A building society has topped the charts for the first time in a long-running customer satisfaction index.

Nationwide Building Society was named in the research as the top brand for customer service, according to the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), receiving a score of 87.3 out of 100. It came in fourth place last year. 

In November 2025, Nationwide pledged to keep all its branches open until at least 2030. It said in November that it has seen a particular increase in account openings in locations where it is the last branch in town. 

Nationwide has also paid qualifying members £100 in each of the past four years as part of its Fairer Share scheme. 

This year, it paid out around £440million to around 4.4million eligible Nationwide members. 

Dame Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide's chief executive, told This is Money: 'This is an amazing achievement that reflects the trust our customers place in us and the consistent support our colleagues provide every day. 

'As a mutual, we put our members first, whether that’s by keeping every branch open, providing real choice in how people bank with us, or returning great value through our products and services.'  

John Lewis and First Direct also score highly

John Lewis came second in the latest customer satisfaction rankings, securing a score of 87.1. 

First Direct came in third with a score of 86.0, down from first place last year.

The most improved brands were found to be Ovo Energy, Northumbrian Water and Land Rover. 

Usually, the rankings in the UKCSI, launched in 2008, are topped by businesses within the retail sector, with banks and building societies placing lower down. 

The Institute of Customer Service said banks and building societies had overtaken retail as the highest-performing sector for customer service, surpassing it for the first time since the UKCSI started.

As a sector, banks and building societies received a score of 82.0 out of 100.

Nationwide's decision to keep its branches open and make Fairer Share payments to distribute some of its profits has proved popular.

But not everything has been plain sailing for Nationwide. In 2024 defended a decision not to give its millions of members a say on its takeover of Virgin Money, which some were not happy with. Nationwide said it was not required to get approval from members.

It later made special payments of £50 each to Nationwide members as a thank you for the takeover. 

The 'Big Nationwide Thank You' payments of £50 went to 12million members, handing back £600million.

Non-food retail scored 81.0 and food retail scored 80.6.

The UKCSI tracks 13 sectors across the UK economy, all of which saw an increase in customer satisfaction compared with last year. 

As part of the research, customers were asked to rate their experience of dealing with specific organisations in the previous three months. They rated one firm that they had dealt with in a particular sector.

The Institute of Customer Service attributed the improvement for the banks and building societies sector to the growing emphasis placed on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention by the best-performing banks and building societies in recent years. 

It said this has been driven by investment in training and technology, higher competition and the customer outcome-focused Consumer Duty standard.

The Consumer Duty, which is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), was launched in 2023 and set higher standards for financial services customers.

It requires firms to put customers at the heart of what they do, including, for instance, when designing products, communicating and considering whether customers are in a vulnerable situation, due to poor health or financial difficulties. 

An FCA spokesperson said: 'We're pleased to see the Consumer Duty continues to have a positive impact, helping to build the confidence and trust people need to navigate their financial lives.

'Better satisfaction is better for business, and we'll keep working with firms to help them to deliver positive outcomes for customers.'

Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said: 'Customer satisfaction with banks and building societies has been improving steadily for some time now, in what has been a long-term turnaround for an industry whose reputation was severely damaged with the financial crisis. 

'The sector has led the way in app development, with many providers now offering an excellent digital experience for routine transactional elements combined with well-trained, motivated and empowered employees for more complex requirements. Regaining trust has been paramount.'

The index also found that since January, the proportion of people who feel better off compared with a year ago has fallen from 38 per cent to 35 per cent.