Nationwide customers with £1,000 in accounts to get £40 payments

Nationwide customers can bag themselves some extra cash by making a simple change. And people have been told they don't need large sums of cash to make a bit extra.

Money-making opportunities come from choosing the best savings accounts with high interest rates. The more money savers put into these accounts, the bigger payout they will get after a year or when the term ends.

Nationwide offers a 4% rate on its One-year Fixed Rate Online Bond account. Savers using this account have to lock away a lump sum for a year.

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For example, if customers are only able to deposit £1,000 it will generate £40 in interest after a year. Those with more money to put away will make larger amounts in interest.

A total deposit of £5,000 into the account would earn £200 in interest, £10,000 would make £400 and so on. Money experts encourage people to shop around for the best savings account to grow their cash as fast as possible.

Millions of Brits leave their money sitting in low-interest accounts - or even current accounts - effectively missing out on free cash. Chris Irwin, director of savings at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Despite the attention savings interest rates continue to have, it’s surprising that there continues to be such large pockets of people who are missing out on savings interest which in turn could have easily covered the cost of the festive period for many."

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, added: "Savers may find it convenient to stash their cash in their current account, but the stark reality is that these do not work hard enough for them to earn decent interest, nor do they really offer the right structure to instil the savings habit. Consumers need to shake any apathy they have and take a step back to decide how their money could work harder for them.”