Thousands of Nationwide customers sent new debit cards that don't work

The affected cards were posted on Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 May, so customers would have received them about a week later. The cards sent out were replacing old ones which were due to expire at the end of June – none were replacing lost or stolen ones.

Usually you can activate new debit cards right away, but an issue at Nationwide has meant customers have been unable to use them. However, the building society says the new cards should be able to be activated next week.

If you're looking to switch bank accounts, see our Best bank accounts guide for more info.

The new debit cards will be automatically activated next week

Nationwide said the impacted cards will be activated next week, and in the meantime it is contacting affected customers. Once the cards are activated, customers will be able to use them as normal – you do not need to do anything to activate them yourself.

If you've been sent a new card that's not working, you should continue to use your old one, which should work up until its expiry date at the end of June.

If you've already thrown out your old card, you can visit a Nationwide branch to have your new card manually activated. See how to find your nearest branch.