A MAJOR building society has confirmed it is axing passbooks in just a few months – with 120,000 customers set to be affected.
Nationwide said passbooks in their current form will be axed starting from February 2025.
The company said it wants to “modernise” passbooks next year, with the process expected to take seven months.
Although passbooks may seem mystical to younger generations, they were the original way account holders used to keep track of their savings.
Customers with passbook savings accounts receive a physical notebook allowing them to record deposits and withdrawals.
The books physically hold all details of all transactions in an account so you can see them all at a glance.
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They also come in particularly useful if you are trying to limit compulsive spending as there are a lot more steps to take with each transaction.
But with the move to digital banking, many banks such as Santander and Barclays have decided to scrap passbook savings accounts which are no longer available to new customers.
Nationwide has already stopped offering new passbook accounts and has now confirmed that more changes are on the way.
The building society says passbooks are only used by 2% of its 16 million customers – around 120,000 people – who will be offered a “savings wallet” as an alternative.
The wallet will contain a card that can only be used in a Nationwide branch.
Within the wallet, there will also be a space for printed “mini-statements” which customers will receive when they deposit or withdraw money at a branch.
This will still allow customers to keep a record of their transactions within the wallet, but it will no longer be in a book format once the old passbooks are phased out.
Customers can choose whether they want a savings wallet or not.
But whatever they choose, they won’t be able to use their passbooks past the start of February 2025.
Customers will still have access to their passbook account as it won’t be closed once the change comes into force, the company said.
Nationwide will inform its customers of the upcoming shake-up, confirming that old passbooks will be replaced by a new statement-based version, from the end of this month.
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THERE are a few ways to cut overdraft costs, and which suits you will depend on your situation. Here are a few options advised by MoneySavingExpert:
Spend less each month – do a proper budget and have a look at what you’re spending on.
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Move your bills – this can be dangerous if you’re not disciplined, but if you move your bills to just before payday rather than just after, many will be in credit (or less in the red) for less of the month, meaning you’re charged less for the overdraft. But – remember those bills are coming out, so don’t treat it like you’ve extra money to spend.
Move bank account – there are plenty to choose from and you can end up saving money.
Shift your overdraft on to a money transfer card – and don’t build it back up again.
Try setting up “pots” – sort your cash at the start of each month, so you have a bills pot, a spending pot etc. Use this technique to make payments to your overdraft, eg £100 a month, treating it like any other bill.
Seek advice – If you’re confused then seek expert financial advice. Citizens Advice, StepChange or The Money Advice Trust will all help you for free.
It is understood the company will be also taking on temporary staff to help with the transition from the old passbooks to the new savings wallets.
Elderly customers who have their pensions paid into their passbooks and vulnerable customers are likely to be affected as they usually rely on paper and branches rather than online banking.
But the building society said once the change comes into force, staff in branch will be available to support vulnerable customers over the seven months.
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.”
The announcement comes just weeks after First Direct, a subsidiary of HSBC, announced it is scrapping its text message banking service after 25 years.
This means thousands of customers will no longer be able to receive text notifications about their current account balance.
They will also stop receiving “mini-statements” via SMS, which include your balance and the five most recent transactions.
The service will cease for good on Saturday, August 10.
The bank, which operates without any physical branches, is asking customers to use its online and telephone banking services instead.
Earlier this year, Virgin Money also confirmed it would be axing its passbooks.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “Passbooks are a small part of our overall savings book. In total, we’ve got two million savings accounts and passbook accounts make up around 5% of that total.
“As there are now more secure and convenient ways for customers to manage their money (including offline/in store options), passbook accounts have not been available to open for a number of years and, due to the relatively small volumes of them, we’re in the process of removing them from our range.”
If you are interested in passbook savings accounts, some smaller building societies have pledged to still keep them available such as Leeds building society and Newcastle building society.
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