Nationwide offers competitive deals to its current account holders and a widespread network of branches, if you like sorting things out in person. From time to time, Nationwide has been known to run switching incentives.
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Fees, features and customer service across 20+ of the most popular banks are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the account – simple.
Read the full methodologyNationwide has a decent range of current accounts you can choose among, although it doesn’t offer any premium account options for high-end customers.
Nationwide’s FlexDirect account pays interest (yes, you’ve heard that right) on balances up to £1,500 for 12 months, and there’s no monthly fee to pay. You also get 1% cashback on spending for the first year. Alternatively, you can choose the FlexPlus account that charges a monthly fee but offers loads of insurance benefits and access to exclusive savings accounts.
Learn more about reward and incentive accounts
You can get up to £3,000 of fee-free overdraft with Nationwide’s student account plus fee-free spending on your debit card abroad. However, if you’re after free railcards and discounts, compare accounts from other institutions – student accounts have the best benefits, so you may as well enjoy them until uni’s over and you’re thrown into your not-so-exciting adult life.
Learn more about student accounts
The Nationwide student account automatically converts to a FlexGraduate account after your uni course ends. This also offers an interest-free overdraft.
Learn more about graduate accounts
With Nationwide FlexOne, children aged 11-17 can get an early start at managing their finances and also earn some interest on their balance. If you have smaller kids, try comparing children’s current accounts – with some institutions they can open one when they’re as young as 8 years old.
Learn more about children’s accounts
"Nationwide is a solid choice for a current account. However, I wouldn’t say there was anything exceptional worth mentioning in terms of features. The app is straightforward and easy to use and any interactions I’ve had with customer service have always been positive. One frustration I have is the requirement to sometimes use a card reader to set up a new payee, which is not always doable when I am out and about.
Where Nationwide does stand out is how it rewards its customers. I’ve benefited from initiatives like its supermarket cashback offer during 2023 and its Fairer Share Payment to members, which have been a nice addition to a dependable banking experience."
To open an account with Nationwide, you’ll have to provide the following information:
You can open a Nationwide account online or by visiting a branch – if you apply online, you may be asked to pop into a branch to provide proof of identity.
Yes, Nationwide often offers switching deals, but it’s not currently offering any (April 2025).
Yes, Nationwide lets 2 people open a joint account. You can open it online or in a branch.
Yes, Nationwide’s FlexPlus account is a popular packaged account, offering a range of insurance products for the whole family in return for a monthly fee.
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Nationwide was ranked 8 out of 20 current account providers in our independent 2025 customer satisfaction survey, with 89% of Nationwide customers saying they’d recommend it to a friend. Users highlighted its helpful staff and reliable service.
One customer commented: “Problem free banking, good website, it’s a mutual so I get to vote, and they have paid customers £100 if their profits were good.”
Another customer said “Easy to use app and website, local branch, great products.”
On Trustpilot, Nationwide scores 1.9 out of 5 from around 6,900 reviews. On the Apple App Store, it has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 from over 628,000 reviews, while its Google Play Store rating is 3.9 out 5, from a more than 112,000 reviews. These were updated in April 2025.
Nationwide currently offers current accounts with the some of the highest available interest rates. If you’re looking to earn interest on an in-credit balance, these accounts are certainly worth investigating. If Nationwide’s current accounts are not for you, you can also compare other current accounts here.
All user-submitted reviews must meet our review guidelines. These set out our standards and expectations, including that the review is from by a genuine user of the relevant product or service and that it is honest, authentic and respectful. We explicitly prohibit fake or otherwise misleading reviews and we check all submissions, but we make no guarantee as to the authenticity of any published review or reviewer. Some reviews may be submitted (regardless of sentiment) in exchange for entry into any competition(s) for which we are the promoter.
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