NatWest extends repayment period for customers missing several payments on unsecured debt

NatWest is extending the repayment period for customers who have missed several payments on an unsecured debt, such as a loan or overdraft, from 18 to 24 months, from February 2023¹. The change applies across the NatWest Group, which also includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank¹.

The bank said the move followed its observation that customers were cutting back on food and fuel¹. It sits alongside other support the group has described for customers in financial difficulty, including waived fees and charges, an online cost of living hub with a spending tracker and budget calculator, and the option to book a video call with a senior personal banker¹. The group says its financial health and support services work with specialist partners including PayPlan and Citizens Advice¹.

Last year the NatWest Group contacted 2.7 million personal and business banking customers it had identified as being on the lowest incomes and spending more than 10% of their monthly incomings on energy, offering support and information about the rising cost of living¹. Customers who are worried about missing a payment, or already have, are directed to chat options in the banking app or online banking; starting the chat with the words "struggling financially" is intended to route them to the right support¹.

The group is also offering support aimed at businesses with fuel costs. Customers with business credit cards will get between 1% and 3% cashback when they spend on electric vehicle charging, starting from 14 February 2023¹. That follows a move last year to freeze all fees on business current accounts for at least a year¹.

The extension was reported as part of a wider survey of cost of living measures from UK banks, which also covered Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Monzo, Nationwide, Santander and Starling¹. An estimated 2.3 million households missed or defaulted on at least one bill payment in January 2023, whether for a mortgage, loan, credit card, rent or other household bill, according to the Which? Consumer Insight Tracker¹.

Why it matters for households

That is a longer window, which means the amount added to each payment to clear the missed amounts is spread over more instalments than before. The change applies to unsecured borrowing such as loans and overdrafts, not to mortgages¹.

The group's own figures indicate the scale of the pressure it is responding to: 2.7 million personal and business customers were contacted after being identified as being on the lowest incomes and spending more than a tenth of their monthly incomings on energy¹. Separately, 2.3 million households across the UK missed or defaulted on at least one bill payment in January 2023¹.

The business credit card cashback on electric vehicle charging runs from 14 February 2023, at between 1% and 3%¹. The report does not state an end date for that cashback, and no end date for the extended repayment period has been reported¹.

What happens next

The extended repayment period took effect in February 2023¹. The business credit card cashback on electric vehicle charging starts on 14 February 2023¹. No further dates for either measure have been reported¹.

Households dealing with unsecured debt can read our guides to debt and to what to do if you can't repay a loan, or, for overdrafts specifically, struggling to repay an overdraft. Details of the provider are in our NatWest page.