People are missing out on potentially hundreds of pounds' worth of free money as they leave their cash sitting in accounts that pay no interest. Up until the current cost of living crisis, banks had been paying little-to-no interest on accounts as the Bank of England's rate remained low.
However, recent hikes in a bid to get a grip on rocketing inflation mean that, for the first time in years, high street banks are now paying a good level of interest on easy-to-access accounts. Now, analysis by a building society claims to have found that as much as £268billion of money is still sitting in accounts that pay zero interest.
Coventry Building Society said around a fifth (21%) of households' savings in flexible and easily accessible accounts is deposited in accounts where no interest is being paid. At a time of high inflation, the real value of money sitting in 0% accounts is being eroded sharply.
