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New Nationwide easy access account pays 1% interest and offers £100 cash prizes
Nationwide has launched a new savings account that gives regular savers the chance to win cash prizes.
The ‘Start to Save’ account is aimed at people who “have fallen out of the savings habit” or who “struggle to save on a regular basis”.
The account pays 1% interest and offers customers the chance to win £100 through regular prize draws.
Figures show more than 11 million people across the UK have less than £100 in savings.
‘Start to Save’ is an online, instant access account available to savers in England, Scotland and Wales.
It can be opened via Nationwide’s website or its mobile app with a minimum of 1p up to a maximum of £100 a month.
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To be eligible for the prize draw, savers need to pay in at least £50 in each of the three calendar months leading up to the month of the prize draw.
The four prize draws will take place on 21 July 2020, 21 October 2020, 22 January 2021 and 23 April 2021.
Each draw will offer prizes of £100, with the total prize fund for each draw set at 1% of the total balance increase across all qualifying ‘Start to Save’ accounts in the lead up to the draw.
For example, if 50,000 people all paid £150 into their accounts between April and June, the total prize draw for July would be £75,000 equating to 750 chances to win £100.
So, the more people save, the bigger the prize fund and the more prizes on offer.
Tom Riley, director of savings at Nationwide, said: “By launching Start to Save, we are offering an account for savers to build their nest egg while rewarding those people who are either discovering or rediscovering a savings habit with a prize draw.
“Our experience tells us that rates are not the primary reason why young people and families aren’t saving. That is why Start to Save is aimed at those struggling to build a savings buffer of any sort. And even without a prize draw win, £50 per month saved over the two-year period would certainly be a good financial buffer to fall back on.”
‘Start to Save’ is not available in Northern Ireland due to the way prize draws are regulated there.