Quick Links: ▸ Automatic Cashback ▸ Gift Card Cashback ▸ How Much Cashback Can You Earn? ▸ Which Retailers Can You Earn Cashback From? ▸ Payment Features ▸ Referral Opportunities ▸ Where can I Download The Cheddar app?
Meet Cheddar, the automatic/gift card cashback app for UK shoppers. With it, you can start earning cashback automatically on purchases at your favourite retailers
There's a variety of cashback apps and cashback websites on the market these days,; it can be a bit of a minefield to know which one to use, but I'd say the Cheddar cashback service is in my top 5 cashback apps you should be using and well worth downloading!
With Cheddar, you can earn cashback on your everday purchases in two different ways:
Automatic cashback
Cheddar has a very useful automatic cashback system, which allows you to earn cashback from the cashback services partnered retailers without needing to do anything. The concept is that the Cheddar app scans your bank account for everyday purchases from applicable retailers and will reward you with cashback for every transaction it finds. The app works with Chase, American Express, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank Of Scotland, Tesco Bank, AIB, Bank Of Scotland, Barclays, Danske Bank, First Direct, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, Monzo, Revoult, Virgin Money, Santander, Wise, and Starling Bank.
People do get concerned that an app can scan your bank account; however, rest assured that the Cheddar cashback app can't read any sensitive financial information or sensitive payment data; it uses encrypted open banking technology, which a huge number of apps and services use these days, and only has access to your bank account details and a list of transactions you've made. It can't make any purchases or adjust your balance in any way.
Once you enter your bank details on to the app, Cheddar will then be start to be able to monitor any transactions you make and award you accordingly in cashback. You will need to connect/refresh your connection to your banking app once every 90 days to ensure you keep earning retail cashback, which is quick and easy.
The big benefit is that you don't need to think about cashback; it just happens! I've earned cashback many times that I didn't think I'd earned! A couple of days after making a purchase I've had a message saying the app has tracked my spend at a retailer and that the cashback is now tracked and awaiting the retailer to pay, which will then become available to use. This can take up to 120 days to become payable, in a similar way to the classic cashback apps such as Topcashback & Quidco.
Automatic cashback is a handy feature, as even though I'm an extreme cashback earner, making sure I earn cashback on everything possible, I don't always have time to look at cashback options when I'm nipping into a high street shop for something quick, such as a coffee or a sandwich, so it's great that this app will be my cashback buddy and reward me on some of these quick, impulse purchases, such as 50p cashback on a £5 cheeky Starbucks I grabbed while out and about; its a super useful feature of the app!
The automatic cashback feature works for both in-store and online/app purchases, so you could earn cashback from your favourite food delivery brand, such as Just Eat, without even realising you were going to, helping to lower the cost of that cheeky Nandos!
Gift Card Cashback
Earning cashback on a gift card purchase has become a really popular way to earn cashback. The concept is very simple: you use a cashback app to purchase a gift card for one of your favourite brands, and the cashback app will instantly send you your gift card and pay you cashback on the purchase. Cheddar is one of the leading gift card cashback apps, with an ever-growing list of brands you can buy a gift card for, and the great thing about this sort of cashback is that the cashback is instant, so you do not have to wait weeks for the cashback to hit your account, it'll be available straight away.
To buy your gift cards, Cheddar uses open banking rather than using your debit or credit cards, which is similar to the way it tracks your automatic cashback. Open Banking gives consumers ownership of their transaction data and enables them to share it safely with third parties, so it's very safe to do.
When you use the Cheddar app and select which gift card you want to buy and how much you want the gift card to be for, you are then redirected to the instant payments platform, which connects to your bank's banking app; if you have more than one account in the app, you’ll be able to choose which one you want to use.
You then give first-party consent to your banking app, (using your banking pin code or facial recognition technology), to authorise the transaction, (it can't take money unless you do this), and once authorised, Cheddar will then return you back to their app and your gift card will be made available to you and your cashback will be sent to your Cheddar account.
This system means you don't have to enter any credit or debit card details, making it faster and more secure than the more conventional ways of purchasing a gift card. It's also much faster! It's worth remembering that not all retailers allow their gift cards to be used online; luckily, Cheddar will tell you where the gift card can be used before you buy.
The app has the option to send a gift card to somebody else, which is handy for events such as birthdays.
How much cashback can I earn?
Cashback rates vary from as little as 1% to higher cashback rates of up to around 20%; The higher cashback rates are normally for the more obscure brands; you'll find that cashback rates for Cheddar users for big brands are far lower, but are normally very competitive against its rivals cashback rates. App users, as an example, could earn between 2.5% and 3% cashback on gift card purchases for supermarkets, which is pretty much the same as its rivals, with only Airtime Rewards offering higher rates.
You'll often find specific retailers having boosted gift card cashback rates from time to time, often around payday or events such as Valentine's, bank holidays and Christmas, so it is well worth checking to see the cashback rate if you need to make a purchase. Most of my gift card cash back comes from supermarket shopping, or Amazon purchases. The average family may spend several hundred pounds a month at a supermarket, and if you can earn, say, 3% cash back on those purchases every month, it will soon add up, and could be enough to pay for your Christmas food shop!
According to the mobile app, you could earn over £1,000 a year in annual cashback earnings, especially if you frequently use Cheddar partners. The minimum withdrawal amount is just £5, compared to £10 with its main rival JamDoughnut, so you won't have to wait long to access your cashback once it's cleared in your account.
Which Retailers Can You Earn Cashback From?
Cheddar partners change frequently, with new retailers being added all the time, for you to earn cashback on eligible purchases. A selection of retailers includes: M&S, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Iceland, McColl's, HelloFresh, Farmfoods, London Theatre Direct, Funky Pigeon, TK Maxx, JD Sports, Costa, Caffe Nero, Amazon, WHSmith, Deliverro, Primark, Nike, Foot Locker, Trainline, Uber, National Express, The Body Shop, Boots, Avon, Sports Direct, Adidas, Ikea, Currys, XBox, Waterstones, National Trust, Not On The Highstreet, Redbubble, Naked wines, Urban Massage, Bloom & Wild, Toms, Twitch, Daye, Selfridges, H Samuel, Red Letter Days, Virgin, National Book Tokens, Lastminute.com and many more!
Not all retailers offer automatic cashback; a larger number of the Cheddar cashback offerings are via gift card cashback.
Payment Features - Send/Receive Money
Cheddar offers a handy payment feature, which allows you to send or receive payments from other people. The app allows you to send a payment link or scannable QR code to anyone in your contact list, or by entering the other person's Cheddar username into the app, and you can either send or request money from that person. It's quick and easy as you don't have to enter bank account numbers; you use the same open banking system to simply send money, or receive money from your bank account. This new feature reduces any risk of fraud or entering the wrong bank details and is a useful way to send cash, be it for something you might have sold on a selling site such as Facebook Marketplace, or for a friend to send you money they owe you, such as splitting a restaurant bill. There are no fees for using this service, and the payment is instant.
Referral Opportunities
You can refer your family or friends to join Cheddar. You'll earn a £2 bonus when you refer somebody, and they purchase a gift card within 15 days. The person you refer will also earn a £2 bonus. You can refer as many people as you want, so it's a good way to boost your cashback earnings!
Where can I Download The Cheddar app?
Cheddar is a free app to download and use, and it's also safe and secure. The app is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority so that you can sign up with confidence. New members can use our Cheddar referral code (PINCHER) to download the app and if you buy a gift card within 15 days of signing up, you'll get a £2 welcome bonus.
Also, consider using Jam Doughnut, TopCashback, Quidco, The Airtime Rewards app, ZipZero - All the best UK cashback apps can be found in our cashback blog post