What is cashback in simple words

“Cashback – what is it?” Grandmothers ask their grandchildren when they hear a new word in the bank’s advertisement. We understand all the intricacies of the concept in order to easily explain it to others.

1. Difference from other types of discounts
2. Who benefits from cashback?
3. Definition, term, how to write a word
4. Cashback service
5. Bank offers: what is a cashback card?
6. The best debit cards with cashback: comparison in the table
7. The best credit cards with cashback: comparison in the table

The definition of the word is easy to understand if you know that cash is money and back is back.

That is, cashback is a bonus in the form of real money or points that is returned to the client’s account in order to stimulate him for further purchases.

In simple words, cashback is a discount on purchases with a plastic card, which is returned to the buyer’s account after a certain time.

It is used in banking and online commerce.

Difference from other types of discounts

Cashback differs from other familiar systems of discounts and promotions. This is how it works:

1. A person pays for a purchase in an online store at the retail price, taking into account a discount, if any.
2. The intermediary between the store and the customer, called an “affiliate,” returns a portion of the purchase price to the person. Because the affiliate has an agreement with the store, according to which he receives a percentage of sales for attracting customers
3. The source of cashback in this scheme is commission payments paid by the store to the affiliate

Who benefits from cashback?

Each participant in the transaction benefits from the use of cashback.

The store sells products to customers who came from an affiliate – that’s good.

The affiliate gets a percentage of the store as a thank you for the new customer – good too.

The end customer has his own percentage of the affiliate’s percentage in the form of a cashback on the card – generally super!

There is also a bank benefit in this bonus system. After all, the bank needs people to pay with non-cash money and not withdraw cash from their accounts. By paying cashback, the bank encourages customers to pay with plastic cards. And he feels good about it too!

Definition, term, how to write a word

This word migrated to our language from Great Britain and the USA. Its spelling has not yet been recorded in any dictionary, so you can find completely different options:

• Cashback
• Cash-back
• Cash back

All these words have the right to life until the spelling norm is established.

Cashback service

Cashback platforms are widely developed on the Internet, which promise refunds on various terms. Each such service has its own list of partner stores through which it will be most profitable to purchase goods. Usually, clients choose the most suitable service for themselves and use only it to withdraw the largest amount from their account.

Consider the popular services in the table.

Service name	Minimum withdrawal amount	Withdrawal methods	Number of partner stores
LetyShops	500 rubles	– PayPal – WebMoney – Yandex.Money – QIWI wallet – Mobile phone – Bank card Visa / MasterCard	978
ePN Cashback	0.2 $	– PayPal – WebMoney – Yandex.Money – QIWI wallet – Mobile phone – Bank card Visa / MasterCard	735
Smarty.Sale	5 rubles	– WebMoney – Yandex.Money – QIWI wallet – Mobile phone – Bank card Visa / MasterCard	1395
Cash4brands	not	– PayPal – WebMoney – Yandex.Money – QIWI wallet – Mobile phone – Bank card Visa / MasterCard	1947
Skidka.ru	not	– WebMoney – Yandex.Money – Mobile phone – Bank card Visa / MasterCard	1560

Bank offers: what is a cashback card?

Cashback offered by modern banks does not depend on where and what you bought. The main thing for banks is that the purchase should be paid for by card. Of course, there are different loyalty programs: increased refunds for flights, reimbursement of purchases with a credit card, and even points for purchases at a specific mall. But the essence of all these offers is the same – pay by card!

Features of bank cards with cashback:

• The card can be either debit or credit
• Cashback is credited at the end of the billing period
• There are restrictions on the percentage of cashback: in the banking application, you can check how many percent of the money spent will be returned to the card. In an optics store, this will be, for example, 5%, and in an electronics hypermarket – 8%
• The percentage of cashback on debit cards is less than on credit cards. Thus, the bank encourages customers to use credit cards.

The best debit cards with cashback: comparison in the table

Name	Cashback	Service	Percentage on balance
Tinkoff Black	up to 30% – at the Bank’s Partners up to 15% – in 3 selected categories 1% – on Everything	from 0 rubles	3.5%
Home Credit Bank benefits	15% – for all promotions up to 22% – for Partners 5% – In selected categories	from 0 rubles	until 3%
Cashback Card Raiffeisen Bank	1.5% – on Everything	0 rubles	up to 4%
Alfa-Karta Alfa Bank	up to 2%	0 rubles	up to 5%
ALL RosBank	up to 10% – in selected categories 25% – Household goods 1% – for everything or up to 5% – for everything, as Travel-bonuses	0 rubles	until 6%

The best credit cards with cashback: comparison in the table

Name	Cashback	Credit amount	Term
Tinkoff Platinum	30% – for Special Offers 1% – for All 30% – for Special Offers 1% – for All	up to 700,000 rubles	55 days
Tinkoff Drive	10% – Gas station 10% – Insurance policy 5% – Car services 5% – Payments through Tinkoff 2% – for Everything	up to 700,000 rubles	55 days
Alpha Travel	8% – Miles for Hotels 7% – Miles for Train tickets 4.5% – Miles for Flights 2% – Miles for all purchases	up to 500,000 rubles	60 days
Opencad Bank Opening	up to 3% – on Everything or up to 11% – in favorite categories	up to 500,000 rubles	55 days
Universal card Asia-Pacific Bank	at choice 1.up to 10% – Auto 2.up to 10% – Cafes and Theaters 3.10 % – Family 4.5% – House and Renovation 5.2% – for Everything	up to 500,000 rubles	120 days