Nationwide is continuing to test its mobile app and is still in the process of building an Open Banking-powered switching tool.

In May last year, Nationwide was given a £50 million grant from the RBS bailout fund to help the building society move into business making, matching its own £50m funding commitment.

The lender has now said that the “timeframes for bringing elements of our proposition to market will extend” and that the business account will be released later this year than originally planned.

Nationwide issued a statement which said: “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. Our commitment to value and service and to a long-term impact on the market are unchanged.”

The building society said that it has developed “a new, dedicated mobile business banking app which allows eligible customers to open a business current account within minutes through a seamless, digital onboarding journey. We continue to test and refine the experience to maximise usability and to deliver a best-in-class customer experience”.

Nationwide has estimated that the Open Banking-powered switching support and mobile app will be available in the final quarter of 2020.