Nationwide has launched a feature allowing customers to hide abusive payment references on incoming bank transfers from Thursday, becoming the first major UK high street lender to introduce controls aimed at tackling economic abuse through banking systems.

The building society said current and former partners have used payment references attached to bank transfers to send threatening or manipulative messages, often linked to maintenance or child support payments. Recipients have previously been unable to block such messages without stopping payments altogether.

Kathryn Townsend, head of customer vulnerability at Nationwide Building Society, said: “Domestic abuse doesn’t stop and start at physical harm. It can reach into everyday systems, including banking.” She added that the “hide reference” feature “puts control back with the customer, where it belongs”.

The Financial Times reported that some abusers split payments into multiple smaller transfers carrying separate references to prolong harassment. The feature allows customers to continue receiving payments while muting the accompanying text attached to transactions.

According to Surviving Economic Abuse, one in six women in the UK has experienced economic abuse from a current or former partner, while more recent figures cited by the charity estimate around 4.2 million women have been affected. Economic abuse was formally recognised under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and can include controlling finances, access to work, transport or technology.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of Surviving Economic Abuse, said: “For far too long, domestic abusers have exploited everyday banking tools, like payment references, to harass and control survivors even after separation.” She urged other banks to follow Nationwide by “closing down loopholes for abusers”.

The feature expands a broader programme introduced by Nationwide to address domestic abuse. The lender said its specialist support team assisted 312 customers in 2025, compared with 213 the previous year, while “safe spaces” offering support services have been established across 430 branches.

Nationwide introduced a warning process last year enabling banks and building societies to co-operate in identifying serial abusers who misuse payment references to maintain unwanted contact. The lender said it is exploring whether the new muting function could also be extended to customers of Virgin Money in future.

Digital challenger bank Starling Bank introduced a similar payment reference blocking tool in 2023. The following year, UK Finance called on banks and building societies to develop systems allowing customers to control how payment references are displayed.

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