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Yotta Savings account review
Lucky savers can win cash prizes, but balances only earn 0.2% APY and the odds of winning are slim.
finder.com’s rating: 3.9 / 5.0
★★★★★
Yotta savings combines aspects of a standard savings account with a sweepstakes lottery that awards cash prizes ranging from $0.10 to $10 million if you pick the week’s winning numbers. A drawback for traditional savers: Its APY is only 0.2%. If you maintain a high balance and take advantage of the referral program, you could earn upward of 2% APY. If you’re unlucky, you can earn more elsewhere.0.20%
APY
$0
Fee
$0
Minimum deposit to open
Review by
Michael Benninger
michael.benninger@finder.comMichael Benninger is a staff banking writer at Finder. He is a former credit analyst and longtime freelancer whose articles have been published by Intuit, Business Insider and the Los Angeles Times. Michael is passionate about all facets of personal finance and has written hundreds of articles about money management during the past decade.
Expert review
Yotta savings is best for those who like playing the lottery and want a fun way to save. While the concept of a prize-based savings account sounds new to Americans, it’s a model that’s been used in other countries for decades.Ultimately, a Yotta savings account offers a similar thrill to playing the lottery, but rather than throwing away money on losing tickets, you’ll deposit those funds into an FDIC-insured savings account.
Many account holders love the app and report earning upward of 2% APY. But if you don’t maintain a high balance, your money can grow faster elsewhere. If you don’t want to try your luck, explore other high-yield accounts for a more predictable savings option.
How does Yotta work?
Prize-linked savings programs like Yotta have existed in the UK since the 1950s, but this account is among the first in the US. It’s similar to a lottery in that you could win big prizes if you pick the winning numbers. Yet unlike Powerball or Mega Millions, you’ll never throw away money on losing tickets. Instead, your money’s deposited in a savings account that earns 0.2% APY. Here’s three steps to how it works.
1. Get your tickets.
For every $25 you deposit in your Yotta account, you get a recurring lottery ticket each week. For example, if you deposit $1,000, you’ll get 40 tickets every week as long as those funds remain in your account. For each ticket, you can pick seven numbers. If you don’t select any numbers, Yotta chooses them for you.
2. Enter daily drawings.
Every night at 9 p.m. ET, a third-party insurance company uses a random number generator to draw a single number for the Yotta lottery. Weekly contests begin on Monday and end on Sunday. The number drawn on Sunday nights is called the Yotta Ball. If the seven numbers drawn during a week match the numbers on any of your tickets, you win anywhere from $0.10 to $10 million. To win the biggest prizes, the seventh number on any of your tickets must match the Yotta Ball number.
3. Collect your winnings.
Yotta automatically adds your winnings to your account balance. For every $25 you win, you get another ticket for the following week’s contest.How do I open a Yotta savings account?
You need an iPhone, iPad or Android device to open a Yotta savings account:
- Download the Yotta app from the App Store or the Google Play Store.
- Tap Sign Up, then enter your email address and create a password.
- If you have a referral code, enter it to collect free tickets, then tap Join Yotta.
- Fund your Yotta account.
- Make your first deposit and receive a ticket for every $25 you transfer.
Eligibility
To open a Yotta savings account, you must meet age and residency requirements:
- At least 18 years old
- Legal US resident
Required information
Provide four pieces of personal information to open your account:
- Name
- Physical address
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
What are the benefits of a Yotta savings account?
Perks to opening a Yotta account include:
- No monthly fees. Opening an account doesn’t cost anything, and there are no monthly fees.
- You could win. If you win, your account balance could grow more rapidly than if you used a standard savings account.
- Referral bonus. Sign up using a Yotta savings referral code and get 100 free tickets to start. Share your own referral code after you sign up to earn even more bonuses.
What should I look out for?
While Yotta offers an interesting and fun approach to savings, it has drawbacks:
- Low APY. Yotta savings accounts receive a 0.2% APY, which is far lower than what many high-yield savings accounts offer.
- Opportunity cost. If you keep your money with Yotta and never win, you’ll miss out on the interest you would have earned with a standard high-yield savings account.
- Mobile only. Yotta works with iOS and Android devices only, so you can’t deposit or withdraw funds through a web browser.
- Linked account required. You must link an external bank account to use and transfer money into your Yotta account.
- Privacy settings. Yotta displays the first name, last initial, city and state of every winner in its app and on its website. This could make you a target if you collect a substantial prize. You can choose to hide your name in the app’s settings, but your information is public by default.
Yotta savings reviews and complaints
As of February 2021, Yotta Savings earns a 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot based on 436 customer reviews. Customers love the app, saying it’s a fun way to save money. Many people claim they’ve won at least $10 since opening their account, although they haven’t come close to winning the big jackpot. The biggest customer complaint is that you can earn more interest consistently in a high-yield savings account.
What are the odds of winning with Yotta?
The odds of hitting the $10 million jackpot are one in 8,260,307,055. The fine print states that if you do hit the jackpot, you’ll actually receive a lump-sum payout of $5.8 million — the present cash value of $10 million based on a 40-year annuity. While that sounds suspicious, it’s common practice for lottery organizers to use annuity values in their marketing. Here’s a breakdown of Yotta‘s prizes and your chances of winning.
Yotta prizes and odds
| Matching Yotta Ball? | # of matching numbers | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 0 out of 6 | $0.10 per ticket | 1:110 |
| Yes | 1 out of 6 | $0.15 per ticket | 1:181 |
| Yes | 2 out of 6 | $0.60 per ticket | 1:867 |
| Yes | 3 out of 6 | $7 per ticket | 1:9,913 |
| Yes | 4 out of 6 | $1,000 | 1:273,158 |
| Yes | 5 out of 6 | $5,000 | 1:21,511,216 |
| Yes | 6 out of 6 | $10,000,000 | 1:8,260,307,055 |
| No | 0 out of 6 | $0 | 1:1.8 |
| No | 1 out of 6 | $0 | 1:3 |
| No | 2 out of 6 | $0 | 1:14 |
| No | 3 out of 6 | $0.25 per ticket | 1:160 |
| No | out of 6 | $10 per ticket | 1:4,406 |
| No | 5 out of 6 | $1,500 | 1:346,955 |
| No | 6 out of 6 | Tesla Model 3 | 1:133,230,759 |
How can I increase my chances of winning?
To increase your chances of winning, deposit money into your account on a regular basis and avoid withdrawing it. Yotta also offers a feature called Pool Play that lets you combine any or all of your tickets with other people’s tickets to increase your odds of winning weekly prizes. Yotta offers private and public pools, depending on whether you want to split any winnings with a select group of friends and family or any number of random account holders. The number of tickets you contribute to a pool is up to you, but the more tickets you contribute, the greater the share of any winnings you’ll receive.
Can multiple people win the Yotta jackpot?
Yes. There can be multiple winners, but only if the jackpot is over $999. If the prize is over $999, then the cash is split among the winners. If the prize doesn’t say per ticket in our table, the amount is split among all winners. In the case of the Tesla Model 3, the week’s winners split $37,990.
Will I have to pay taxes on my winnings?
You don’t have to pay taxes on lottery earnings up to $600 generally. Over that limit, you’ll pay taxes based on your regular income tax bracket. Yotta savings may send you Form 1099-MISC at the end of the year if you’ve made at least $600. Savings account interest should come on Form 1099-INT.
How do Yotta‘s average winnings compare to high-yield savings accounts?
Although Yotta does not publish statistics about how much money an average user has won, many account holders claim to have earned more than 2% in combined winnings and APY. As of February 2021, the best high-yield savings accounts earn 0.65% APY.
Is Yotta savings safe?
Yes. Yotta is not a bank, but it’s as safe as any other bank due to it acting as an intermediary between its customers and Evolve Bank & Trust, a Memphis-based bank founded in 1925. Any funds you deposit through Yotta are held by Evolve, which is FDIC insured for up to $250,000.
Deposits you make using the Yotta app are handled by Plaid, a financial services startup owned by Visa. It’s also worth noting that Yotta has an active community of users online, and the app’s founders are not only active on social media but also engage directly with account holders.
Yotta is backed by the startup accelerator Y-Combinator.Compare Yotta with other savings accounts
How do I deposit or withdraw my money?
You must use the app to deposit or withdraw your money. Deposit funds into your Yotta savings account by tapping Get More Tickets in the app and entering the amount of money you wish to transfer. You can also set up recurring deposits weekly, twice monthly or monthly.
To withdraw funds into your linked account, navigate to the Settings screen in the app and tap Withdraw. As with most savings accounts, you’re limited to six withdrawals monthly. Withdrawals take two to three days to complete.
You have a daily limit of $10,000 and a monthly limit of $40,000 for deposits and withdrawals.
Does Yotta offer any other accounts?
Yotta has announced plans to release a debit card that earns one free ticket for every $10 you spend. The card is waitlisted and expected to launch in 2021.Advertising for the card indicates that for every purchase you make with the debit card, you’ll get a 1-in-500 chance to receive a full refund for the transaction. You’ll also earn 1,000 bonus tickets if you spend $2,000 in your first four months, and you can get a premium metal card if at least 10 people sign up using your referral code.
How does Yotta‘s referral program work?
Yotta offers an impressive referral program that rewards account holders with hundreds — or even thousands — of free tickets. When you open an account, you receive a unique code you can share with friends, family and strangers. The more people who open a Yotta account using your code, the higher your referral tier and the more tickets you receive.Referral tiers
| Tier | Referrals | Tickets per referral | One-time bonus | Extra tickets per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 0-2 | 100 tickets | — | — |
| Silver | 3-5 | 150 tickets | 300 tickets | — |
| Gold | 6-9 | 200 tickets | 600 tickets | 5% extra tickets per week |
| Platinum | 10+ | 250 tickets | 1,000 tickets | 10% extra tickets per week |
Savings account ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
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