Nationwide's major move sees new cards to help customers

Speak Easy communication cards, developed by the Swindon-headquartered building society, are now being adopted by financial institutions across the UK to support customers with communication difficulties.

The cards are aimed at supporting people with communication challenges, and allow customers to point to pictures, information, and requests during in-branch interactions.

This enables them to communicate discreetly and independently when speaking may be difficult.

Nationwide Building Society has its headquarters in Swindon (Image: Newsquest)

First launched by Nationwide in 2024, the cards were quickly adopted by Virgin Money in 2025.

They are now being made available for free to the entire financial services sector through a partnership between Nationwide and Visa.

Kathryn Townsend, head of customer accessibility at Nationwide, said: "Everyone deserves to be able to communicate confidently when they access essential services.

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"By making Speak Easy a shared industry resource, we're helping more organisations provide accessible support and creating a more consistent and inclusive experience for everyone."

Major financial services providers have already signed on, including NatWest, Santander, AIB Group (UK) p.l.c., Bank of Ireland, and Skipton Building Society.

The cards are designed to assist customers with a range of tasks, including reporting a lost or stolen card, discussing savings, raising concerns about a suspected fraud or scam, or making payments.

Lucy Rigby, economic secretary to the Treasury, welcomed the scheme.

She said: "Not having adequate access to essential banking services can be debilitating and place people into vulnerable situations.

"It has been extremely positive to see industry get behind our Financial Inclusion Strategy, which is helping more people access the products, services and support they need every day.

"I would like to thank Nationwide for leading this initiative, which embodies the ambitions of our strategy by encouraging the sector to help people access essential services with greater independence and confidence."

The cards are available for free through the Signing Banks Speak Easy website.

Nationwide is now developing guidance to help organisations outside of banking adopt the scheme, with the aim of making Speak Easy a standard accessibility tool across all customer-facing sectors.

Agata Laight, head of social impact and sustainability for Europe at Visa, said: "Access to financial services is fundamental to financial wellbeing and economic inclusion.

"Speak Easy is a practical tool that can make a meaningful difference for people with communication difficulties, helping them access support more easily, independently, and with confidence."