Graham Beale, Chief Executive, Nationwide Building Society said:

"We welcome the speech made today by the Chancellor, George Osborne in which he recognises the role that technology can play in the financial services sector and that Britain can lead the world in becoming the global centre of innovation. We entirely agree.

"While technology not only has the ability to revolutionise the way we bank, it also has the potential to improve customer service and trust in financial services. At Nationwide we are investing heavily to respond to changing consumer behaviour, driven by the digital evolution, to ensure that we meet the needs of our members on their terms, not ours. While not losing sight of the important role of the high street branch, in which we will also continue to invest in coming years, we are harnessing new technology that helps our members manage their money on the go. At the same time, we will continue to provide the human touch that people have come to know, trust and expect from the nation's biggest building society."

At Nationwide over a quarter of a billion member interactions are now through digital channels and our members are much more likely to interact with the Society through our online bank than in branch.

Nationwide has a long history in innovating to respond to the needs of its members. Earlier this year Nationwide launched the first 24/7 Twitter account to answer customer questions and help resolve problems day and night. In November 2013 the Society became, in conjunction with Visa, the first organisation in the UK to offer V.me, a new digital wallet designed to make online shopping more convenient and secure. In 2012 the Society launched its mobile banking app which currently has 4.5 stars in the Apple App Store and in 1998 we were the first to trial retina scanning for access to accounts. We were the first to launch an internet bank in the UK in 1997 and in 1995 we were one of the first to launch an internet site.

Technol Technology such as Nationwide Now reflects how financial innovations can benefit customer service and consumer choice. Launched earlier this year, Nationwide Now uses a fast, high quality video line for customers to interact with a mortgage advisor based at a central location. The entire application process takes place during the meeting so there is no need to stop, send documents via post and then pick up again once they have been received. All the paperwork is printed remotely in the meeting. Customers can now make a mortgage appointment quicker than before, enhancing customer service and boosting our branch capacity by expanding access to our mortgage experts. In some cases Nationwide Now has tripled our number of mortgage completions, while breathing new life into some branches which had seen as downturn in the number of customers.

This has achieved a 100% satisfaction score amongst our customers showing not only that the technology works, but that it really works for the customer. Building on our already market leading levels of customer service, meaning that Nationwide has some of the most satisfied customers on the high street.

Nationwide will also invest £300 million in our branch network, introducing new formats, digitally-enabled features and branch locations to reflect evolving customer behaviours and needs where they can have better more focused interactions with our experts.