Nationwide is dishing out £600million to eligible members as a 'big thank you' following its acquisition of Virgin Money last year. 

More than 12million eligible Nationwide members will receive £50 each, the building society said on Tuesday.

The payment scheme is separate to Nationwide's 2025 Fairer Share Scheme, which it said it also  'hopes to announce' in May, 'depending on financial performance.' 

The £50 payments linked to the Virgin Money acquisition will be made next month from 9 April, Nationwide said. All payments should be made by 14 May. 

How to qualify for Nationwide's £50 bonus

The 'Big Thank You' payments will be doled out to more than 12million members who had a savings or current account, or mortgage, at the end of September 2024. 

To be eligible, members must have also made at least one transaction on their current account or savings account or had at a balance of at least £100 in their current account, savings or mortgage in the 12 months to the end of September 2024. 

Nationwide added: 'They must also still have their accounts or mortgage at the time the payment is made.' 

According to Nationwide, 19.4 per cent of the payouts will be made to eligible members in the south east of England. 

Around 11.6 per cent will go to people in London, while just 2.3 per cent of the £12million will go to people in the North East, Nationwide said. 

Nationwide buoyed financially after deal 

On Tuesday, Nationwide said acquiring Virgin Money had made it 'even stronger and able to deliver the benefits of mutuality to even more people in the UK.'  

In November, Nationwide revealed a £2.3billion gain from its Virgin Money takeover. The lender previously claimed that the gain could be approximately £1.5billion.

The gain reflected the gap between Virgin Money’s value and the acquisition price of £2.9billion paid, Nationwide said.

Virgin Money bosses were due to share a £6million payout as a result of the deal, after accumulating stock through years of service at the bank. 

In November, Nationwide said it would spend 18 months studying Virgin Money's business and books before making any big changes. 

Some Nationwide members were unhappy with the plan to acquire Virgin Money and previously petitioned for a vote on whether the sale should take place. 

Nationwide maintained that it was not required to carry out a member vote on the deal. 

On Tuesday, Debbie Crosbie, chief executive of Nationwide, said: 'Nationwide became even stronger when it bought Virgin Money and we are already improving services for its customers.

'The Big Nationwide Thank You recognises the role our members played in building the financial strength that made the deal possible.

'It's another of the very real benefits of being a member of Nationwide and our modern mutual model.' 

In October, Crosbie oversaw the completion of the largest merger in the industry since the financial crisis with the £2.9billion takeover. The group pledged not to close branches for a further three years. 

In November, Nationwide unveiled record first half growth in mortgages and deposits, as well as an increase in market share.

This week, Nationwide said it was now the the country's second largest provider of mortgages and savings accounts. 

What about the Fairer Share Payments?

Nationwide has offered a £100 Fairer Share bonus to eligible customers for two consecutive years. 

This remains separate from the £50 payouts linked to the Virgin Money deal announced this week. 

Today, the lender said it hoped to announced a new Fairer Share Payment in May, but added that this was dependent on the group's financial performance. 

Since the scheme was launched in 2023, the building society has paid more than £700million to customers.

The building society has around 16million existing members, but less than four million qualified for the Fairer Share scheme payout in 2024.

To qualify for the Fairer Share payout, members typically need a qualifying active Nationwide current account, plus either a qualifying Nationwide savings account, or cash Isa - or a Nationwide mortgage.

In the last two years, to qualify for Nationwide Fairer Share payouts, customers needed to have had at least £100 in a savings account or a cash Isa 'at the end of any day in March'.

So, customers with a Nationwide current account should act now to ensure they have at least £100 in their savings account or cash Isa at some point this month. For a mortgage, there needs to be at least £100 owed on it.

The building society previously confirmed that Virgin Money's customers will not be eligible for any payment.