Nationwide has become the first high street bank to let customers hide abusive payment references sent through its app, in a move aimed at protecting survivors of economic abuse.
The building society’s new in-app feature allows customers to conceal incoming payment references at their own discretion, removing a tool commonly used by perpetrators to harass or control victims through the banking system.
Nationwide said it was also exploring extending the functionality to Virgin Money – owned by Nationwide – customers.
The launch follows the introduction in April 2025 of a three-stage warning letter process under the Faster Payments Service framework, which allows banks to alert each other when harmful messages are reported. Nationwide has added a further escalation process that can result in account closure for repeat offenders.
Early results suggest the warning letter approach is working, with a number of cases seeing abusive behaviour stop and payment references amended after the first letter was sent.
Surviving Economic Abuse estimates around 4.2 million women in the UK — roughly one in six — have experienced economic abuse at the hands of a current or former partner.
Kathryn Townsend, Head of Customer Vulnerability at Nationwide: “Domestic abuse doesn’t stop and start at physical harm, it can reach into everyday systems, including banking.
“When applied, the hide reference feature puts control back with the customer, where it belongs.
“We urge anyone affected by domestic or economic abuse to seek support by visiting nationwide.co.uk/support, speaking to a colleague in branch, over the phone or online, or by visiting one of our Safe Spaces across our Nationwide branches or Surviving Economic Abuse’s website.”
The scale of the problem is reflected in Nationwide’s own figures. Its Specialist Support team, trained to identify customers showing signs of abuse, assisted 312 customers in 2025, up from 213 in the preceding nine months.
Sam Smethers, CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, said: “For far too long, domestic abusers have exploited everyday banking tools, like payment references, to harass and control survivors even after separation.
“No one should feel scared when accessing their own money. We’re proud to have worked with Nationwide to co-develop this tool alongside survivors, giving them greater control by empowering them to hide abusive payment references.
“Crucially, Nationwide is the first UK building society to take decisive action against perpetrators, making it clear there are consequences for economic abuse, including debanking repeat offenders.
“We urge other firms to follow suit, by closing down loopholes for abusers and making sure survivor safety is at the heart of every product and service.”
The new feature forms part of a broader package of measures, including Safe Spaces in all 430 Nationwide branches and admin centres — private areas offering access to specialist support services — and a referral partnership with domestic abuse charity Refuge, which has seen 56 referrals made since June 2025.
Ross Chalmers is a journalist focusing on local Edinburgh news, transport, the environment, the arts, and housing.
He graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in journalism in Summer 2025 and began working at Deadline News as a reporter in August.
