Monzo and Zopa launch new cash prize draws – are they worth a go?

Monzo and Zopa are hoping to bring a little Christmas cheer to customers feeling the festive squeeze with cash prizes worth up to £10,000.

Customers who hold a Monzo current account will have their monthly salary doubled if they win the digital bank's new monthly draw. While Zopa has launched a one-off Christmas giveaway, with a total of £15,000 in the prize pot.

Here, Which? takes a closer look at what's up for grabs, plus checks how other prize draws compare.

Are the new prize draws worth it?

Monzo and Zopa are the latest current account providers to offer cash prize draws. Here's how they stack up:

Monzo's Double Payday

This prize draw kicked off on 8 December, with the bank doubling the salaries of 10 lucky current account customers every month. For example, if your monthly take home pay was £2,500, the digital bank adds another £2,500, tax-free. The prize is capped at £10,000, however.

To be eligible, customers need to have their weekly or monthly salary paid by BACS directly into their individual or join current account. You must also have received your salary by the last day of the calendar month to be eligible for next month’s draw. 

Zopa's Christmas giveaway

Zopa is running a Christmas themed prize draw for Biscuit current account customers who deposit at least £50 between 1 and 31 December 2025. 

The prizes include:

• One top prize of £10,000
• Five prizes of £1,015 - the average spent over the festive period, according to a Zopa survey of more than 2,000 people.

Winners will be selected at random and announced on 13 January 2026. Any account closed by that date will not be eligible and the prize draw is not open to customers who set up a Biscuit account before 1 December.

Are Monzo and Zopa good banks?

Even if you do enjoy the thrill of a flutter, prize draws shouldn't be the sole reason for opening a current account. You should also look at elements such as customer service, communication, and interest rates, plus consider whether branch access is important to you.

Our guide to the best banks and bank accounts can help you make a more informed decision when choosing the right home for your money. Monzo, for example, was named a Which? Recommended Provider this year and has a customer score of 85%. 

Customers were impressed by features such as fee-free international spending, cashback deals, savings round-ups and instant spending notifications. It fell short in only one area – contacting customer services 

As the current account has only just launched, Zopa wasn’t included in our latest analysis, so we can’t yet compare how it performs on service or reliability in this area. However, Zopa is a Which? Recommended Provider for both savings accounts and credit cards.

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Are there better prize-draw accounts? 

Monzo and Zopa aren't the only providers to offer a lottery-style account, so you may want to look at other options to see if they are a better fit. 

Here are a few alternative draws you can enter by opening a savings or current account:

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) premium bonds

What is it? Premium bonds are the most well-known and popular lottery-style savings option, offering the chance to win cash prizes every month instead of paying interest. The more bonds you have, the more likely you are to win, but you could win nothing at all. 

How do you enter? Each £1 you invest in premium bonds is given a unique number, though the minimum investment is £25. All the numbers are put into a monthly draw to win tax-free cash prizes. The draw takes place on the first working day of the month. The maximum investment is £50,000.

How much could you win? Prizes start at £25 and go up to 2 x £1m monthly jackpots. The odds of each £1 bond number winning a prize is 21,000 to 1. You don't earn any interest on the balance.

Other terms? You must be over 16 to buy premium bonds directly, though anyone can buy bonds on behalf of children aged under 16, either online or by phone. If you live abroad, you can apply for premium bonds by post, and winnings can be paid into an international bank account. NS&I is backed by the Treasury, so 100% of your money is safe.

• Find out more: premium bonds – are they worth buying?  

Chip Prize Savings Account

What is it? The Chip Prize Savings Account functions like an instant-access saver account, but instead of earning interest on your savings, you earn entries into the prize draw. 

How do you enter? Every £10 you deposit into the prize savings account is worth one entry into the prize draw, and you must have at least £100 deposited by the end of the month. The more entries, the great your chance of winning. For example, a sum of £1,000 would give you 100 entries. Winners are picked by the 7th of each month at the latest. 

How much can you win? The prizes can vary month to month, but in December there will be a grand prize of £250,000, 100 x £1,000 prizes, 5,000 x £10 prizes, and 20,000 x £5 prizes. 

Is it available throughout the UK? Yes, you must be a permanent resident in the United Kingdom.

Other terms? Savers need to be 18 or over to open an account and must be permanent resident in the UK. Winnings are tax-free, but the Prize Savings Account doesn't pay any interest and your money is covered by FSCS up to £120,000 only.

• Find out more: best savings rates 2025

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Credit Union Prize Saver Account

What is it? Any credit union member can open a PrizeSaver managed by the Association of British Credit Unions. If you’re not a member yet, you can sign up through your local credit union. Credit unions are non-profit financial organisations owned and controlled by members.

How do you enter? Every £1 held in a PrizeSaver account gets one entry into the monthly prize draw, capped at up to £200. Monthly prize draws take place between the 15th and 20th of each month. 

How much could you win? One top prize of £5,000 and smaller prizes of 10 x £50 and 10 x £20 (prizes are split between all participating credit unions). You don't earn any interest on the balance.

Other terms? You must be over 18 to set up an account, and it must be held in your name only. The PrizeSaver draw is available to residents of England, Scotland and Wales (not Northern Ireland) through one of 17 participating credit unions. 

• Find out more: credit unions explained