’s a joint account (and both of you have registered your mobile numbers with us), then you’ll both receive an automatic text alert. If you remove someone from a joint account, they will no longer receive text alerts. Either person can opt out at any time.

If you have Power of Attorney on a current account, we’ll send text alerts to the account holder and the Power of Attorney(s), as long as they have registered a UK mobile number with us.

If you don’t want to receive these alerts, just text STOP to the following numbers:

- 65037 for unarranged overdraft alerts
- 65180 for payment retry alerts.

Our texts combine all payments due out the next day. If you don't recognise the amount in the text, it may be that we have combined multiple payments. Please check all payments due out the next day.

Please note, if you're receiving the text on a Sunday:

• This may be a Direct Debit or Standing Order which usually falls on the date of the month which is currently a Saturday or Sunday
• Nationwide does not process Direct Debits and Standing Orders over the weekend. If you have any scheduled payments which fall over the weekend, these are delayed until Monday morning.
• Please check all payments which would be due over the weekend.

To check for your scheduled payments, on the Internet Bank, you can:

1. Use the drop down on “Move money” and select 'Manage payees'
2. Choose your account and select 'Go'
3. At the bottom of the page will list Standing Orders, Direct Debits etc.

To check for your scheduled payments, on the Banking App:

• Click the account
• Select “More”
• Click “View and cancel payments”
• This will show the last date and amount for your one off payments, standing orders and direct debits

An alert has been sent because we can see a payment scheduled to go out and based on the account's current balance this would lead to unarranged fees. We don't get forward notice of payments in like salary so we can't see these when deciding whether to send an alert or not.

If you have a credit coming in to your account (e.g. salary) then don’t worry, this will be paid in overnight and you won't incur a fee.