Millions of Nationwide customers with savings accounts will be affected by changes coming into force from February. The building society is cutting the interest rate on dozens of its accounts, meaning customers’ savings will grow at a slower rate.
It serves as a warning to those who have substantial sums in their savings accounts, from £1,000 upwards. Nationwide will slash rates by between 0.10% and 0.16% on 89 of its variable rate easy and instant access savings and cash ISA products.
Rates will also be cut on another 55 non-ISA savings accounts, with the majority affected being easy access. This means accounts where savers can withdraw their money if they choose to rather than locking it away.
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Many accounts with interest rates of around 2.05% will be reduced to around 1.80% from February, the Mirror reports. This may be enough to prompt savers to shop around for better offers. Money experts have encouraged savers to search for the best interest rates as millions lose out on free money every year.
There are plenty of competitive rates out there, including from online banks, and some allow customers to access their money. Tom Riley, Nationwide’s director of retail products, said: “We have worked hard to limit the impact of the recent rate cut on our savers and have taken the decision to hold rates on some of our most popular accounts, such as our leading Flex Regular Saver.
“Following these changes, our savings range will remain competitive. We returned a record £950million in member financial benefit in the first half of this year and we’ll continue to give savers every reason to put their money with Nationwide.”