Nationwide has launched a free credit score service designed to make it easier for customers to understand their credit position and make more informed financial decisions.
Available through Nationwide’s online banking service and mobile app, the new credit score widget gives customers easy and secure access to their credit rating without affecting their score.
The initiative forms part of the building society’s wider focus on improving financial confidence and wellbeing, amid evidence that many consumers still struggle to understand how credit scores work.
Research from the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives 2024 survey found that just 39% of people who had checked their credit report or score said they understood it very well, while 9% said they did not understand it very well or at all.
The most common reason for checking was to gain an overall picture of personal finances, cited by 66% of respondents, followed by curiosity at 41%. One in five (20%) checked their score to assess their eligibility for credit.
Nationwide’s service aims to tackle this knowledge gap by not only displaying a customer’s score, but also showing the factors that influence it. This is intended to help users better understand how their financial behaviour can affect access to borrowing and other important financial decisions.
David Gordon, Chief Product Owner at Nationwide, said: “We know that for some people credit scores are notoriously difficult to understand and we want to help with that.”
He added that the service has been designed to help customers “build financial confidence, improve their financial wellbeing and make more informed decisions about their money.”
Nationwide plans to expand the facility with educational resources covering areas including borrowing, saving and managing money, as well as guidance to help customers improve their credit scores.
The building society will also use customer research and feedback to develop the service further, with particular attention being paid to the needs of vulnerable customers.
For financial services professionals, the initiative also highlights the wider importance of giving consumers clear, accessible information about their financial profiles. Better financial understanding can help customers make more informed decisions when considering credit and potentially recognise when financial offers or approaches do not align with their circumstances.
Image credit: Nationwide
