It took me a long time to understand that saving is important – and relatively easy. Saving money rather than spending it gives people a little bit of financial security and, crucially, can give them choices.

But inertia, complexity of savings accounts and the decade-long period of low interest rates has left millions with no savings or with their nest eggs in accounts paying pathetic interest rates.

It means there are two problems: first how do we encourage people to get a savings habit; second, how do we make sure people learn to switch to better deals to make the most of their hard-earned.

Education is the key to the first problem. Part of the educational challenge is showing people how to budget and spend wisely so they can free up cash for the future. But it’s also crucial to teach them that saving is important and that they shouldn’t start spending until they’ve put away a portion of their income each month.

Once people start saving, many leave their cash languishing in accounts with poor rates. RCI Bank’s research revealed that 32% of savers have never switched provider, 29% haven’t taken any action in five years and only 12% have moved in the past year.

The bank reckons that means people have missed out on £1.7billion of potential returns. That figure underlines why it is so important to discuss the problem and come up with solutions. The roundtable held to mark the second anniversary of RCI Bank’s entrance into the UK savings market did just that and should be just the start of the debate into ensuring that Brits regain the savings habit and are given fair returns by their bank or building society.

One solution put forward at the roundtable would involve government intervening by improving competition and incentivising savers to switch. But that would need to be backed up by an awareness campaign of the importance of making the most of savings.

Look, consumers say they want banks to do more to help them save. To be fair to some have been active in this area and a positive trend in the last couple of years I’ve noticed has been the growth of micro-savings apps. These are simple-to-use phone apps which make it easy for people to save.

Engaging with young adults in this way is crucial to ensuring that the millennial generation develops a proper savings routine. Turning that developing savings habit into an enduring one is likely to need intervention from the government in terms of making people be aware of the changing savings market, the opportunities offered by challenger banks, and encouraging consumers to switch accounts.

Looking ahead, once consumers forget their blind loyalty and realise they can be better off by switching their savings, it should lead to an army of switchers. That will good for the challenger banks and should shake up the traditional savings institutions. They will either have to start competing properly by offering fair rates, or give up pretending to be a safe and decent home for our nest eggs.