Thousands of payment references hidden since launch of feature to combat abuse

More than 38,000 payment references have been hidden by the customers of Nationwide Building Society since the launch of an app feature which can support people experiencing domestic and economic abuse.Since May, Nationwide customers have been able to hide payment references from specific senders while continuing to receive the payments.Payment references can be exploited by abusers to send threatening, harassing or coercive messages, such as words or locations intended to cause distress, including when other forms of contact have been blocked.In September, Nationwide also launched “online safe spaces” to give people discreet digital access to specialist domestic and economic abuse information and support.In the first month, it received 2,893 visits, with 645 progressing to information on how to contact Nationwide for further help.Economic abuse can happen as part of domestic abuse and may involve someone controlling another person’s access to their money, or pushing them into debt, or making it difficult for them to get a job.