Maximise ShopBack Pay Cashback: Best Credit Cards To Use

ShopBack Pay is now available online! Get an instant cashback of up to S$10 when you pay with ShopBack, plus find out the best credit cards to pair with here.

If you’re an avid ShopBack user, you’ve probably been enjoying the cashback benefits when using its payment method, ShopBack Pay, to pay for your purchases.

However, you may have noticed that ShopBack Pay is only available for offline purchases. Moreover, the cashback is in the form of ‘return cashback’, which means it’s only ‘confirmed’ when you return to the same store. 

But the good news is that ShopBack Pay is finally available online! Plus, with its new online payment rewards, you can enjoy an instant cashback of up to S$10 for every online purchase when you pay via ShopBack Pay.

It gets better — besides the cashback you receive from ShopBack Pay, you can also stack additional rewards/cashback from your shopping credit card when using it to make the purchase. 

In this article, we’ll explain the benefits of using ShopBack Pay and share how you can get the most out of your spending by stacking it with the right credit cards.

Here’s a quick breakdown of ShopBack Pay, including its MCC code:

In case you’re unfamiliar, ShopBack is a rewards, shopping, and payment platform that allows you to earn cashback when you transact through the platform.

When using ShopBack online, all you need to do is sign up for an account and visit your favourite online stores from the ShopBack app, website, or ShopBack Button before you buy. 

But if you’re using ShopBack for payments (i.e. ShopBack Pay), you’ll need to link your preferred payment methods (Visa/Mastercard credit or debit cards, GrabPay, or Apple Pay).

There are essentially three ways to earn cashback on ShopBack:

• Shopping online via ShopBack

• Purchasing ShopBack e-vouchers or store credits

• Making a payment with ShopBack Pay in-store (return cashback at selected stores only)

As the name suggests, the former two let you earn cashback when shopping online using the ShopBack app or ShopBack Button web extension, while the latter allows you to earn return cashback in subsequent visits by scanning the ShopBack QR code at physical stores and paying with ShopBack Pay.

Payment methods supported for ShopBack Pay

ShopBack Pay makes it easy to earn cashback using payment methods you're already familiar with. Just link your card once and you’re good to go.

Supported payment methods:

• Visa credit and debit cards

• Mastercard credit and debit cards

• American Express (AMEX) cards

• Selected digital wallets (for ShopBack Pay in-store, where supported)

Remember, the MCC code for ShopBack Pay is charged according to the underlying merchant. It won’t be a single ShopBack MCC code that remains the same each time, so it's important to know which MCC the merchant falls under.

ShopBack used to offer a PayLater function that had a standard MCC code of 5999, but that service has been discontinued.

With ShopBack Pay, you need to track each merchant’s MCC code to know if you’ll earn rewards for the credit card you’re using.

Learn more: MCC: The three most important letters when earning credit card rewards

For example, buying a new phone or laptop will earn you 4 mpd on the HSBC Revolution Card or Citi Rewards Card, but none if you pay with the UOB Lady's Card because electronic stores (MCC 5732) and computers, peripherals, and software (MCC 5045) aren't eligible categories for the UOB Lady’s Card.

Here’s an overview of ShopBack Pay compared with other payment methods.

The biggest difference between ShopBack Pay and other payment methods is that you can decide what to do with your cashback; you can choose to use, accumulate, or credit your cashback into your bank account.

This is unlike FavePay, where the cashback earned is immediately used to offset your future transactions. 

There are also more categories on ShopBack for both online and offline transactions, as compared to Fave where it’s more commonly available for beauty and food. 

While Atome offers BNPL service, it doesn’t offer you direct cashback. Instead, you’ll earn 1 Atome+ point for every S$2 spent. You can use your points to directly offset your purchases or cash in your points to redeem the various rewards on the Atome+ rewards programme, but it requires a lot of points.

1. Earn up to S$10 instant cashback on every online transaction

When paying with ShopBack for online transactions, you’ll get an instant cashback of up to S$10 via scratch card with every payment. 

This means the cashback isn’t tied to a particular brand, and you don’t have to return to the same vendor to receive cashback. 

In addition to the instant cashback via scratch cards, you can earn up to 20% partner cashback if you shop via ShopBack with their partner affiliates.

More on how to redeem your cashback scratch card on ShopBack below.

2. Earn up to 12% return cashback at physical stores

As previously mentioned, when you pay with ShopBack by scanning the ShopBack QR code in physical stores, you’ll earn return cashback from visiting the same brand outlets again.

This is great if you frequently visit the brand outlets, as you can accumulate cashback at your favourite stores, including Yolé, Food Republic, Boost Juice Bars, Krispy Kreme, and Gong Cha.

3. Use cashback to pay for your purchase or credit them into your account

When using ShopBack Pay, you can use your available cashback to offset the total amount of your purchase. 

Alternatively, you can choose to accumulate and withdraw your available cashback into your bank account via bank transfer or e-wallet transfer. It takes about three to five working days to receive the funds by bank transfer and up to 30 days for e-wallet transfers. 

Note that you can only withdraw once your confirmed cashback reaches S$10, and the withdrawal limit is capped at S$300 per day.

4. Double dip rewards — earn cashback on ShopBack and miles/cashback/points on your credit card

In addition to the cashback you get on ShopBack, you can leverage your credit card benefits when you use it to make your purchase.

This method, also known as ‘double dipping ', allows you to stack rewards as you spend. Earn miles, cashback, or points from your credit card and cashback from ShopBack.

All you have to do is link your credit card and select it as your preferred payment.

To redeem your cashback scratch card on ShopBack, follow these simple steps:

1) Make a successful online payment via ShopBack Pay

2) On the ShopBack app, tap ‘My Account’ and then ‘Rewards’

3) Scratch the card within 48 hours

4) The bonus cashback will be credited to your ShopBack Account immediately

Here’s a pro tip: when using ShopBack, one way you can maximise your credit card rewards/cashback is to split the payments either over a few credit cards.

Split your payments over a few credit cards

Say that you have the Citi Rewards Card and HSBC Revolution Card (both of which have a S$1,000 monthly bonus cap), and you plan to purchase a phone for S$1,500.

Suppose you charge it to your Citi Rewards Card/HSBC Revolution Card, which gives you 4 mpd on the first S$1,000 but only 0.4 mpd for amounts above S$1,000, you will only earn 4,200 miles in total. 

Thus, one way to get around this is to purchase ShopBack vouchers and charge the remaining amount on another card. For instance, you could purchase a S$500 voucher via ShopBack with the HSBC Revolution Card, use the voucher to offset the price of the phone, and charge the remaining S$1,000 onto the Citi Rewards Card.

This way, you’ll be able to keep within the bonus cap, earning 6,000 miles in total.

ShopBack Pay allows you to earn a percentage of cashback on eligible purchases on top of your credit card rewards. You can use the cashback you earn from ShopBack to offset future purchases or credit them into your bank account.

Earn S$5 bonus cashback when you sign up for an account and make an online payment with ShopBack with this exclusive promo code: “SINGSAVER5”.

This article was written in partnership with ShopBack

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