Prizes continue to prove to be an effective tool for spurring positive financial actions. Prize Savings on the Walmart MoneyCard, designed in partnership with Green Dot Bank and Commonwealth, is celebrating a year of success. The program encourages saving by making the act fun and exciting. Since Prize Savings launched, Walmart MoneyCard savings pocket usage is up more than 274% and users are, on average, saving 35% more. Learn more in Walmart MoneyCard Prize Savings: One Year Anniversary Brief.

Prize Savings is just one example of how prizes can be used to make saving fun and exciting. The concept has been applied across industries with much success:

• Prize-linked savings account holders at hundreds of credit unions in a dozen states across the country have accumulated nearly $70 million.
• Tax filers can take advantage of the tax time saving moment with SaveYourRefund, which has rewarded participants for saving a portion of their tax refund for the past 5 years and is continuing in 2018. In 2017, entrants saved an average of $859.
• We partnered with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development to pilot prize-linked savings with their summer youth workers, encouraging them to save a portion of their earnings.

While Prize Savings and other products have launched successfully as sweepstakes, states continue to pass legislation enabling savings promotion raffles which offer more flexibility in product design. Over half of US adults now live in a state where savings promotion raffles are legal, and a third of US adults – over 81 million people – live in a state where products are offered. For example, Delaware passed legislation in May 2017, and Del-One – a local credit union –  is offering a PLS product that has generated over $22,000 in savings in just two months, an average of $100 per member.

In the next few years, with the support of a $500,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co., we will explore new channels to scale the use of prizes. For example, we will collaborate with employers to pilot offering PLS products in the workplace and the use of prizes to prompt other positive actions. We look forward to the day that prizes are a commonplace tool used to build financial security.