Nationwide is sending a £50 payment to more than 12 million of its customers, the building society has announced.

The gesture is part of a move by Nationwide to share over £600m with its members as a “thank you” for enabling the successful purchase of Virgin Money.

Nationwide completed the acquisition of Virgin Money last year in a deal worth £2.8bn, which the society said was backed by financial strength that its members had helped build.

The payments will go to Nationwide members who had a savings or current account, or mortgage, at the end of last September.

“Nationwide became even stronger when it bought Virgin Money and we are already improving services for its customers,” said Nationwide CEO, Debbie Crosbie.

“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.”

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