Nationwide introduces new payment reference feature
Related: Challenging the myths and misconceptions around domestic abuse
Nationwide Building Society has introduced a new feature enabling customers to block harmful payment references, designed to safeguard abuse survivors.
This initiative aims to counter a tactic used by perpetrators who embed abusive messages within payment references to maintain unwanted contact and control.
From Thursday, customers will be able to hide these references on incoming transfers directly through the Nationwide app, giving them control over what they see.
The charity Surviving Economic Abuse estimates that 4.2 million women across the UK have endured economic abuse from a current or former partner.
Nationwide’s head of customer vulnerability and the CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse highlighted the importance of this tool in empowering survivors and urged other financial institutions to adopt similar measures.
