Monzo makes viral ‘1p challenge’ official with £668-a-year feature – but it pays no interest

Monzo has made the viral ‘1p savings challenge’ official by launching a feature that can save customers almost £700 a year.

The decades-old 1p challenge sees savers put aside 1p on the first day of the year, 2p on the second, 3p on the third, and so on.

The challenge can see savers build up a pot of £168.36 at the half-year point and £667.95 if they complete every day of the 365-day period.

Now the digital bank has launched a new feature to let its customers automatically take part in the challenge.

Monzo users can sign up to the scheme by 31 January, and are invited to set up a ‘challenge pot’ that will last for 365 days.

Customers can pause their savings at any time, as well as top up the pot for any missing days.

Any cash saved as part of the challenge will not earn any interest, meaning it will lose value in real terms once inflation is factored in.

However, the 1p challenge can prove valuable as it encourages a culture of saving which can encourage non-savers to start building up a cash pot.

Additionally, Monzo will pay £10,000 to one saver who completes 365 days of the saving scheme.

AJ Coyne, of Monzo, said: ‘This challenge is a great entry point for those at the start of their journey, and a fun competition for those who are already in the habit.’

Monzo, which recently hit 11million customers in the UK, was ranked the number one bank by customers for overall satisfaction this year, followed closely by Starling and Chase.

Four in five Monzo customers said they were ‘extremely likely’ or ‘very likely’ to recommend a Monzo current account to friends of family.