Nationwide change to impact millions of bank accounts from within weeks

Millions are set to be affected as Nationwide Building Society is set to implement a substantial change, with interest rates on almost 90 savings accounts being reduced from February 1. The building society has announced a cut in rates of between 0.10% to 0.16% for 89 of its variable rate easy access and instant access savings, along with cash ISA products commencing the following month.

Nationwide, who has more than 17 million customers, is poised to lower the interest rate on 55 non-ISA savings accounts. Most consumers will see changes in easy access accounts which permit penalty-free withdrawals at any time, though some might experience a temporary rate decrease upon withdrawal.

Notably, a number of accounts currently offering interest rates near 2.05% will encounter reductions to roughly 1.80% come February. This applies to the building society's Branch Easy Access, Cashbuilder Book, Cashbuilder Card, and Direct Easy Access accounts.

Meanwhile, other products like Nationwide's 1 Year Triple Access Online Saver and various "Smart" accounts will see smaller cuts ranging from 0.10% to 0.25%.

There's also positive news for holders of Nationwide's Branch Single Access account, as it's poised for an interest rate hike—soaring by 0.75% from 2.8% to an impressive 3.55% starting next month, reports the Mirror.

Nationwide is set to reduce interest rates on 34 ISAs, with the majority of its variable cash ISAs seeing a 0.25% rate cut. This will affect the building society's held ISAs including the Branch Easy Access ISA and various "Easy" ISAs (Easy Access, Easy Cash, Easy Saver, e-ISA), as well as the Direct Cash ISA, Inheritance ISA, Instant Access ISA, Instant ISA, Instant ISA Saver, ISA Bond ex TESSA, Online ISA Issue 8, and Web ISA.

Other accounts will also experience reductions, albeit smaller ones, such as a 0.10% decrease on both the 1 Year Triple Access Online ISA and the Branch Reward ISA and Loyalty ISA.

The decision comes in the wake of the Bank of England's base interest rate cut by 0.25 percentage points from 5% to 4.75% three months ago. Nationwide has expressed that it has made considerable efforts to shield savers from this reduction, maintaining its savings rates including the highly competitive 8% Flex Regular Saver account.

However, adjustments to other account rates have now become necessary.

Tom Riley, Nationwide's director of retail products, commented: "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."