The building society is adding additional prize draws on 21 July and 21 October, as a result of demand for the regular savings account.

The more people that add money to their Start to Save account, the more prizes there are to be won – with the prize fund equating to 1% of the total balance increase across the accounts that meet the criteria.

What is Nationwide’s Start to Save account?

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.

Nationwide launched the account last year in response to Money & Pensions Service research that found that more than 11 million people have less than £100 in savings.

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.

January winners

Nationwide’s third Start to Save prize draw took place on Friday 22 January with 1,304 people winning £100 each. The odds of winning in this latest draw were one in 36.

Winners are currently being notified by email, with their prizes paid into their account at the start of February.

Nationwide customers are saving more

Nationwide says that of the 47,318 accounts opened by the end of April 2020, 30% (14,084) have saved at least £50 each month giving them entry into all three of the society’s Start to Save prize draws to date.

As of the end of December, more than £55m has been saved into Nationwide’s Start to Save account across 183,500 accounts. The average amount saved by those eligible for the January prize draw was £91.33 per month between October and December.

Tom Riley, Nationwide’s director of banking and savings, said: “It’s great to see that our Start to Save account continues to have a positive effect on the savings habit across the country through people starting for the first time or getting back into it. Given the ongoing popularity of the account in encouraging people to save, we have decided to offer two extra prize draws to reward those trying to build up their nest egg and continue the positive momentum that Start to Save has generated, as we continue to support the Money and Pensions Service’s financial wellbeing strategy.

“We know that Covid-19 has had a real impact on many people’s finances, but it is really encouraging that people have continued to try and save regularly where they can, with nearly a third of all accounts opened by the end of April putting away enough each month to be entered into all three prize draws to date.”