personal finance

Premium bonds take quantum leap


Ernie, the random number generator which picks the winning premium bond numbers, has taken a quantum leap and been upgraded to a tiny chip smaller than a sim card.

Now powered by quantum technology, Ernie — short for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment — takes just 12 minutes to select 3m winning bond numbers randomly in the monthly prize draw.

That is much faster than the nine-hour processing time of its predecessor, which is to be moved to a new home in the National Museum of Computing.

The use of quantum technology is an impressive advancement for the fifth iteration of Ernie, which started life as a van-sized machine in 1956 and took 10 days to generate a draw.

Premium bonds offer tax-free monthly prizes, and can be bought from the government’s National Savings and Investment agency (NS&I) from as little as £25.

In Ernie 5’s first draw this March, more than £92m was paid out, with two people winning £1m each.

More than 21m bondholders in the UK and abroad hold 79m premium bonds and are eligible to win any of the 3m prizes each month.

Prize checking has also evolved. Ian Ackerley, chief executive of NS&I, said: “Customers can use digital channels to check and manage premium bonds — from asking Alexa to check prizes, to getting prizes paid directly into their bank account — saving and winning is easier, faster, and more accessible than ever before.”



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