Nationwide’s Start to Save account launched in February with the aim of getting people to save more.

Start to Save is an online, instant access, regular savings account paying 1% AER/gross (variable), which allows a balance increase of up to £100 per month.

To be eligible for the prize draws, savers need to increase their balance in the account by between £50 and £100 in each of the three calendar months leading up to the month of the prize draw.

The first prize draw was on Tuesday 21 July, with 17,901 accounts meeting the entry criteria. This generated a total prize fund of £45,800 – equivalent to 1% of the total balance increase across all the qualifying accounts between April and June.

The winners will be notified by email this week with their prize paid into their account between 28 July and 4 August.

As of 30 June, the total number of accounts opened was 83,806 – all of which will be eligible for the second prize draw in October if those savers can increase their account balance between £50 and £100 in July, August and September.

Nationwide says the account has proved particularly popular with savers aged between 18 and 39 with more than half (52%) of Start to Save accounts opened by this age group.

Tom Riley, Nationwide’s director of banking and savings, said: “We’re delighted to be able to reward the savings habit for hundreds of our members through our first prize draw. Our aim with Start to Save is to encourage people to either rediscover the savings habit or embrace it for the first time. It is really encouraging to see more than half of accounts opened were by those aged between 18 and 39.

“As we look ahead to the next prize draw and beyond, we know many may find it difficult to put money away due to the impact of Covid-19. We’re always looking at additional ways that we can both support and encourage people to put away money regularly.”