Yotta Prize-Linked Savings Review [2023]: A Savings Account That Could Win You Cash

Many banks offer savings accounts that can help you earn interest over time on the money you deposit into your account. Yotta Prize-Linked Savings Accounts functions similarly, but with a fun twist: you get to play a lottery game each day for opportunities to add more cash to your account.

Yotta states that its customers earn an average of None in average annual savings rewards. Your deposited funds are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $250,000 through Yotta’s partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust.

In this Yotta Prize-Linked Savings review, we’ll cover the ins and outs of this account, including any fees it has, what we like about it, and the areas where it falls short. This can help you decide whether it’s worth it for you to open a Yotta Savings account.

Key takeaways

• Yotta is a fintech company that offers a unique savings account with a sweepstakes system. The company states that customers earn average annual rewards of None on their balances.
• Yotta’s distinctive feature is its lottery game, where customers receive recurring tickets based on their deposits, and they choose numbers for daily drawings. Matching numbers results in cash rewards, with a potential $1 million jackpot for those who match all numbers.
• Yotta Prize-Linked Savings account doesn’t charge monthly maintenance fees on balances above $5. There are no minimum balance requirements, but you need at least $25 to begin earning tickets.
• Yotta has no physical branches, so it’s accessible exclusively through its mobile app, available for both iOS and Android devices.
• While Yotta operates on a luck-based system, other savings accounts offer a more predictable return on your deposits. For example, the CloudBank 24/7 Savings account offered through the Raisin marketplace helps you earn an annual percentage yield (APY) of 5.26% on your entire balance with no balance or direct deposit requirement.

Yotta Prize-Linked Savings basics

Annual savings rewards	An average of None
Minimum balance for savings rewards	$25
Minimum deposit to open account	$0
Monthly maintenance fees	$0, unless your balance is less than $5 on the first day of the month, in which case there might be a fee of $1 or your balance, whichever is lesser
ATM access	No fee withdrawals at over 55,000 Allpoint Network ATMs
Transactions per month	Six withdrawals according to Federal Regulation D $10,000 in daily transactions $40,000 in monthly transactions
FDIC insured	Yes, up to $250,000
	Visit Yotta

What is Yotta?

Yotta is a fintech company that has been founded in 2019 by Adam Moelis and Ben Doyle in New York. The company received a boost with funding in the summer of 2020 from Y Combinator, a popular seed-funding company. Y Combinator is known for helping launch huge companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and DoorDash. 

The founders of Yotta were inspired to create a prize-linked savings account after seeing how well a similar company, Premium Bonds, did in the United Kingdom. Yotta works similarly to how online savings accounts work, except that Yotta Savings is accessible only via its mobile app (available for both iOS and Android devices). Keep in mind that Yotta doesn't offer checking accounts.

How does Yotta work?

After you sign up for an account, you can make your first-time deposit. You can also withdraw money from your Yotta Savings account.

Americans who participate in the Yotta Savings lottery game need to make at least one $25 deposit. For each $25 deposit into Yotta Savings, you’ll earn one recurring ticket, up to a maximum ticket number of 500,000 per day.

Your tickets are used in daily drawings. Six numbers for each of your tickets (five regular numbers and one YottaBall) are randomly selected every night at 9 p.m. E.T. 

The winning numbers are then drawn within the Yotta app. The more numbers you match, the more money you win. Matching all five numbers plus the Yottaball on one ticket wins the $1 million jackpot.

Yotta's prizes and odds

Because your tickets are recurring based on your account balance, you’ll receive a number of tickets each day that reflects your balance. 

For example, a $10,000 account balance would receive 400 (10,000 / 25 = 400) recurring tickets every day. If your balance drops to $5,000, you’d receive 200 (5,000 / 25 = 200) recurring tickets. So the higher your account balance each day, the more tickets you’ll receive, and the higher your chances of winning cash from the Yotta lottery.

Here is what your tickets might win and the odds of winning each prize:

Matching numbers	Matching Yottaball	Ticket prize	Odds
0	Yes	$0.03	1:129
1	Yes	$0.10	1:464
2	Yes	$0.75	1:5,282
3	Yes	$20	1:161,995
4	Yes	$2,000	1:15,065,513
5	Yes	$1,000,000	1:7,080,791,256
0	No	$0	1:1.3
1	No	$0	1:4.7
2	No	$0.02	1:54
3	No	$0.20	1:1,653
4	No	$1,000	1:153,729
5	No	$20,000	1:72,252,972

What we like about Yotta: benefits and perks

• No monthly maintenance fees for balances above $5: Avoiding fees can be an important strategy when choosing the best savings account. With Yotta Prize-Linked Savings, you don’t have to pay monthly maintenance fees on any balances above $5. If your balance is $5 or less on the first day of the month, you'd get charged $1 or your remaining balance, whichever is lesser.
• Rewards potential: Yotta states that customers earn, on average, None in annual savings rewards from its lottery program. However, if you get lucky and win one of the bigger prizes that Yotta Savings offers, you could see a significant return. However, remember that luck is a major factor in this game.
• Fun approach to banking: Likely one of the biggest draws of Yotta Savings is how it works. Buying lottery tickets is often associated with the thrill of being able to win huge prizes, but it’s also typically accompanied by disappointment when you lose and regret wasting money. You won’t necessarily win big money every day with Yotta (the odds of winning the Yotta jackpot are one in 7 billion per ticket), but it’s fun.
• Mobile access: Life is busy, but it’s important to have access to your finances no matter where you are. Because Yotta Savings has a mobile app for Apple and Android devices, it’s easy to make deposits and withdrawals while you’re on the go.

What we don't like about Yotta: drawbacks 

• Digital only: Yotta is only available to use through its mobile app. This means that there are no physical branches to visit. Many people will find the mobile app to be convenient enough, but not having the option to visit a local branch may not fit all people.
• Low average annual rewards: Yotta claims average annual rewards of None per customer. However, some of the best high-yield savings accounts offer competitive annual percentage yields. For example, the Western Alliance Bank Savings Account helps you earn an APY of 5.25% on your balance with no minimum balance requirement.

Compare Yotta Savings vs. a traditional savings account

One of the best ways to see how well a savings account can perform is by comparing it against another savings account. The national average APY for traditional savings accounts is 0.46% (as of Nov. 2, 2023).

While the Yotta Prize-Linked Savings account doesn't earn APY in the traditional sense, it earns money on your balance via its savings rewards. Yotta states that the average annual savings rewards amount to None. Note that this is a statistical estimate from Yotta, and your actual annual rewards may be different.

To give you a sense of the power compound growth can achieve, let's assume we open the following two accounts with a starting balance of $5,000. Let's see how that balance grows over one year, three years, and 10 years.

How to open a Yotta Savings account

Here are the steps to open a Yotta account:

1. Visit Yotta to get started.

2. Enter your email address, desired password, referral (if you have one), and other information required. 

3. Once your account is created, connect a bank account, make a deposit, and provide additional personal information such as your address, date of birth, and social security number.

4. Deposit at least $25 to begin earning tickets for Yotta’s daily prize draws.

Deposits into your Yotta Savings account take about three business days and can be withdrawn after another four business days.

How to withdraw money from Yotta Savings

In the Yotta Savings app, choose the “Withdraw” option in your settings and select which connected bank account you want to move money to. Then input the amount of money you want to withdraw and submit the withdrawal. Withdrawals from your Yotta Savings account take one to three business days to process.

You can also use your Yotta Mastercard debit card at thousands of in-network ATM locations to withdraw money for free. Keep in mind that using an out-of-network ATM typically incurs fees.

Other Yotta Savings fees

Overdraft fee	$0
Stop payment fee	$0
ACH transfers	$0
Incoming wire	$0
Outgoing wire	Not available

Yotta Savings customer service

Yotta Savings is an online account, so you don’t have the option to visit any in-person branches. However, you can contact the Yotta Savings support team through messaging features in the mobile app or on the website. You can also get in touch with Yotta by sending an email to support@withyotta.com.

Yotta FAQ

Yotta Prize-Linked Savings: bottom line

When you open an account at one of the best banks, you should look for accounts that can help you grow your money. And while Yotta doesn't offer interest in the traditional sense, you can still earn average annual rewards of None through its fun lottery system.

Overall, the more you deposit into your Yotta Savings account, the more you might win. This is because you’ll receive more tickets as your deposits increase, which improves your odds of winning money during the daily random number draws. However, keep in mind that this is entirely based on luck, so you also might not win more.   

If the Prize-Linked Savings account from Yotta doesn't sound like the right fit, consider other options in our list of the best savings accounts to find the right account for you.

Disclaimer: All rates and fees are accurate as of May 9, 2023.