Millions of people across the UK are missing out on large sums of money simply by leaving savings in everyday current accounts instead of moving them into interest-paying products, according to new consumer finance analysis. With savings rates at their highest levels in more than a decade during 2025, households that failed to act are estimated to have collectively lost billions of pounds in interest — a quiet financial drain that continues into 2026, The WP Times reports citing industry data.

Figures analysed by the Spring savings app using CACI consumer-banking data show that around 6.5 million UK bank accounts held more than £10,000 while earning no interest at all through much of last year. At average easy-access savings rates of around 5%, that money would have generated approximately £9.7bn in interest over 12 months — or roughly £1,500 per account.

The pattern is not limited to wealthy households. Even modest balances can produce meaningful returns when placed in the right accounts. A saver with £5,000 would have earned about £250 in 2025 at 5%, while those holding £20,000 could have gained £1,000 — simply by transferring money between accounts.

Yet surveys suggest many people did not move their cash despite those historically high rates. Research indicates that 31% of adults left money where it was out of habit, while 26% said they were concerned about losing instant access to their funds, despite most easy-access savings products allowing withdrawals within a day.

Financial providers say that fear is largely misplaced. Most easy-access accounts allow money to be withdrawn at any time, and the best rates available at the start of 2026 remain around 4.5%, far higher than the zero interest paid by standard current accounts.

But idle cash is only one part of a wider problem. Separate research from financial education charity Money Ready found that 15% of adults lost an average of £640 last year simply by delaying major decisions such as refinancing mortgages, taking out loans or switching providers. The most common causes were confusion, information overload and uncertainty about where to begin.

Other frequent sources of financial loss included not switching banks or energy suppliers (22%), paying for unused subscriptions (20%), and allowing vouchers or loyalty points to expire (19%). Combined, these small inefficiencies can add up to thousands of pounds a year for a typical household.

Leon Ward, chief executive of Money Ready, said the problem is not recklessness but a lack of confidence. “People are using the financial system every day without really being taught how it works. When decisions feel complicated, people delay — and that delay quietly costs them money,” he said.

With interest rates expected to ease later in 2026, analysts warn that last year’s unusually high savings returns may not come back quickly. For households that failed to move their money in 2025, the lost income is gone for good — making financial inertia one of the most expensive habits in Britain today.

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