- Current passbooks cannot be used beyond February 2025
- Building society giant said it is ‘moderning’ passbooks
- Customers will have to option to receive a new ‘savings wallet’ instead
Nationwide Building Society will scrap passbooks in their current form from the start of February 2025, This is Money can exclusively reveal.
A concerned staff member says it is starting the process of phasing out passbooks entirely, a move now confirmed by Britain’s biggest mutual.
Nationwide already no longer offers new passbook accounts. It claims just 2 per cent of its 16million customer base currently use them, roughly 120,000 members.
Passbook savings accounts come with a physical notebook, allowing the account holder to record deposits and withdrawals.
Modernising: Nationwide building society will replace current passbooks with a modernised saver wallet
Nationwide said it is taking the opportunity to ‘modernise’ passbooks in a process that will take place over seven months until February 2025.
Customers who wish to keep using a passbook will receive a ‘savings wallet’ instead, containing a Nationwide card which can only be used in a Nationwide branch.
The wallet will also contain a space for printed ‘mini-statements’ – which customers will receive when they lodge or withdraw money at a branch, This is Money understands.
The statements can be kept in the wallet so customers will have a record of their transactions, but no longer in a book format as with the old passbooks.
Customers who have a passbook will not be able to use them in their current form past the start of February 2025.
Customers who do not want the new version of the passbooks will only be able to use their old passbooks until the start of February 2025.
This does not mean that their account will be closed, and customers will still be able to use their account.
Nationwide will notify customers that it is replacing old passbooks with a new statement-based version from the end of this month and communicate the changes.
The building society will also be taking on temporary staff within the branch network to support staff with the transition from the old passbooks to the new passbooks, as it does at other points in the year – including during Isa season.
It says older and vulnerable customers will be supported through the changes by staff in the branch over the course of seven months.
New style: This is Money has been given an exclusive sneak peak of the new savings wallets which will replace passbooks
Nationwide has come under fire for refusing to give its 16million members a say on the controversial takeover of Virgin Money.
It has its annual general meeting coming up, with members able to have their say up until 15 July.
The Nationwide insider said chief executive Debbie Crosbie is on ‘a mad dash’ to rearrange the society network.
A Nationwide spokesman said: ‘We don’t recognise that at all. We have made our branch promise and nothing is going to change.’
Nationwide currently has 605 branches making it the largest branch network on the high street.
The insider added: ‘Many of my customers have their pensions paid into their passbook – a lot of them elderly – but some younger, some in the vulnerable category, and the only way they can manage their money is to come to the counter to get their cash.
‘They like to see the transaction in the book and find it easy to understand, they do not want a paper statement.
‘The passbook has about 10 pages and is easy to use and store and there are a number of reasons they use the counter instead of a cash machine.
‘This ranges from people with disabilities, have the onset of dementia or are autistic to those who have been scammed – you name it we serve them with dignity and courtesy.’
The Nationwide insider added that a rush to phase out passbooks could lead to ‘mountains of complaints’.
A Nationwide spokesman said: ‘We are modernising passbooks rather than removing them, but while they are changing, banking in branch isn’t.
‘We are maintaining the benefits our passbook customers value most – face-to-face service and having a physical record of transactions.
‘As the UK’s largest building society, we are investing in our systems so we can offer the products and services our customers expect from a modern mutual.’
Work at a Nationwide branch and concerned about the changes, or a passbook user worried about the move? Get in touch: editor@thisismoney.co.uk
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