Nationwide's new 5.3% savings bond: who can get it and what's the catch

Nationwide has launched a savings account paying a "market-leading" 5.3% interest, but only members of the building society can get it, and there is a catch.

The Member Exclusive Bond runs for 30 months. You can pay in anything from £1 to £10,000, and a full £10,000 would earn £1,381 in interest by the end of the term.

It arrived just days before the Bank of England raised its base rate (the main rate that steers borrowing and saving costs) to 4% on Thursday. Katie Horne at the savings platform Flagstone says banks have been building an expected hike into fixed-term rates for months, so a single 0.25% rise isn't expected to move them much further.

Now the catch. Your money is locked away until the end of the term, and you can only pay in during the first 14 days. It's one account per saver, and you must be 16 or over with a qualifying Nationwide or Virgin Money account held since at least 2 November.

If you might need the cash sooner, an instant access account is a better fit.