Customers at NatWest and RBS who register for a new rewards scheme can now earn cashback using their debit cards, though only a small number of retailers are participating at the launch.
The free Cashback Plus scheme is available to new and existing current account customers (though not basic bank accounts), and provides a return of at least 1% from debit card spending at a number of retailers, including BP, Cineworld and Caffè Nero.
Though only a small number of retailers are currently participating, customers can also benefit from 1% cashback on groceries at Tesco until the end of November.
The scheme is not without some nitpicking exceptions. BP will not offer cashback at stations featuring a Co-operative mini-market. Nor are cashback rewards available through third-party retailers, such as Amazon.
RBS and NatWest now offering 1% cashback on debit card spending - though participating retailers are currently few in number.
Participating retailers
- BP
- Cineworld
- Café Nero
- Loch Fyne Restaurants
- Hungry Horse
- Ernest Jones
- H. Samuel
- Charles Tyrwhitt
- Feather & Black
- Multiyork
- American Golf
- Tesco
Cashback
Customers are able to redeem cashback once they reach a threshold of £5 (following £500 of eligible spending). This can be returned in cash to the customer’s current account, donated to an associated charity (such as NSPCC or Cancer Research), or converted to gift vouchers.
The gift voucher option appears in the first instance to be the most valuable. £5 in cashback can currently be doubled in value through a £10 gift card at H Samuel, or exchanged for a greater value still at Cineworld, which will offer two evening cinema tickets.
In cashback terms alone, the RBS / NatWest account still pales in comparison to the Santander 123 current account, which also pays competitive rates of interest on credit balances.
However, following an increase in the incentive offered by First Direct for switching customers, the move by the RBS Group adds further spice to the current account market just one month before the launch of a new switching system that will make it much easier for people to switch between banks.
Find out more about the new switching system here.
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor
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