The account includes prize draws to reward members for saving regularly with each person in with a chance to win £250. Two further prize draws are planned for customers.
There were 917 winners in the first prize draw for Nationwide’s Start to Save (Issue 2) account, with a total prize fund of £229,250 given out.
Almost 32,000 savers qualified for the prize draw as they saved between £25 and £50 in each of the six months between August 2022 and January 2023.
This means there was a one in 34 chance of a person winning the £250 in the first prize draw.
Winners will be notified from February 28 with the £250 prize to be paid into their Start to Save account from March 1.
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To be eligible to open an account, a person must be aged 16 or over, a UK resident and be registered for the Internet Bank and have a valid email address.
They will need to be able to open and manage the account online and have another account in their name, that can be used to receive transfers from the account.
After the 24 months end, the funds from the account will be moved to an instant access savings account with a lower interest rate.
Nationwide will contact a person who is coming to the end of the account’s term to discuss what to do next with their savings.
Many savers have been enjoying a better rate on their savings accounts as the base interest rate has continually increased over the past year, with many providers passing on the increased rates.
The base rate, which is set by the Bank of England, is currently at four percent with some analysts predicting it could rise further while others think it has peaked.
Victoria Clarke, UK chief economist at Santander’s corporate and investment banking arm, said she expects the base rate will not fall throughout this year.
She commented: “Concerns over sticky underlying inflation will likely force the Bank of England to hold policy at these restrictive levels this year, we think. We do not expect cuts in the base rate until 2024.”
