The September Premium Bonds draw was at the new higher prize fund rate of 4.65% – the highest it has been since 1999. The odds improved from 22,000 to 1 to 21,000 to 1. With the change in odds, Premium Bonds holders have seen more than £65m added to the prize fund this month.

The first bond number drawn from September’s draw was 501CJ068508 and is held by a winner based in Norwich. The winner has a holding of £30,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning bond in May 2022. They become just the fourth winner from Norwich.

The second Premium Bonds millionaire is based in Hampshire and Isle of Wight and holds bond number 277QT743538. The winner has £30,244 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning bond in July 2016. This win makes them the 11^th millionaire from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Sally Swait, NS&I assistant retail director, said: “Congratulations to our two jackpot winners from Norwich; and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – we hope each of our winners enjoy their £1m, just in time to prepare for a cosy autumn.

“This month there are over 5.7 million winners including the two million pound jackpot winners and 90 winners who will receive £100,000.”

How do Premium Bonds work?

Premium Bonds are offered by National Savings and Investments (NS&I). Each bond costs £1 and the minimum investment is £25.

Premium Bonds customers can add to their Premium Bonds holding either for themselves or a child, via bank transfer or online.

September 2023 prize draw breakdown

In the September 2023 prize draw, a total of 5,782,602 prizes worth £470,559,225 will be paid out.

There were 121,434,640,104 bond numbers eligible for the draw. Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE has drawn 643 million prizes with a total value of £27bn.

Unclaimed prizes

Premium Bonds prize winners are notified when they win a prize, but sometimes people move or change their contact details without letting NS&I know – this can lead to unclaimed prizes if they have opted to receive their prize by cheque.

In Norwich, there are 8,749 unclaimed prizes worth £260,700. There are 10 £1,000 unclaimed prizes in Norwich, and the oldest unclaimed prize in Norwich is from the May 1969 prize draw for £25.

In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, there are 50,694 unclaimed prizes with a total value of £1,528,175. The largest unclaimed prize is £5,000 and this was from the January 2019 prize draw. The oldest unclaimed prize in Hampshire and Isle of Wight is from August 1963 for £25.

The best way for customers to ensure they receive their prizes is to have them automatically paid directly into their bank account or reinvested into more Premium Bonds.

Customers that think they may have an unclaimed Premium Bonds prize can check by using NS&I’s online prize checker or the prize checker app.

Checking prizes

Premium Bonds holders can check to see if they have won a prize in September’s prize draw from Saturday 2 September 2023. They can do this by using the nsandi.com prize checker, official prize checker app or their Alexa-enabled device.

Customers will need their Premium Bonds holder’s number to use the website and their NS&I number or holder’s number to check via the prize checker app. At the same time, they can check for any unclaimed prizes owed to them.