New Nationwide charges.

[BaaBaa.]

Nationwide has announced it will axe fee-free use of debit cards abroad - one of the most popular benefits of its current account.

The country's biggest building society will charge both 2% commission and a £1 cash withdrawal fee on foreign transactions for its FlexAccount from 1 November 2010.

Previously all transactions within the European carried no charges and had no commission loaded against them.

This fee-free perk was also previously the case on all foreign transactions, until Nationwide scrapped this in March last year when it introduced a charge outside Europe – blaming this on a 1% charge Visa levied on transactions.

It has now completely abandoned the strategy of free overseas card use that it has previously promoted and that has led to its current account being heavily recommended, including on This is Money.

Nationwide will remove the outside Europe distinction from 1 November and levy a 2% commission charge on all transactions throughout the world, plus £1 for each cash machine withdrawal.

The building society says it will instead reward loyal members by giving those who use their Nationwide FlexAccount as their main current account free travel insurance.

For it to be judged as their main current account, customers must pay in at least £750 per month, either their salary or from a non-Nationwide account.

The building society claims its travel insurance is worth up to £80 for a couple with a joint account, compared to the average £24 a couple would save on foreign transaction fees in a year.

However, the move is likely to lead to an angry backlash from Nationwide members who see the free card use abroad as one their accounts' major perks. Nationwide's credit card will continue to have free use in Europe and a 1% charge elsewhere, but charges interest instantly on cash withdrawals and a fee for taking out cash.

The new current account loading commission is still lower than the 2.75% charged by most of Nationwide's rivals, but the £1 cash withdrawal fee is potentially higher than the 2% charged by many rivals if customers take out less than the equivalent of £100.

Info HERE and HERE.

A 10'000 baht withdrawal with the current rates and the 150 baht Thai bank charge is going to cost £8.

[chopsticks]

This article explains further and suggests alternatives :

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/t ... -customers

[BaaBaa.]

This is a guillotine through the neck of Nationwide’s reputation as a cheap account for overseas spending. Credit card loading is a nasty hidden fee Nationwide has bitched about other banks levying, yet from November, it's doing it too.

It’s not an error by Nationwide, the building society is actually trying to kick nearly a million customers out of the door. That’s because out of its 3 million+ account holders, 1.4 million use the debit card overseas and 900,000 of those use the account ONLY for that and nothing else – and that costs. So Nationwide want them gone to ensure it’s focusing on people using their account ‘properly’, as it sees it.

I'd imagine that sums a few of us up.

I'll be looking for alternatives.

[lomuamart]

I suppose it was always going to happen. Nationwide are a bank and therefore their customers have to pay for the priviledge of withdrawing their own money from the vault that is making the bank money through useless interest rates. It's usery, pure and simple.
Unfortunately, I'm with Barclays so I guess I'm sort of used to these charges after quite a number of years.
If the rate here is 50THB for a GBP, I calculate on about 46 because that's all I'll get when the transaction is done and dusted.
They're thieves, all of them.

[hhfarang]

They're thieves, all of them.

And yet when they mishandle their lending so badly that they are about to go belly up our governments rush to bail out the big ones with tax payer money!

[MrPlum]

They're thieves, all of them.

And yet when they mishandle their lending so badly that they are about to go belly up our governments rush to bail out the big ones with tax payer money!

What's shocking is that only 5 banks are responsible for all the derivatives gambling that took place. They should have been allowed to crash and burn. Instead Goldman Sux executed a coup and put hanky panky Paulson in place to stiff the sheeple for trillions. Watch for the next round of 'quantitive easing' otherwise known as sheep-shearing.

[JimmyGreaves]

If anyone finds a better deal than the Nationwide card can they please post here?

At the moment when the change takes place on 1/11/2010 it looks like the Nationwide may still slightly be the best.

[BaaBaa.]

If anyone finds a better deal than the Nationwide card can they please post here?

At the moment when the change takes place on 1/11/2010 it looks like the Nationwide may still slightly be the best.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity.asp

[JimmyGreaves]

If anyone finds a better deal than the Nationwide card can they please post here?

At the moment when the change takes place on 1/11/2010 it looks like the Nationwide may still slightly be the best.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity.asp

So a 10,000 baht withdrawal works out how much cheaper with this card BaaBaa?

The halifax are normally renowned for giving a terrible exchange rate overseas

[BaaBaa.]

If anyone finds a better deal than the Nationwide card can they please post here?

At the moment when the change takes place on 1/11/2010 it looks like the Nationwide may still slightly be the best.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity.asp

So a 10,000 baht withdrawal works out how much cheaper with this card BaaBaa?

The halifax are normally renowned for giving a terrible exchange rate overseas

It's 1% so would cost about £2 at the moment as long as the balance is payed off in full at the end of the month.

I don't have one but am looking for alternatives to Nationwide now, I presumed the exchange rate would be the same as any other card???

The money saving website site says it's the best way of withdrawing cash abroad.

The Clarity card from Halifax has no foreign exchange fee anywhere in the world, so you can get the best rate possible. Plus it doesn't charge for cash withdrawals, although you will be charged interest even if you repay in full.

The rate for cash withdrawals is a fairly low 12.9% APR (this rate is 'typical' which means two thirds of those that are accepted will get it, the rest will be charged up to 21.9%). This works out as around £1 per month for every £100 withdrawn

[sargeant]

As i understand it as a customer of the nationwide i am also a share holder and as far as i am aware it is still a building society.

when i joined in 2007 i was surprised to get a voter form (my sister voted for me on whatever it was about)
any chance the share holders might outvote it

[TimandT]

The country's biggest building society will charge both 2% commission and a £1 cash withdrawal fee on foreign transactions for its FlexAccount from 1 November 2010.

A 10'000 baht withdrawal with the current rates and the 150 baht Thai bank charge is going to cost £8.

Just to remind you all these charges are now in place

[paulsimkiss]

Banks are like any business. They make offers to get customers. Then they change the product. A bit like Ryanair, no card charge when booking a flight if you have an Afganistan pre paid debit card.

[littlebird]

I have used Nationwide for a long time. True, charges apply to use of debit cards abroad, bringing them into line with other banks.
I have consistently found them good in matters pertaining to the fact that I am abroad most of the time. As with all UK banks you need a Uk address to open an account but I use a 'residential address' in the UK. not my Thai address. As long as this is not done for fraudulent intent it is ok.
Note that they will not send replacement cards to Thailand addresses as they regard the Thai postal service is having insufficient safeguards in terms of security (whatever gave then that idea!!!)

[benmo]

Norwich and Peterborough BS introduced a new current account on 1/1/11 with no charges on their debit card using the unloaded Visa rate. This is just the same as the original Nationwide offering.Check it out. I will be changing when I return to UK