How to use round-ups to boost your savings | The best UK round-up banking apps

When it comes to boosting your savings, every little bit saved does help. Round-up apps, in particular, are a brilliant way to do this. They simply round up the amount you spend on everyday items, helping you save cash as you spend. Here's how it works. 

This blog was originally published in 2021, but updated in 2025.

How do round-ups work?

Round-up apps are smart and easy ways to save money. They work by rounding up every transaction you make to the next £1 and saving the 'spare change'. For example, for the following purchases, a round-up would save £4.48 as follows:

Round-up apps work in one of two ways. You link your current account to a round-up app, and the app monitors your spending. Your 'spare change' is then added back to your current account. Or you can link your current account to a round-up app, and your 'spare change' is placed in a savings pot on the app until you want to move it.

How much extra money will round-ups make me?

How much money you'll make depends on how much you spend. The Moneybox app says its customers save an average of £12.37 per week from round-ups, which is £643.24 yearly.

However, don't let the thrill of round-ups and the idea of saving money push you into more frequent spending. This will negate the savings benefit, especially if the money is going back to your current account, where you can just spend it, or if it's going into a low-interest savings pot.

To maximise your savings, consider round-ups as a small but powerful tool in your personal finance strategy. While this tool is great for saving, use it to motivate yourself to save even more.

To maximise your round-up money:

1. Combine this method with other savings strategies.
2. Invest your round-ups in higher-interest savings accounts.
3. Check the round-up app to see if you can multiply your round-ups (e.g., 2x or 3x the spare change). This means if you spend £3.40, instead of saving £0.60, you could save £1.20 or £1.80. This small adjustment can significantly boost your savings.
4. Monitor your spending. Monitor your spending habits to ensure that round-ups are helping you save, not encouraging unnecessary purchases.
5. Automate all savings. This ensures that saving happens before you have a chance to spend. Money is usually automatically transferred to a savings or current account as soon as you get paid.

The best round-up apps:

1. Moneybox is an award-winning, fee-free savings app. Last year, it won multiple 2024 Best Buy awards, including Best for Beginners. Moneybox initially got attention for being one of the first apps with a round-up feature in 2016. It now offers a host of financial products, including a wide choice of savings accounts, ISAs, Pensions, and mortgages. The app now has over a million users.

It's also one of the easiest financial apps you'll ever use. You can easily connect it to your bank account and opt for round-ups. The great thing about this app is that it helps you work towards more savings goals, with Simple Saver accounts offering 4.14% interest, 95-day notice accounts offering 4.55% interest, and ISAs all on the same app.

2. Plum is another award-winning financial app that gives you a fee-free basic account where you can 'round-up' purchases made from your linked account to the nearest pound. Your savings are initially held in your Plum account, which pays no interest, though you can open an easy-access interest pocket' that pays 3.74% and save into that.

Plum does much more than rounding up: once you connect your bank account, its AI will analyse your income and spending and determine what you can afford to save (if you choose to). It then deposits this money automatically for you every few days. It also allows you to make investments through the app.

3. Chase is also a great round-up app. You can round up spending to the nearest £1, and Chase will autosave the difference for you. Plus, Chase will give your round-up balance a 5% variable interest boost. So, for example, if you buy something costing £11.60, the app will round it up to £12 and pop the 40p into your round-up account. If you then save £15 via round-up, the app will give your round-up balance a 5% variable interest boost, earning you 75p on this amount.

You can keep your round-up balance growing throughout the year or withdraw your money. After a year, Chase will automatically transfer your remaining round-up balance to your chosen account, and you're free to start saving again.

Will my bank do round-ups for me?

NatWest round-ups are available to customers with an eligible current account or instant access savings account who are registered for the NatWest Mobile App. Round-ups can only be made on debit cards and contactless payments. You can now multiply your round-ups at NatWest and send 2, 3, 4, or 5 times as much spare change to your savings account.

Bank of Scotland's Save The Change feature automatically rounds up purchases made with your Bank of Scotland debit card to the nearest pound (once you turn the feature on through online banking). It transfers the daily total to your Bank of Scotland savings account at the start of the next working day.

Lloyd's users can also register for Save the Change, which rounds up purchases made with your Lloyd's debit card to the nearest pound and deposits the change in your savings account the next working day. You'll need a Lloyd's current account and an eligible Lloyd's saver account, and you can turn the feature on and off whenever you want, through the app.

Monzo is already a saver's dream, allowing you to create various "pots" in your account where you can stash money away from your main balance. With Monzo's round-up feature, you can choose to create a new pot or toggle the "round-up transactions" feature on one of your existing pots to direct the extra cash into there.

Halifax's "Save the Change" feature, also known as round-ups, automatically rounds up your debit card spending to the nearest pound and transfers the difference to your nominated Halifax savings account the next working day. 

Starling Bank lets you separate your money for different purposes: here, they're called "Saving Spaces". They let you keep your money organised and avoid accidentally dipping into, for example, your holiday fund. Starling offers automatic round-ups to the nearest pound, and you can choose which "Space" the rounded-up cash goes into.

TSB offers a similar service to Bank of Scotland and Lloyd's, but this one's called Save the Pennies: all your debit card purchases are rounded up to the nearest pound, and the total is transferred to your chosen savings account at the start of the next working day.

Revolut also offers spare change round-ups. It automatically rounds up your transactions and transfers the difference into your chosen Revolut Pocket or Savings Account. They also offer the option to purchase cryptocurrencies with your spare change. The crypto spare change feature automatically rounds up your Revolut card transactions to the nearest whole number, allowing you to use the spare change to buy a cryptocurrency of your choice. You can then choose a multiplier to increase your investment up to 10 times the spare change.Changes in the crypto asset space are constant, and prices change dramatically. Be aware you could lose some or all of your investment.

Potential drawbacks to round up savings

While round-up apps can be a convenient way to save or invest small amounts of money, they do have some drawbacks. For starters, round-up apps are best used as a tool rather than a primary method of saving. This is because the amounts saved are typically small, which means it takes a long time to accumulate significant savings.

Some round-up apps charge fees, which could eat into your savings. Be sure to read the fine print before you sign up. Plus, if the round-ups go into a low-interest savings account, the growth is minimal compared to other saving options.

So, as clever as this saving tactic is, round-ups should always be part of your savings, not the whole of your savings plan. It's also worth noting that while these apps automate the process for you; you can round it up on your own.

Simply review your transactions daily and calculate your round-up amounts by looking at each of your purchases. For example, if you spend £3.75 on takeaway coffee, a £4 meal-deal lunch and £10.30 at the supermarket on a given day, you'll owe yourself £1.95 in round-ups. Then, simply transfer that amount from your checking account to your savings account. DIY round-ups also have the benefit of helping you to handle impulse spending and budgeting.

For more advice and information on saving and budgeting, see our posts on How to get free money, Sensible spending, Money-saving podcasts, and Avoiding money mistakes.