Nationwide launches 5.3% savings account for its members

Nationwide Building Society has launched a savings account paying 5.3% interest, The Guardian reported. The account is open only to Nationwide members, and the society says it has more than 19 million of them.

The product is called the Member Exclusive Bond. It runs for 30 months, and savers can deposit between £1 and £10,000. A full £10,000 deposit would earn £1,381 in interest by the end of the term, according to the Guardian.

Once the account is opened, the money cannot be withdrawn until the term ends. Extra money can be added only during the first 14 days. Each saver can hold one bond. Applicants must be 16 or older and must have held a qualifying Nationwide or Virgin Money account since at least 2 November 2026. The bond can be opened at a branch, online or through Nationwide's app.

Nationwide's own announcement, issued on 3 November, described a 5.30% rate on a fixed basis and called it market-leading. The society presented the product as a new version of the Member Exclusive Bond, aimed at existing members. The announcement described the rate in those terms.

The launch came a couple of days before the Bank of England raised its main base rate, according to the Guardian. The Bank's rate-setting body, the Monetary Policy Committee, voted 8-1 at a meeting ending on 4 November to raise Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points. The Bank published the decision on 5 November, and Bank Rate now stands at 4%. Bank Rate is the benchmark interest rate the Bank sets, and it feeds into the rates banks and building societies offer savers and borrowers.

The Bank's next scheduled decision on Bank Rate is due on 17 December 2026.