Savers are missing out on millions of pounds in interest, with £1.10 in every £10 held in deals paying nothing at all.

 

The total amount of cash earning 0pc at the end of February was £170bn, the most recent figures show.

 

Deposits in accounts paying nothing have risen 70pc from £100bn in December 2010, according to research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a think tank.

 

Andrew Thatcher, from savings platform Flagstone, which commissioned the research, said savers were not switching due to poor savings rates and the perceived hassle of swapping.

 

“A decade of persistently low rates in the high street has resulted in widespread inertia among the nation’s savers,” he added.

 

Savers momentarily snapped out of their stupor in 2017, after an increase in Bank Rate – the interest rate set by the Bank of England – rose and firms began paying more interest.

 

This effect was short-lived, however. Of all savings, 63pc are deposited with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander, banks that tend to pay low savings rates.

 

CEBR found that savers could earn a collective £3.4bn over the next year if they took out the best rates from the big banks’ instant access, one and two-year fixed term deposits.

 

But they could earn double that by swapping to better deals from smaller rivals seeking to attract new customers.

 

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