Major building society makes huge change to accounts in blow to millions – are you affected?

A MAJOR building society has revealed it’s made a major change to customer accounts that will affect millions.

Nationwide says it’s switched to paperless bank statements – meaning customers won’t get their statements through the post any more.

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The change came in this month so customers will stop getting paper statements now.

Customers will instead need to log in to their banking app or go on the website to check their statements.

You can still opt in to get paper statements but they won’t be sent out automatically any more.

Savers with certain types of accounts will be affected.

The affected accounts include Nationwide’s popular savings accounts and ISAs.

However mortgages and loans are unaffected by the change.

More banks are choosing to go paperless as they say most customers are happy to receive their statements digitally now.

Nationwide said providing digital statements is more secure and it also means you’ll get them quicker.

But moving to paperless also saves banks money in postal fees and paper.

And experts say there is a risk elderly or vulnerable customers could end up struggling to access their statements.

A Nationwide spokesperson said: “Nationwide customers can continue to have their savings statements on paper as well as online.

“However, we have stopped automatically posting paper statements on a number of accounts following customer feedback.

“For those who prefer a paper copy, these can be requested in branch or over the phone, and customers can also opt-in via the app to have their statements posted to them.”

Consumer rights expert Scott Dixon, also known as The Complaints Resolver, said the move was likely a “cost-cutting exercise”.

He said not everyone has reliable internet access and some elderly and vulnerable people don’t feel confident banking online.

“Paper statements help many people keep track of their spending, spot unusual transactions and maintain independence without having to rely on others,” he said.

“By saying paper statements are available on request, Nationwide know that many of their customers won’t bother.

“There’s a real risk that some customers will miss important information about their accounts.

“It could also make it harder to challenge errors, identify spurious payments or quickly spot fraud.”

Nationwide is not the first to axe paper statements for customers.

Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, did the same in 2023.

The change came in for customers who had online banking set up.

Meanwhile, Citibank told some of its customers they would lose access to their online accounts if they didn’t opt out of paper statements.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) previously said that people who opt for paperless statements are more likely to be disengaged from their finances.

For example, it said just 10% of digital statement PDFs were ever opened.

How to switch back to paper statements

If you want to keep receiving paper statements you’ll need to let Nationwide know.

You can do this on the Nationwide app by going to Details & Settings.

Choose Paperless Settings from the App settings menu.

Then select By Post to keep getting paper statements.

You will be asked to check your email address and confirm the terms and conditions to update your settings.

Alternatively you can change your settings over the phone or in your nearest Nationwide branch.

You can call the customer service team on 0345 730 2011.

You could also visit your local branch.

Use this tool to find your nearest one.