In this Yotta Savings review, you will see how this fintech company makes saving more interesting by adding a weekly chance to win a lottery jackpot.
For many people, saving money whether it be in the bank or other financial institutions is a drag. They find it not worth it especially since the interests on savings accounts are usually low.
Ironically, some people would rather spend money joining or betting on lotteries instead of saving their money in the bank.
In fact, a report published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics says that from the third quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018, Americans spent an average of $132.43 on lottery tickets.
Meanwhile, data from Statista says that in 2020, the largest lottery sales were in New York, generating approximately 9.74 billion U.S. dollars. This was followed by Florida as well as Texas, with lottery sales that amount to 7.5 billion and 6.7 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.
If you think about it, that’s a lot of money spent on lotteries. More so, that’s too much money spent on something that you are unsure of. After all, only a few wins the prize, right? The probability of taking home the prize is way too far, to be honest.
Related Articles:
Still, a lot of people are into it instead of saving that money on banks or other financial institutions instead.
But, what if you get the best of both worlds? You know, hitting two birds with one stone?
Sounds impossible? Does it seem like a crazy idea?
Well, apparently, you are wrong, because that is exactly what Yotta Savings is trying to address.
The company offers both savings, at the same time, provides its customers an opportunity to win the weekly lottery!
So, does the company do it? Well, you are going to find out as you go along this Yotta Savings review.
Specifically, this in-depth review will focus on providing answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about this online financial platform, which include:
- What is Yotta Savings?
- Who is Yotta Savings best for?
- What does Yotta Savings offer?
- How does Yotta Savings work?
- Are there fees involved?
- How to open an account with Yotta Savings?
- Is Yotta Savings safe?
- What are the upsides of Yotta Savings?
- What are the downsides of Yotta Savings?
WHAT IS YOTTA SAVINGS?
Yotta Savings is a financial technology or fintech company that offers an alternative interest rate structure on savings.
Founded in October 2019 by Adam Moelis and Ben Doyle, this New York-based company provides a savings application with lottery elements, which makes it very unique to what other fintech companies offer.
Inspired by the United Kingdom’s Premium Bonds program, Yotta integrated gamification elements with traditional savings.
By using Yotta Savings, account holders get to save money, at the same time, have the chance to win a $10 million jackpot, along with a multitude of other prizes and rewards.
But the good things do not end with the lottery prize alone.
Yotta functions as a basic savings app that provides a relatively high annual percentage yield of up to 4%.
Yotta does not only provide customers with a fun take on savings app but that also provides customers a chance to hold their money in a high-yield savings account.
The good things about Yotta Saving continue —
Apart from the chance to win a lottery prize, as well as earn a high interest rate on a savings account, Yotta ensures that all deposits are safe in case of an unfortunate event.
Yotta Savings is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which means in the event of a bank failure, all deposits are insured for up to $250,000 per depositor, per account category.
Before moving on, if you want to know more about Yotta Savings, check this video by Brendan Fitness and Money:
WHO IS YOTTA SAVINGS BEST FOR?
Generally speaking, Yotta should appeal to individuals who want to take advantage of having basic savings account with a high annual percentage yield, at the same time, a chance to win a weekly lottery prize for free.
Additionally, Yotta Savings is also a good choice for people who do not want to worry about paying monthly fees or meeting account minimum requirements.
Yotta Savings is a fintech company, which means transactions are done entirely online. Thus, this app is great for people who prefer online banking and does not mind not having a physical branch to go to.
Because of the lottery aspect, this is a great opportunity for people who won’t win as much as $10 million every week without having to pay for anything! Basically, you earn 1 ticket for every $25 you deposit in your account.
WHAT DOES YOTTA SAVINGS OFFER?
Technically speaking, Yotta Savings is not a bank, but a fintech or neobank. However, thanks to its partner, Evolve Bank, Yotta Savings can provide banking services that are FDIC-insured.
With Yotta Savings, customers earn a small amount of interest plus cash-based prizes instead of earning cash interests.
Since Yotta Savings is a fintech company, everything is done entirely online. The app is accessible to both iOS and Android users.
Now, for a more thorough review, here’s what Yotta Savings has to offer:
Lottery Tickets
Yotta Savings is not your typical savings account. With every $25 that you save, you get a ticket into weekly number draws. So, if you deposit $100 for instance, you get 4 tickets every week for as long as you keep that amount in your account without making any new deposits.
A prize is chosen every Monday of the week at 9 PM EST.
What’s nice about Yotta is that, unlike the traditional lottery, customers do not lose any money at all. They just gain some if they win.
Meanwhile, picking numbers as well as handing out prizes is done by a third-party insurance company.
Savings Rewards
Yotta’s base savings reward is 0.20%. While multiple outlets have tried calculating how much the “average” could earn with Yotta in rewards, there has been no concrete result.
Nevertheless, effective rate calculations factor in the base rewards plus the winning prize from lottery tickets.
Currently, Yotta’s weekly lottery prize ranges between $0.01 and $10 million, including partial ticket matches that pay out small amounts of money.
Debit Card
Yotta Savings is launching its debit MasterCard soon.
What’s nice about it is that you get to earn tickets by simply using it. For every $10 spent, you will earn one ticket to the following week’s draw.
Additionally, there is a chance to win the item you have just purchased for free.
Cardholders will also be upgraded automatically to a premium metal card once they have made 10 referrals.
Referral Program
Each customer gets to have a unique referral code, which allows them to earn extra 100 tickets for the lottery.
Similarly, the person they are referring to will also earn the same number of tickets for the lottery.
HOW DOES YOTTA SAVINGS WORK?
Now that you already know what to expect from the Yotta app, this part of the Yotta Savings review will focus on providing you information on how the app actually works.
Using the Yotta Savings app is very simple and easy.
First, you make a deposit. You may deposit by simply choosing your bank to deposit from.
As mentioned, for every $25 that you save, you automatically earn one ticket into the weekly number draws.
If you deposit $50, then, you get 2 tickets every week for as long as you keep that $50 in your account without making any new deposits.
Second, for every Money, you need to pick 7 numbers for each of your tickets.
If you forget to pick your numbers before the draw, that’s fine. Your ticket will be automatically picked if you are not able to complete it in time.
Third, the draw is done every week with one number drawn every night at 9 PM EST. The final number is drawn on Sundays, and the winnings for the week are made.
Lastly, Yotta lets you earn up to $10 million every week!
If you want to earn more, you just got to match as many numbers as possible. However, if you match all seven numbers, you take home the $10 million jackpot with you.
It is important to know that Yotta Savings is primarily a savings account, which allows you to earn a 0.20% interest rate.
However, if you include the value of the current prizes, account holders could get up to 4% all-in on your savings, which is definitely the highest rate out there.
Ultimately, what makes Yotta unique is the fact that it allows its account holders to save in a separate account, at the same time, play the lottery without any risks involved.
Withdrawal Limits
Similar to other banks, Yotta Saving account holders are limited to six withdrawals only per statement period.
In addition, these dollar limits apply: $10,000 per day, $40,000 per month, and $100,000 per year.
ARE THERE FEES INVOLVED?
With all these opportunities and perks that Yotta Savings provide, you’d probably think it will cost you a lot to benefit from it all.
Well, guess what?
Yotta Savings does not charge any monthly service fee, as well as it does not require any minimum deposit or minimum balance requirements.
Furthermore, the app does not charge overdraft fees as well.
The only possible fee that you will be charged is ATM fees if you decide to make cash withdrawals.
However, the company says it is currently working on creating its very own in-network ATM system. So, sooner or later, customers will also get to enjoy free ATM transactions.
HOW TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH YOTTA SAVINGS?
Now that you already know the most important details about the Yotta Savings app, this time, let’s talk about how to actually open a Yotta Savings account.
To start with, you have to download the Yotta Savings app, which is available for both iOS and Android devices.
Now, to sign up for a Yotta Savings account, similar to other banks, you will be asked to provide some basic personal and financial information such as your name, address, phone number, birth date, as well as your Social Security number.
Do not worry about seeing a hit to your score because Yotta will not pull your credit.
Once you are done creating your account, you will then be prompted to input your bank account details.
Please take note that Yotta requires account holders to have a US-based bank account. Otherwise, you will have to make one first before you can start using Yotta.
Yotta has no restrictions on which bank accounts to connect. However, it has to be a regular checking account from a bank based in the United States.
Yotta Savings has partnered with Plaid, which ensures you can connect any bank account to the app without any hassle.
IS YOTTA SAVINGS SAFE?
The safety of your money and your personal information is important to Yotta. That is why it has put all necessary safety and security measures in place.
First, Yotta Savings uses military-grade 256-bit AES encryption on all customers’ personal data and transfers information using secure SSL channels. With these security measures in place, hackers should have a hard time trying to get into your account.
Second, your money is not actually held with Yotta. This means that if the company goes under, creditors cannot come after your funds.
Lastly, as mentioned earlier, all deposits on Yotta Savings are FDIC-insured. Thanks to its partnership with Evolve Bank.
All accounts are insured for up to $250,000 per depositor, per account category in the event of a bank failure.
So, overall, the Yotta Savings app is very safe to use. Both your personal information and your money are well taken care of.
WHAT ARE THE UPSIDES OF YOTTA SAVINGS?
This Yotta Savings review will not be complete without sharing with you a list of the pros and cons of using Yotta Savings.
In this section, we are going to focus on the upsides of Yotta Savings first. This includes:
- Excellent Savings Account – Yotta Savings’ base interest rate is 0.20%, which means no matter what, your money will grow. However, if you add the weekly cash bonuses, most account holders could end up earning as much as 4% (even more) APY on their accounts.
- Unique Gamification Elements – Apart from providing you a basic savings platform, Yotta also takes advantage of the oddities of human psychology to incentivize people to save more money.
- No Monthly or Overdraft Fees – Apart from the fact that Yotta provides a very unique way to make people save money by providing them a chance to win a prize at the same time, Yotta also makes saving stress-free by not charging monthly service fees or overdraft fees.
- Free Weekly Lottery – Unlike typical lotteries, with Yotta, account holders need not worry about paying for lottery tickets, because they’re free! All you need to do is deposit money into your account. For every $25, you automatically earn 1 ticket for yourself.
- Chance to Win Millions – Yotta Savings app provides each account holder the chance to win for up to $10 million every week. What’s nice about it is that you have chances to win without having to lose any at all. As mentioned, you earn a lottery ticket for every $25 deposit made.
- Referral Bonus – Just when you thought the good things are over, well, not yet. If you refer a friend to Yotta, you instantly get 100 lottery tickets for free when they sign up and make an account. Furthermore, the same number of tickets will also be given to your friend/s.
WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES OF YOTTA SAVINGS?
In the above section, we’ve shared some of the highlights of Yotta Savings.
To complete our Yotta Savings review, here are some of the downsides of the app:
- Entirely Mobile – Unfortunately, Yotta Savings is only accessible through its mobile app. Unlike other fintech companies, this does not allow you to access your account on a desktop computer. Good thing though as the app is very easy to use, and does not have major concerns.
- Average Base Rate – If we are just going to look at the base rate, there are surely other banks and financial institutions that offer higher than that.
- No Fee-Free ATM Network – As of this writing, Yotta Savings does not have a free ATM network. So, while it does not charge monthly service fees or overdraft fees, customers will have to deal with ATM fee charges instead.
- Lack of Features – Yotta was created solely for savings. It does not offer any other traditional banking services like checking accounts, certificate of deposit accounts, or retirement accounts.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON YOTTA SAVINGS
Yotta Savings is a fintech company that offers savings account as well as an opportunity to win a weekly lottery prize of up to $10 million.
It’s a great option especially for people who love joining lotteries. What’s nice about Yotta is that you don’t lose anything. You earn a ticket for the lottery draw for every $25 deposited to your account.
Given all that Yotta Savings offers, do you think this is the right account for you?