How to score £200 by buying bananas - Martin Lewis' 'Banana swipes' trick explained

Martin Lewis has shared how clever consumers can score a free £200 windfall simply by purchasing five bananas.

And the somewhat unconventional tactic endorsed by Lewis has resulted in unexpected gains for multiple bank account holders amid the current Cost of Living crisis.

The consumer expert previously disclosed a method to earn 'free money' through a bonus scheme offered by HSBC, without using its switching service.

In a video clip, he said: "There is a bank that will pay you a bonus and you don't have to use its switching service, it lets you keep your old service. It's from HSBC, it's for newbies."

Following Lewis's advice, fans have reached out to confirm that the strategy proved successful for them.

"Thank you for the HSBC tip,” said one fan. “Received the 2nd payment to global fund card today. £200 for 10 bananas. That’s bananas.”

Another follower chimed in: “Me too. This was a 2 part HSBC product switch/opening (can't remember which). The 2nd payment of £80 was due around now.”

How does it work?

Many banking schemes, offers and deals require cardholders to make one or more purchases on their debit or credit cards before they’re eligible for a reward.

But rarely are the sizes of those spends disclosed, and so when that is the case, you can spend as little as you like - maybe even just the cost of a banana.

Lewis said: "Someone wrote to me the other day and, there's lots of times you have to do spending to trigger something, and they called it banana swipes because I always say spend a banana.

"So what we're saying is literally you get your banana, and you go in the store, you buy it once and there you go, that's a spending. So we're gonna call them banana swipes from now on. There's more of them to come."

To make the ‘trick’ work, Lewis outlined the several steps you’ll need to take to benefit from HSBC's offer.

You’ll need to open an HSBC Advance bank account, make five transactions using the debit card, log into the app again, deposit £1,500 (which can be withdrawn immediately), and then open an HSBC Global Money Multi-Currency Account.

Lewis also highlighted how an additional £80 can be obtained through the method. To qualify, individuals simply need to utilise the account five times, such as by purchasing five items like bananas, before April.