Nationwide savings account rates compared

Nationwide is the word's largest building society and one of the UK's largest savings providers. It's recently made moves to takeover Virgin Money. It offers a broad range of savings accounts, so whether you're looking to save your money for a rainy day, or you're willing to let your money mature over a longer period of time, Nationwide has several options. Nationwide Building Society's top savings rate of 6.5% is available on one of its regular savings accounts.

Easy access savings accounts

Nationwide Building Society's best easy access rate of 4.25% is significantly lower than today's market-best rate of 7.49%. Compare more instant and easy access accounts up to 7.49%

Cash ISAs

Nationwide Building Society's best cash ISA rate of 4.5% is slightly lower than today's market-best rate of 5.1%. Compare more ISAs up to 5.1%

Fixed-rate bonds

Nationwide Building Society's top fixed-rate bond rate of 5.5% is the best currently on the market. Compare more fixed-rate bonds up to 5.5%

Regular savings accounts

Nationwide Building Society's best regular savings account rate of 6.5% is slightly lower than today's market-best rate of 8%. Compare more regular savings accounts up to 8%

What is Nationwide Building Society's best savings account with the highest interest rate?

The best savings account depends on what you want from your savings. If you're after fast access to your money, then an easy-access account should suit you. However, if you're happy to lock your money away for a time to access a higher rate, then a fixed-rate bond is a good option.

Finally, if you're looking to maximise your returns and shield them from income tax, consider an ISA. Below, we've listed the different types of accounts Nationwide Building Society offers, plus the highest interest rate currently available.

Savings account types include	Easy access, cash ISAs, fixed-rate bonds, regular savers
Best easy access rate	4.25%
Best cash ISA rate	4.5%
Best fixed-rate bond rate	5.5%
Best regular saver rate	6.5%
Fixed bond terms	1 year - 1 year 6 months
Opening options	Branch, website, mobile app
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Other popular accounts

Didn’t find the account type you were looking for? Check our other guides:

• Nationwide current accounts
• Nationwide student and graduate accounts
• Nationwide kids accounts

How to set up a Nationwide savings account

This depends on whether or not you’re already registered with Nationwide. Current members can open an account online, and may be able to do so without showing any proof of identity. Nationwide will let current customers know if they need physical proof.

New customers will have to go into a branch and will need to bring UK photo identification – either a passport or driving licence – plus proof of name and proof of address. Examples include:

• A bank statement from within the past 3 months
• A valid full UK or EEA passport
• A benefits letter from the last year
• A valid student ID from a UK university
• UK gas or electricity bill (less than 3 months)
• UK phone bill (not mobile, less than 3 months)
• A benefits letter from the last year (last 12 months)

There’s a full list of eligible documents, which explains those that are specifically for name or address, on the Nationwide website. If you’re setting up a savings account for a child then you’ll need to provide their passport or birth certificate along with proof of where they live.

Does Nationwide offer online or mobile banking?

Yes, it offers both. Here are some of the basic features:

Customer service information for Nationwide

Email support
Telephone support
In-app or live chat
Contact form
Branch support

Nationwide customer reviews

In our independent 2024 customer satisfaction survey, 94% of Nationwide’s users said they’d recommend the brand to a friend. Customers highlighted the bank’s excellent customer service and competitive rates. Here’s what some of those Nationwide customers had to say:

“Nationwide are very helpful and deal with any problems that may occur quickly and efficiently. I know my money is safe and I can always rely on their customer service.”

“I feel they offer a great interest rate. They also have a good app where I can keep an eye on my savings.”

The Nationwide app has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 from more than 600,000 reviews on the App Store. On Google Play, the app fares slightly worse, with a score of 3.9 from around 110,000 Android app users (May 2024).

Our verdict

Nationwide’s broad range of savings accounts means that it should be easy to find one to suit you, whether you need instant access to your money or you’re happy to lock it away for a fixed period of time. Sadly, it has reduced its range of cash ISAs, so you may need to look more widely to find one that suits.

Because it’s owned by its members and doesn’t need to pay any shareholders, there’s a chance that a Nationwide savings account might get you better interest and cheaper mortgage rates than banks – but be sure to check our other savings accounts reviews to find the best deal for you.

We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.