Nationwide Building Society has issued an urgent final warning to thousands of its members regarding a £50 bonus payment. Customers who received the windfall via a physical cheque have a strict and fast-approaching deadline to cash it in.
The Critical Deadline for Your £50
The building society has confirmed that the absolute cut-off date for claiming the free £50 bonus is January 1, 2026. This is not a flexible guideline; it is a hard deadline. Any member who fails to pay their cheque into an account by the end of this year will see the offer expire and the money forfeited entirely.
This payment forms a central part of Nationwide's "Big Nationwide Thank You" initiative, a reward scheme launched following the society's successful acquisition of Virgin Money. In one of the largest member reward programmes ever seen from a UK building society, over 12 million members across the UK were eligible to receive the cash bonus.
Who Was Eligible and How Payments Were Made
To qualify for the £50, customers needed to hold a Nationwide account on September 30, 2024, and still be a customer when payments were distributed. A key requirement was demonstrating recent activity on their account in the 12 months leading up to that September 2024 cut-off date.
Specific eligibility criteria included:
- Holding at least £100 across Nationwide savings or current accounts.
- Having £100 or more in residential mortgage debt with the society.
- Completing a qualifying transaction on a current or savings account.
While the vast majority of eligible members saw the £50 deposited directly into their current or savings accounts, a significant number were sent a traditional paper cheque by post. It is this group that Nationwide is now urgently trying to reach.
Act Now or Lose Out
The building society has stated that all payments have now been issued. This means there will be no reissues or extensions. If you believe you were eligible but never received a payment, or if you have misplaced or simply forgotten about a cheque, you must act immediately.
Recipients of a paper cheque must locate it and ensure it is paid into their bank account before the January 1, 2026 deadline. Failing to do so will result in the bonus being lost permanently. This final warning serves as a last chance for members to secure this gesture of thanks from one of the UK's leading mutual societies.
