The midata initiative - download your current account transactions

Currently, midata transaction downloads are only available on our current accounts, although other products may be included in the future.

You will be sending all your current account transaction data for a 12-month period, minus the last 31 days from the date of download. This is done because some current account providers use recent transaction data to validate their customers when they contact them. The removal of the data for that 31-day period will not affect the results you get from a comparison provider.

If you do not have 13 months' worth of transactions in your account (from which 12 months' data can be extracted) then midata will download the transactions you do have, again excluding the most recent 31 days. However, a comparison provider will make assumptions based on the data you have to make up a picture of 12 months' worth of data, so the result you get from them may be less accurate and should be considered carefully. 

For your own protection, you should send only the midata downloaded file to a comparison provider. This is because only the midata file format blanks out certain personal information.

You should not send a file in any other format, even though it may be possible to download other formats (such as .CSV or .OFX) from our Internet Bank, as your personal data will not be protected, and the file may be rejected by the comparison provider.

We encourage you to check the contents of your midata file before you send it, but if you are not happy to share the data it contains, do not send it on. You should not edit or change your file, as that could affect the results you obtain, and might cause the file to be rejected.  

To get the best results, send a recently downloaded file to the comparison provider so the results are up to date. 

The midata file is downloaded from the Internet Bank.

For Windows and Apple Mac computers:

1. Log in to the Internet Bank (if you are not registered for Internet Banking, then please click here to go to the registration page).
2. Select the current account you wish to view.
3. From your Statement screen, on the top right hand side of the screen you will see a 'download transactions' field.
4. Click on the field – a drop-down list will be displayed. Select 'midata download'. (Please do not select the .OFX or .CSV download options – midata will download as a .csv file but only the 'midata download' option will blank out selected personal information.)
5. Follow the instructions displayed in the pop-up box to download the midata file. Your downloaded file is automatically given a file name with the date/time of your download, and the file extension .csv.
6. When you open the file (for example, by using a spreadsheet program), you may need to expand the columns so you can see all of your data. Once you have reviewed the contents, please ‘close’ the file and ‘don’t save’ it, to keep its midata.csv format. 

For mobile devices:

Please follow the instructions above using your mobile device's web browser. The service is not currently offered in the mobile banking app, so please log onto the Internet Banking service.

If you are using an Apple iPhone or iPad, please note that you can only view your midata file – it cannot be downloaded onto your device.

If you are using an Android device, you can both view and download your midata file.

Please follow the instructions given by your chosen comparison provider on their website on how to send them your midata file.

It is your responsibility to send your file securely using your chosen comparison provider's sending/uploading instructions. Please check that you are sending your file to a secure page on their website – secure pages usually display a padlock symbol, and have URLs that begin 'https'.

Please remember to send your midata file in its original downloaded format. If you change or save the midata file in some other format, the comparison provider may not be able to process your information.  

Nationwide has no control over the results you will be given. The Code of Practice commits the comparison providers who have signed up to the Code to give accurate results, but these results may be affected by a number of factors, including:

• Just because you have used your current account in a certain way within the 12-month period analysed does not mean you will use it in the same way in the following 12 months
• The analysis may be affected if you have less than 12 months' worth of data in your midata file. The less data you have, the more assumptions the comparison provider will make, and the less accurate your results may be
• When assessing your most likely future transaction pattern, the comparison providers may discount some transactions that they assume are large, one-off payments. However, if these 'exceptional' transactions do happen again in the future, the results you are given may not reflect the impact of that transaction
• Midata results are ranked according to the financial benefits (or costs) that the comparison provider suggests you might earn (or pay) from that current account. This system works well for fees and charges, but is less effective where the value you might get from a current account is harder to determine – for example, we believe that Nationwide offers great customer service, but that would not be included in any purely financial 'net benefit' results that midata may show
• Nationwide offers customers who hold their main bank account with us better rates on other Nationwide financial services – but this is also not included in the midata rankings.

All of this means that you have to consider the entire service you get from Nationwide (or your current account provider) before acting on the midata results.