According to Gocompare.com 31.3m British adults have coins stashed in a jar while just 21.6m regularly save money into a bank  account.

The average penny jar contains £40.80, though 22 per cent are worth more than £50 and 9 per cent are storing over £100. 

Claire Peate, customer insight manager at Gocompare.com, said: “Anyone who regularly empties their pockets or purse of change into a coin jar will be surprised just how fast it adds up. As our survey shows, it’s not uncommon for people to have a significant sum of money stashed away – nearly one in 10 penny jar savers have over £100.”

More than half of Brits have a penny jar because they think it’s a good way to save, while just under half simply don’t like carrying around loose change. More than 10 per cent said that it was waste of time to put the money into a traditional savings account because of low interest rates.

Peate concluded: “While coin jars are a quick and easy way to save loose coins they could be costing you money in lost interest. If you find you are regularly building up a significant sum and not missing the funds, it could be worth setting up a direct debit into a savings account or NISA and stepping up your savings effort.”