More than 12 million customers of Nationwide will each receive a payment of £50 following the takeover of Virgin Money. The Nationwide, the UK's largest building society, described the money as a "thank you" to its members,

The building society said the move, which will cost about £600 million, is to thank customers after the banking megadeal last year.

Nationwide Building Society will give each of its members £50 as part of its Big Thank You initiative. Most of the payments will be made next month. The payments are a way to show appreciation to members for their role in making the successful acquisition of Virgin Money possible.

As a result of the takeover, Nationwide will pay around 12 million customers a share of more than £600m to thank them for enabling the purchase of Virgin Money – meaning they will each receive £50.

Nationwide will give £50 to 12 million customers after the £2.8 billion Virgin Money takeover as a thank you gesture.

Catherine Kehoe, Chief Customer Officer at Nationwide, said: “Our members are at the heart of what makes Nationwide a good way to bank, so when we profit, so do they. They have helped make us even stronger and able to deliver even greater value by acquiring Virgin Money, so we wanted to share a thanks back to them all in a truly nationwide way.”