Nationwide Building Society has been awarded an “advanced” mental health rating by a charity founded by consumer champion Martin Lewis.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, which made the award, said Nationwide is the first building society to receive the advanced rating for its Mental Health Accessible accreditation.
The Mental Health Accessible programme works with essential services firms such as banks and energy and water providers, to help them understand the difficulties customers with mental health problems can face using their services, and how they can improve support.
The charity said the award recognises steps Nationwide has taken and progress it has made after working with Money and Mental Health to make its services more accessible.
It looked at how accessible Nationwide’s services, communications and products are for people with mental health problems, including in-depth interviews with Nationwide staff and incorporating feedback on how services could be improved.
Steps that Nationwide has taken include staff training with “lived experience” insights to highlight issues customers with mental health problems may face; simplifying the process for identifying, recording and supporting customers across a range of needs; and Nationwide’s specialist support team having the ability to refer customers to Mental Health UK, which can offer one-to-one assistance.
The advanced rating is the second of three, progressively more demanding levels of accreditation an organisation can achieve through the scheme – the first being “essentials” and the third being “leading the way”.
The programme was set up after Money and Mental Health’s research found that customers with mental health problems can struggle when engaging with essential services, which may include difficulties using the phone or “admin anxiety” which makes managing accounts challenging.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute is an independent charity set up by Mr Lewis, and has a commitment to breaking links between financial difficulties and mental health problems.
Helen Undy, chief executive of Money and Mental Health, said: “When you’re struggling with your mental health, communicating with your bank or building society can be a stressful and energy-draining experience.
“Common symptoms like feeling easily overwhelmed or having difficulty processing information can make this process feel like an uphill climb.
“But Nationwide has demonstrated that firms can take steps to recognise the challenges that customers with mental health problems may face and to adapt their support, products, communications and services accordingly.
“With one in four people experiencing a mental health problem each year, it’s vital that firms have services which are accessible and inclusive to a large proportion of their customer base.
“Money and Mental Health is keen to work with other firms across the financial services and essential services sectors to improve their services for customers with mental health problems.”
Kathryn Townsend, Nationwide’s head of customer vulnerability, said the Society is “delighted” at the award, adding: “We recognise there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to supporting customers with mental health problems.”
