Encouraging Active Saving for Financial Shocks

A programme of research to encourage active saving for financial shocks, funded by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, was run in 2021. The initial stages of the research included a literature review and analysis of existing survey data to identify potential interventions.

We then tested multiple evidence based “nudges” and “boosts” in a pre-registered large-scale randomised controlled trial by incorporating them into a savings account application form at a major commercial bank. Results were published in March 2022 (working paper). These interventions increased saving account uptake by 25-40%, with some effects concentrated among low-income households.