Martin Lewis explains how Brits can land free £175 but you'll have to move fast

In this economy, if someone offers you free money, it's almost guaranteed to be too good to be true. But if Martin Lewis says it, then we're all ears.

And as it turns out, you actually can get your hands on free money, as promised by the financial guru himself, for the small price of switching banks, but you'd better act fast.

In his most recent newsletter over on Money Saving Expert, sharing some simple ways to save some cash ahead of Christmas, yes Christmas, money-saving expert Lewis suggested that people opt for a simple bank swap.

"One way to help pay for the day is to grab a legal bribe to switch bank. A flurry of new deals have just popped out, many that are top rated," he wrote.

Nationwide is offering free cash for bank switches (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

"Switching is usually easy and hassle-free... You must pass a not-too-harsh credit-check and use the banks' seven-working-day switch service, which closes your old account, moves over your balance, standing orders and Direct Debits for you, and auto-forwards any payments made to it from then on."

One of the hotly suggested switches is Nationwide Building Society, which is offering customers a juicy £175 if they move their current account over.

All you need to do is apply for a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) and transfer at least two direct debits as part of the switch.

However, other automatic payments, such as standing orders and recurring card payments, don't count, according to Money Week.

Nationwide will handle everything in terms of switching over all your regular incoming and outgoing payments, but once the switch has been made, you need to transfer at least £1,000 and make one debit card payment within 31 days to receive the free £175.

You can get the cash in time for Christmas shopping (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

"It's never been more rewarding to be a Nationwide member, and that's why we want to help more people benefit by offering this switching offer," said Tom Riley, director of group retail products at Nationwide.

Meanwhile, you could get a similar deal by switching to a First Direct 1st account, which would earn you £175, plus a free £25 Amazon voucher too. The only catch is you can't get the benefit if you've had a First Direct account before or you've opened one with HSBC since 2018.

Not to mention, Lewis says this bank has won 'almost every customer service poll we've ever done, currently rated at 92 percent great.'

So there you have it, free money just in time for the Christmas shopping chaos.