• Swindon & Wiltshire Social
• Wednesday August 12 2026

Nationwide leads industry-wide effort to improve accessibility for people with communication difficulties

Building society Nationwide is making its Speak Easy communication cards freely available to all financial services providers across the UK, helping create a more consistent and accessible experience for customers who may have communication difficulties.

Launched in 2024 in an industry first, Speak Easy cards were developed by Nationwide colleagues and people with lived experience of communication difficulties – to enable customers to communicate their needs in branch quickly and discreetly during face-to-face interactions, supporting greater independence and accessibility.

The cards were subsequently adopted by Virgin Money in 2025.

It forms part of the Swindon-headquartered building society’s commitment to fairer banking, ensuring customers can access services in the way that works best for them.

The simple set of cards, allow customers to point to information, pictures, questions or requests when speaking may be difficult, helping them get the support they need when accessing essential services such as savings, payments, reporting a lost or stolen card, or raising concerns about a suspected fraud or scam.

To improve accessibility across the sector and provide greater consistency for customers, Nationwide and Visa have made Speak Easy available as a free, open resource for the wider financial services industry.

Major financial services brands already signed up include Virgin Money, NatWest, Santander, AIB Group, Bank of Ireland and Skipton Building Society.

Access to the free Speak Easy cards is available via the Signing Banks Speak Easy website, where users can also find information on the banks, building societies and other brands that have adopted the tool.

Looking ahead, the UK’s largest building society is developing guidance to help organisations beyond banking implement the free Speak Easy cards, with the aim of creating a recognised and consistent accessibility tool for all customer-facing sectors to use.

The Rt Hon Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, 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.”

Kathryn Townsend, Head of Customer Accessibility at Nationwide, said: ‘Everyone deserves to be able to communicate confidently when they access essential services.

“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.’

Agata Laight, Head of Social Impact & Sustainability, Europe, 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.

“Through the Towns Partnership, we’re proud to work with Nationwide to make Speak Easy available more widely and support a more inclusive approach across the financial services sector in the UK.”