Nationwide introduces payment queueing system after surge on first working day of 2025

Nationwide Building Society introduced a queueing system for payments on Tuesday 4 January 2025 after a surge in transactions on the first working day of the year, according to Which?¹. Around 20,000 customers' direct debits failed as a result, and the building society has paid £60 in compensation to customers affected by the issues on that date¹.

The 4 January queueing followed two earlier incidents. Customers reported waiting for wages on 22 December, and Nationwide experienced a similar issue on 31 December¹. A further technical issue in February caused a delay to faster payments, which were temporarily queued again; on 28 February Nationwide apologised after customers were hit by a technical glitch¹. Which? reports that the building society has had four faster payment problems in recent months¹.

Nationwide said the compensation related only to customers affected on 4 January, not the two December incidents¹. It said it had contacted and compensated the affected customers¹.

On the February issue, Nationwide said Bacs payments were unaffected, meaning direct debits and standing orders were not impacted, and that cards, internet banking and ATM cash withdrawals continued to work¹. A spokeswoman said: "No member will be left out of pocket as a result of this issue and all associated Nationwide fees and charges will be refunded"¹. In December the building society said normal services resumed as "quickly as possible" and that specialist teams were in place to ensure no members would be left out of pocket¹. It also said: "In 2018, we began a multi-billion-pound investment in our technology and systems leading to even greater reliability and functionality for the direct benefit of our members"¹.

Why it matters for households

The failures affected people's ability to receive and make payments at short notice. Customers reported waiting for wages days before Christmas on 22 December, and others complained when direct debits bounced¹. Some customers said the issues caused fees from bounced direct debit payments and were worried a missed payment would affect their credit score¹. One customer, Kathleen Reid, told Which? in December she was forced to cancel services and was left with no cash to buy food¹.

The £60 compensation applies to customers affected on 4 January, when around 20,000 direct debits failed¹. Nationwide said this compensation was not available for the two December incidents¹. Customers who believe they lost out can raise a complaint with Nationwide, and if unhappy with the response, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service¹. The FOS says losses incurred in a bank's IT outage can be claimed, but success depends on individual circumstances¹. Our guides on compensation when your bank's systems go down and when a payment goes wrong set out the general position, and Direct Debits and standing orders explains how each works.

What happens next

Nationwide has said any member who experienced additional issues as a result of recent payment delays can contact it to discuss their circumstances¹. No further dated steps have been reported.