Commonwealth Bank launches rewards program giving customers cash back on spending
CommBank is giving the gift of cash this Christmas in a move to win over consumers’ trust after a difficult year for the industry.
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CommBank customers can now get cash back on everyday spending like buying groceries at Coles and ordering takeout from MenuLog.
CommBank Rewards is the latest feature of the major bank’s app and will reward customers who use a Commonwealth credit or debit Mastercard.
Customers will be able to see and activate reward offers tailored to them and, once used, can expect to see cash back in their account within 14 business days.
There are more than 50 participating stores, and while CBA hasn’t released the full list yet, it has confirmed that Coles, Caltex, Myer, JB Hi-Fi and Menulog will be involved.
Executive general manager of everyday banking, Kate Crous, said the bank was excited to give consumers something back this year.
“We’re excited to launch CommBank Rewards for our customers ahead of Christmas,” she said.
“CommBank Rewards is designed to give customers relevant and personalised offers for what they regularly spend their money on. It also has a simple redemption process – it’s as easy as to activate, spend money and receive cash back,” she said.
The rewards are different to the bank’s Awards program, which is only available to credit card holders and allows them to earn points that can be redeemed online.
Buy-now pay-later schemes like Afterpay are also excluded, with the bank stating customers would not be able to receive cash back if they used those services.
The rewards are available to eligible debit and credit card holders over 21 years old and not in hardship or default with the bank.
SAVING MONEY
The rewards program comes after research commissioned by the bank revealed that 94 per cent of Australians used shopping hacks to reduce spending.
The majority of those hacks were to reduce spending at the grocery store or on fuel and takeaway food.
The CommBank research found that 17 million Australians already belonged to a loyalty program, but one-third of those were deterred by restrictions on where and when the points could be used.
“The majority of Australians subscribe to some kind of loyalty program, which shows consumers are on the lookout for deals year round. With the launch of the CommBank Rewards, it’s a way to say thankyou to our customers by giving them something tangible back,” said Ms Crous.
The research uncovered four types of shoppers – the savvy shopper, the experience shopper, the sustainable shopper and the serial shopper.
The savvy shopper accounted for 60 per cent of Australians who did things like looked online for where to buy and used shopper dockets to receive discounts on petrol and other things.
The experience shopper was more likely to spend on travel and holidays over consumer goods, while the sustainable shopper was more conscious of the environmental and ethical practices of their shopping.
The serial shopper only accounted for 6 per cent of Australians but this group enjoyed shopping and could be classed as shopaholics.
The only thing that united most of the shoppers was that they all searched for ways to bring their costs down, said Ms Crous.
“We may have our unique preferences on how and where to spend; however, no matter the shopping habits, all Australians want their money to go the distance. This is especially true of the everyday spending that can usually hit consumers the hardest.”
Originally published as Commonwealth Bank launches rewards program giving customers cash back on spending