Nationwide offers 5% interest and £200 in attractive savings deal

The five percent rate applies to balances up to £1,500 with people obliged to pay in at least £1,000 a month. The amount that has to be paid in does not include transfers from other Nationwide accounts or Visa credits.Customers are paid the interest on the first day of each month, which is calculated the day before.After the first 12 months of the account being opened, the interest rate drops to a 0.25 percent variable rate.Another feature of the account is it comes with an interest-free arranged overdraft for 12 months, after which an interest rate of 39.9 percent a year compounded interest will apply to the arranged overdraft.Opening a FlexDirect with Nationwide means a person becomes a member of the bank and can access other services, including the Flex Instant Saver.READ MORE: Mortgage holders who are ‘worried about rates’ urged to make important check or risk fee Nationwide customers can get five percent with the FlexDirect account (Image: GETTY)To be eligible to open an account, a person must be 18 or over and a UK resident, and the account must be for personal use only.The customer must also have no more than four existing sole or joint Nationwide current accounts in their name.The applicant will also have to register for the group’s internet bank so they can manage their account online.Customers can also get a free £200 when switching their money to a FlexDirect account online, using the Nationwide website or internet bank. The base interest rate have increased again (Image: GETTY)From the start of this month, Nationwide increased the rates on its off-sale variable rate savings accounts by 1.2 percent.The new rates for savers with the building society include:Loyalty Saver – two percentLoyalty ISA – two percentLoyalty Single Access ISA – two percentTriple Access Online ISA (11-13) – which will pay two percentTriple Access Online Saver (12-14) – which will pay 2.1 percent.