Nationwide has delayed the launch of its business banking services as it continues to develop its mobile app and Open Banking account switching service.

The building society is using £50 million granted by the Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) Competition and Innovation Fund, matched by £50 million of its own funding, to overhaul its business banking offer and help inject more competition into the market.

In a statement, Nationwide explained that “our progress in bringing this account to market gas been slower than expected”, adding: “Our commitment to bring the fairness and value of mutuality to the SME banking market, particularly smaller businesses is unchanged, but experience in 2019 has led us to re-assess the rate at which this can be achieved.”

Nationwide announced last year it was taking a stake in 10x Future Technologies, a FinTech firm founded by Antony Jenkins, former Barclays chief executive, to help build its tech platforms.

The mutual said timeframes for launching certain services will now extend. Nationwide’s business banking mobile app is aimed at helping customers to open a business current account within minutes with a digital onboarding journey.

“Our immediate focus remains on developing our business current account, but we have realised that it will take us longer than initially expected to build the leading proposition that we want to deliver,” read the statement. “This, in turn, is likely to have knock-on implications to the delivery timeframes for other elements of our proposition.”

Nationwide explained that work continues to develop its Open Banking-powered switching support and personal switching assistance. Its estimates now suggested that these services will be available in the final quarter of 2020.

Last year, the society pledged to invest £4.1 billion in technology transformation over next five years, along with pumping £3 million into a competition to encourage FinTech startups to develop Open Banking apps for consumers facing financial challenges.

Last week, Metro Bank said delays its own development of business banking services had prompted it to submit a revised business case to BCR and return £50 million of the original £120 million grant it was awarded.

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