How cashback works. What is cashback in simple words and its features on a bank card

The banking industry regularly offers new products with the aim of attracting customers. One of these new products is cashback. Cashback is a return of a certain percentage of the amount of money you spent.

Basically, the return rate is 1-10%, but the exact value is determined by the type of bank card, type, value of purchases made, place of their purchase, and so on. Cashback credit cards have found wide popularity among clients of banking institutions. What does cashback mean and how can I get a refund? We'll figure out!

Mechanism of action and features

Usually bonus the service applies to non-cash transactionscarried out by means of a card. This can be a purchase in regular stores or over the Internet. However, bonuses will not be refunded for ATM withdrawals.

Despite the fact that all financial institutions offer quite attractive cashback conditions, in many cases the conditions and features of bonus accrual differ, as well as the amount of return.

Most often, 1% of the purchase amount is returnedthat was paid with a card with a credit limit. But sometimes credit institutions are ready to return more - it depends on which organizations are their partners.

For example, 1% will be returned to you when you buy a product in a store, 3% when you pay for tickets at a certain cinema, and 5% when you pay in a restaurant or cafe with which a banking institution has an agreement.

Also often financial institutions arrange additional promotions for clients... For example, over a certain period, you will be refunded 5% of purchases of a certain category - in clothing stores, pharmacies, railway ticket offices, and so on. If you use this feature, it is better to keep track of the promotions offered by the lender.

There are two options for getting cashback... The first is when the lender pays all your bonuses on a specific day every month, for example, the 10th. Otherwise, the interest is refunded immediately after the payment is made.

It is important to carefully study the conditions for receiving bonuses before signing an agreement. Some institutions limit the number of bonuses - for example, no more than 3,000 rubles can be credited per month.

Bonus program Thank you from Sberbank - read where to spend the accumulated points and the list of partner stores.

Types of cards

Cashback cards can be credit or debit cards. Credit cards are beneficial if they offer a grace period for the loan. In this way, you can benefit from cashless paymentsthereby covering the service charge.

Debit cards that offer a cashback function are also worth considering. Often, users use them not only to pay for services and goods, but also to store funds. Often, banks charge a certain percentage on the account balance, even if cashback is used.

To learn more about what cashback is, how the services work with this service and how to use the system when buying goods over the Internet, you can read this video:

You can apply for a card with a refund function in almost any major bank. But it is recommended to first compare several proposals, and then make a final decision.

In contact with

The term "cashback" is quite common in our everyday life. What does it mean and what is it for?

If you try to translate the word cashback from English into Russian, it turns out that it literally means cash back... This term is often used in cases when it is necessary to somehow designate some kind of bonus program needed to attract customers or increase their loyalty to a particular brand.

Cashback in trade

In retail (as well as in Internet trade), cashback is (in a sense) a delayed discount that is returned to the client after a certain period of time allotted for an exchange or refund.

Also, the concept of "cashback" is used in the banking sector. In this case, cashback refers to a loyalty program that encourages a customer to make a purchase using a credit card (or a simple bank card).

The cashback scheme itself differs significantly from the usual discount schemes and discount systems.

This concept came to Russia from Britain and the United States. The spelling of this concept in Russian is still not quite formalized. It is often used in a wide variety of variations and forms. The form of this word largely depends on the source of the borrowing itself.

If the word is spelled as "cashback", then it was taken from British sources, and if as "cashback", then from American sources. It is the hyphen that is the sign by which you can quite accurately determine where exactly this word was taken from.

Where is the term "cashback" used most often?

Usually we are talking about online commerce. In this case, this concept is understood as a discount like the return of a certain part of the purchase price to the buyer's personal account in his personal account on the cashback service. You can withdraw funds received in this way directly to your mobile phone or even a bank card. Also, on the territory of the Russian Federation, to withdraw money received under the cashback scheme, you can use the Yandex.Money, PayPal and even WebMoney system.

One of the most relevant factors affecting the choice of one or another cashback service is the question of whether it is necessary to accumulate a certain amount to withdraw the funds received. The fact is that in some cases you can withdraw an amount even in 1 ruble, and in other cases you will have to accumulate a fairly considerable amount of money to withdraw.

Cashback sites

Also, in recent years, various cashback sites have gained great popularity. They look like ordinary navigation platforms that are able to redirect the buyer to the websites of any specialized online stores that enter into any partnership agreements with cashback aggregators.

Also today there are many different cashback portals. What are they and what are they for?

These cashback sites can help a potential buyer find something that is extremely difficult to find on their own. We can say that cashback portals are an additional service. He will also help you find out about any discount programs, compare prices for the same product in different stores. In addition, the cashback service can offer several convenient options for paying through online systems at once. The cashback service is not limited to these services.

During any operation to purchase goods through the cashback portal, the buyer has the opportunity to receive a refund of a predetermined percentage of the price of the goods through the cashback market, and not through the seller of the goods himself.

Cashback in banks

The banking industry has also adopted the cashback scheme. She is engaged in the issue of credit and debit cards with a cashback function. In this case, when paying for a purchase using this card, you can get a couple more percent of the total cost of the paid product to be credited to your account.

Some banks operate differently. They have certain schemes for the return of some pre-calculated percentage that was spent not on any purchase, but only on a limited number of types of purchases (usually a certain list of various companies from services or trade, which are part of a special partnership program to stimulate consumer demand). This means that you can only get cashback when you refuel at a certain gas station or eat at a cafe of a particular chain.

Also, the cashback option of a credit card can be an integral part of a loyalty program for customers of any banking institution. This loyalty program may be needed if you need to somehow stimulate customers to use the card as a means for non-cash payments.

In some cases, we are talking about a coalition loyalty program with partner retail chains who would like to stimulate the demand for certain types of goods or services. Such cards issued under a joint loyalty program can be classified as co-branded cards. A co-branded card is a card issued by a bank in conjunction with any enterprise (most often a merchant).

Cashback and hospitality

In the hotel business, the concept of "cashback" is also often used in connection with the return of a certain percentage of the total amount spent on accommodation in a particular hotel. This type of program gained the greatest popularity among business travelers.

The thing is that the employer pays for their accommodation, and the money received under the cashback scheme is returned to the personal account of the person who is staying at the hotel. In this way, you can seriously save money. Some receptionists in hotels also refer to the return of cash to the cashier in the event that, for one reason or another, cash was withdrawn from the cash desk in an amount exceeding the established minimum for a specific cash desk. Once a day, the hotel ticket office must be replenished with the missing amount of money.


Modern bank cards, in addition to their basic functions, have a set of useful functions, including cashback. But what is it in simple words and what are its features when credited to cards. You will learn all this by reading the article to the end.

In order to figure out what cashback is, let's start with a translation. Literally in English, this term means "cash back". These simple words explain the essence of the option. When spending personal funds to pay for goods or services part of the money spent is returned back to the buyer. Such a service is available in Internet commerce, in the field of banking services when paying by credit card, and even in the field of government (for example,).

Some programs issue bonus programs under the guise of a refund for expenses incurred. For purchases, points are awarded that can only be spent in certain stores. What is cashback in simple words - it is a refund of money. And the accrual of points is a user reward program and nothing else.

To get a cashback, you can pay for goods by credit card through post terminals or by making purchases on the Internet. Moreover, in the second case, payment can also take place using a bank card. Refunds can be made by the bank serving you or by a special service through which the purchase was made. Below we will look at both of these options, but for now, let's figure out how and why the money is returned.

It would seem why charge cashback to a bank card or transfer directly to an account, who benefits from it? Everything is very simple. Every store is interested in attracting new buyers. By increasing turnover, it increases net revenue. With the return of a part of the funds spent, outlets stimulate to make purchases from them. And banks or services act as intermediaries, receiving their part of the benefits for this.

The scheme for crediting cashback to an account or bank card looks like this:

The store, having slightly reduced the price of the product (but certainly not at a loss), attracted a new customer, who may subsequently become a permanent one. The client received some of the money spent back and is very pleased that he was able to save. And the service or the bank received income for intermediation. Everybody is good. To make it even clearer, let's explain in simple words the concept of cashback using an example. Bank rates may differ from those shown in the example.

Example! A computer store sells a laptop at a price of 60,000 rubles, while the trade margin for it is 40% (that is, the cost of a laptop is 40% less). This outlet has an agreement with the bank, allowing the latter to receive 10% of the value of the goods, if he brings a buyer. A customer with a bank card of this financial institution comes and pays for the goods. The bank receives 6,000 rubles, and the client gives 5% cashback according to the tariffs of his card.

The best refund services

The main thing when choosing a cashback service is its reliability and a guarantee that he will pay the due money. The latter is very important, since the return has to wait for several weeks. Working with unverified services for the accrued funds, you can not wait. Among all such companies, we can recommend the following:

Features of charging on a bank card

Now let's find out what cashback on a bank card is and how it differs from usual. In simple words, the scheme for returning the money spent is identical, with the only difference that goods and services are paid for exclusively with a card. This means that by paying for groceries or other daily purchases using the card, you can get some of the costs back. But this money is credited in most banks in the next month only after the end of the current one (there are exceptions).

The peculiarity of bank conclusion rates is the division of all purchases into categories. You can choose favorite categories in which an increased cashback is charged up to 10%. This is usually done in the Internet bank or mobile application. There are bank cards already issued with an increased charge for certain goods, for example, for motorists (gas stations, auto parts, car washes), travelers (booking hotels, air and railway tickets) or amateurs (cafes, restaurants, nightclubs). For any other purchases given on average from 0.5% to 1.5%. Some banks also have partner stores where cashback can reach 30%.

List of the most popular and profitable bank cards with cashback:


The cashback function in the bank card you used or using the service when shopping on the Internet will be a great addition to the joy of a new purchase. Sit down and count on your calculator how much money you spend and how much money you can get back. Will they become superfluous? In simple terms, do not be lazy and take advantage of this opportunity.


Many people today are interested in the question of what cashback is and how to use it. This service is represented by a special refund of a certain part of the money spent on purchases in online stores or regular retail outlets.

The crediting is made either to the person's card or to his account in the selected service that works with cashbacks. The amount received after purchase as a refund can be applied to subsequent purchases, or it can be received in cash.

Cashback on purchase

Initially, you should carefully understand what this cashback is. Translated from English, it means the return of cash. This means that the principle of cashback is that a person makes a purchase on the Internet, after which he has the opportunity to return a certain percentage of the amount spent back.

Important! In fact, buying with cashback means getting a significant discount on goods, and in some services it is so great that it can even reach 50%.

The system works in such a way that you can get a refund from the purchase of any product on the Internet, even if different discounts are set for it. For many people who prefer to shop online, having a cashback becomes an opportunity to earn a little money.

How does cashback work? The funds are returned not by the seller of goods, but by the site from which the transition was made. It is quite difficult to choose the best cashback service, since many similar organizations operate on the Internet. To get the maximum income and benefit from purchases, the following criteria are taken into account in the process of choosing a service:

  • providing a welcome bonus. This fact is significant, as it says that the site is actually good and cares about customers;
  • the minimum amount that can be withdrawn. The conclusion should be given as much attention as possible, since often it will take a long time to collect the required minimum, and the more money you need to collect, the greater the catch in the service;
  • ways in which funds can be credited to the buyer's bank card. Therefore, you should carefully study how to withdraw money so that the chosen method is convenient for a person;
  • the number of stores where cashback purchases can be made. It is advisable to take advantage of the offers of services in which there is a return in numerous stores, since this process will be not only profitable, but also pleasant;
  • it is estimated what cashback is offered by the service. Some sites offer increased cashback, but using the services, customers may encounter certain difficulties. Also, the percentage is credited too long, but with a lower percentage, you can get many other benefits from the site.

Important! It is not recommended to focus only on the largest cashback, since it is additionally worth evaluating all the tools of the selected service, and this determines the ease of placing an order, the promptness of withdrawing the funds earned and the presence of other advantages.

How to use the services?

Having figured out what cash back is, you should decide how to use cash back. Making money on these services is very easy. How to buy through them? This process is divided into stages:

  • a person needs to choose a service with which he can make a purchase in the desired online store;
  • you must go through the registration procedure, and the account where the refund will be transferred is indicated;
  • following the site link, the user must go to the selected store, after which the selected goods must be registered
  • goods are paid for;
  • then, on the selected site in your personal account, a percentage of the paid value of goods appears;
  • if the available amount is enough for withdrawal, then you can get this cashback in money to a bank account.

Cashback cards specifics

You should figure out not only how to get cashback by purchasing something on the Internet, but also how to connect this opportunity using different bank cards.

Important! Many large banks offer cards with such a return to attract customers. It is very easy to calculate the benefits of using them, but you need to choose the institution itself that offers a high percentage.

Where does cashback come from in this case? It is represented by special bonus percentages accrued in the process of using the card to purchase various goods or services, not only in stationary organizations, but also on the Internet. Features of using such banking products:

  • how much money will be received in the form of interest depends on the status of the existing card;
  • a refund of part of the cost of various purchases is usually credited monthly in the last days of the month;
  • this card can be used even outside Russia.

Having understood the peculiarities of using such banking products, you can easily determine how to make money on such a cashback. Different banks have different conditions, so it is important beforehand:

  • familiarize yourself with the limitation of the number of services for which refunds are taken;
  • consider whether you can get a card for free or you will have to pay a certain amount for its issue and maintenance;
  • evaluate how you can withdraw cashback, since each bank can offer its own methods for this process;
  • study the restrictions on the use of funds received and the availability of limits.

When choosing a bank where the card will be issued, each client chooses the most suitable conditions for himself.

You can issue two different cards with the possibility of refund:

  • debit. For purchases using these cards, bonus funds are credited. Some banks offer the ability to withdraw them or use them for different purposes, while other institutions only allow them to be used to pay for services or goods offered by their partners. Money is usually transferred at the end of the reporting period, which is the month;
  • credit. It provides not only an interest-free period, but also the possibility of returning some of the funds used on the card for purchases in various stores. Due to such refunds, cardholders may not pay any money at all for using the banking product, and in some cases they may even receive income from the process.

Thus, many people are sure that trading with cashback is a deception, therefore they do not trust various services and banks that offer this opportunity. However, if you figure out what this process is, and also what this word means, you can get a good return for different purchases or payment for services.

Should I issue refund cards? Such a solution is considered optimal for every bank client or person who prefers to shop on the Internet. However, for this you need to figure out how to make cashback, and how this refund is taken in order to enjoy the benefits of the service.

In this article, I will tell you what is cashback in simple words, what is interesting about debit cards with cashback, how cashback is carried out in online stores and other areas, what determines the size of the cashback, what types it can be and a lot of other useful information on this issue. I think this should be interesting and useful, since using such an opportunity in practice will create a small additional source of income that will not be superfluous for anyone.

What is cashback?

The term "cashback" is borrowed from English (cashback) and literally means "cash back". However, in its current meaning, in most cases it means a cashless return of money.

Cashback is a return to the buyer of a certain share of the funds spent on the purchase. An important point is that the cashback amount is returned to the buyer not by the seller, but by the affiliate - an intermediary who “led” the buyer to a specific seller for the purchase.

Our cashback is most widespread in the following areas:

  1. (the bank is the affiliate).
  2. (cashback services are affiliates).
  3. Gambling business (cashback services are affiliates).
  4. Hospitality (cashback services are an affiliate).

How does an affiliate pay cashback to his client, why does he need it? It's simple: he himself earns on this by concluding partnership agreements with retail outlets.

Why is cashback beneficial?

Cashback is such an interesting phenomenon that is beneficial to all sides of the process: both the seller and the buyer and the affiliate.

Seller receives an additional influx of customers, increases its revenue, and therefore - and profit. For him, partnership with an affiliate is a kind of advertising, but he pays only for directly attracted buyers, which is beneficial.

Buyer receives a refund of part of the cost of the purchase, that is, saves, pays less.

Affiliate earns on all this, increases his own income and profits.

To make it even clearer, let's look at the principle of cashback in a bank using an example.

The bank installs its terminals for servicing plastic cards in the store, and the store pays it a partner remuneration of 1% of the sum of all terminal transactions. And the bank, in turn, pays out 0.5% cashback to its cardholders. Thus, he makes his cards more attractive to customers, earning more on commissions for their issuance and service, and motivates customers to pay for more purchases with cards, and he himself earns more on this (1% -0.5% \u003d 0.5 %). Everything is in the black: the store gets more customers and income, the bank gets more customers and income, customers get additional income in the form of cashback.

Types of cashback.

In addition to the fact that cashback is used in different areas of activity, as already mentioned above, the following types of cashback can be distinguished:

  1. Cash cashback (the buyer is credited with real money, with which you can do anything: spend on purchases or cash out).
  2. Bonus cashback (the buyer is credited with bonuses, some internal currency that can be used only for certain purposes, for example, for purchases in the same store).
  3. The combination of the first two types of cashback (part of the funds is credited in real money, and part - in bonuses).

When issuing a bank card with a cashback or wanting to use a cashback service, you need to find out in advance what type of cashback is provided there, so that it completely suits you.

What is the size of the cashback, what does it depend on?

Now let's move on to the most interesting: what the size of the cashback can be, what it depends on. I will say this: cashback on bank cards on average ranges from 0.5% to 5%, in some cases - up to 10%. In cashback services, it can be significantly higher: 10-30% and even more. What does it depend on?

  1. From the terms of the affiliate's partnership with a particular store. The more a store pays a commission to an affiliate, the larger the amount of cashback that is returned to the buyer.
  2. From the type of purchased goods / services. The more expensive and elite goods / services, the higher the margin on their cost, and the larger the cashback.
  3. From the total turnover. The greater the total volume of purchases in a particular store or on a particular card, the greater the amount of the credited cashback.
  4. On the terms of the promotions. It often happens that affiliates hold some kind of promotions in order to increase the number of their clients. And during periods of such promotions, the size of the cashback may be larger than usual.

For the same card, or when using the same cashback service, the size of the cashback for different operations may be different.

How can cashback be used?

If we are talking about cash cashback, then it can be used for further purchases, or withdrawn, turning it into cash.

One of the most popular ways to use cashback is to replenish the accounts of mobile operators. Also, cashback can be withdrawn to electronic money or a bank card (depending on the conditions of each specific affiliate).

Cashback in the form of bonuses can only be used strictly for the purpose of these bonuses, that is, they can be used to make other purchases in certain places.

Summing up all of the above, we can conclude that the cashback system is beneficial to all its participants, and most importantly - to customers-buyers, since in fact it allows them to make purchases cheaper and save money.

Now you know what cashback is, how it is beneficial, what types it can be, and how you can use it. Use cards with cashback, use cashback services and save.

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