How about some sweet CHF Cashback with shopmate & Zak?

At Investing Hero, we aim to provide the best investing basics. To support this, some of the products featured in articles will generate an affiliate commission which helps pay to run this website. However, this doesn’t influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. The information provided on Investing Hero is for informational purposes only. Please read our disclaimer for more. The information on Zak is intended exclusively for persons domiciled in Switzerland. A Zak account can only be opened with domicile in Switzerland.

In this article I’ll be talking about an exciting new offering for Zak users: the introduction of cashback with Zak in collaboration with shopmate!

If you are not a Zak user yet, no problem: Open an account in less than 10 minutes and profit from the new offering. If you use my code HEROCH you even receive 50CHF as a gift – no strings attached.

For regular readers of the InvestingHero blog, you’ll remember I recently covered the introduction of eBill for Zak users, so seeing yet another new feature enabled so soon in the account is great!

I’ve been using my Zak bank account for a number of years now – and have seen the app grow and develop in that time.

And with the introduction of cashback – I’ll be sure to be using them for the foreseeable future 😊

I still rate them highly in my last Zak review, so if you are in the market for a new digital bank account they are worth checking out.

🎁 Reader Bonus: I’ve partnered with Zak to bring Investing Hero readers (that’s you!) a 50CHF welcome bonus when you open a free account. No strings attached and no BS. Just use the code HEROCH to claim your 50 bucks.

Before we dive into the details on accessing shopmate in your account, lets cover some of the basics and details of the new feature.

Below I’ve listed some of the common questions I’ve received about cashback in the past, so let’s jump in.

What is cashback and how does it work?

The clue is in the word, but cashback is essentially just that – you get cash back!

Depending on your spending, the cashback model enables you to receive a percentage amount from your purchase with selected providers.

So, let’s say Manor is offering 5% cashback on food and you’ve spent 20CHF worth for lunch – you’ll get 1 CHF back.

The amount of cashback you receive will depend on who you make the transaction with, and how much you spend. Typically, cashbacks models generate a few % on the purchase value.

Is Cashback popular in Switzerland?

Cashback has risen in popularity in recent years. Although fairly common outside of Switzerland with credit card providers, within Switzerland there are only a few main players that offer this benefit to customers.

And for bank accounts, Zak is now one of the few banks to offer such an incentive to customers.

Is Cashback the same as discount vouchers?

Not quite, but similar.

Cashback offers a percentage from your purchases, where as discount vouchers are typically more a fixed amount. Cashback can also be used each time you buy – discount vouchers are typically single use only.

What is shopmate?

Shopmate has been around since 2021 and now offers cashback deals from a wide range of merchants in Switzerland. Shopmate have partnered with these merchants to offer cashback deals to users, and there is a growing range of merchants in their database with various levels of cashback.

Why do companies give cashback on shopmate?

Essentially the companies which have partnered with shopmate are looking to extend their network and generate more business – it’s a form of marketing for them to partner with cashback platforms such as shopmate.

Once completed, when you go back to your main Zak screen you’ll see the Zak eBill listed as an option under the transfers screen, as shown below:

From here you can view and edit your existing eBill settings.

Are prices higher for items which offer cashback?

Prices are typically the same regardless of offering cashback or not. Of course, if you find the product cheaper elsewhere through another website which doesn’t offer the cashback, you need to calculate which is the better deal.

Is shopmate free?

Yes, there are no charges associated with using shopmate. You can access the list of cashback offers directly within your Zak account.

How much cashback can I get using shopmate & Zak?

The amount of cashback varies from vendor to vendor. The exact cashback percentage rates can be confirmed within the Zak app when you go purchase, but the typical range is between 2 and 16% at the higher end.

There are also a few fixed CHF cashback amounts, these are typically for mobile phone contracts and vary from 16-60 CHF depending on what you purchase.

What are some of the benefits of using shopmate with Zak?

I see three main benefits of this latest update from Zak. Firstly, everything can be handled within your Zak account: After registering, all the purchases can be done through Zak and also the cashback is paid directly to your account – making the process simple and straight forward. No need to hunt the internet for voucher codes and discounts – you just use your Zak account for payment, and you’ll be credited with the cashback.

Secondly, more generally – cashback is a great option if you have a specific purchase in mind, and even more so for larger transactions.

Let’s take the example of Booking.com, which at time of writing was offering 5% cashback. You book 5 nights in a hotel at 200CHF/night, you have the potential of 50CHF cashback for that stay. Which easily pays for a couple of hotel breakfasts 😊

Last but not least, with some offers you get even more cashback via Zak than if you would make the purchase directly via shopmate.

Which vendors in Switzerland are using shopmate?

There are a range of vendors already supporting cashback via shopmate. For example, here are a few of the bigger Swiss brands offering cashback via Zak at various levels:

Jumbo, MyPoster, Lampenwelt, Espirt, Smartphoto, Booking.com, Alao, Just Eat, Depot, Oschsner Sport, Manor, Gonser, Aliexpress, Media Markt, Flaschenpost.

…in total over 250 brands, with more vendors added regularly to the list.

Where can I access the shopmate deals in my Zak account?

You can access the shopmate cashback deals via the ‘Zak Store’ section, and then tap ‘Cashback’ as shown below:

Closing thoughts

The above covers some of the common questions around shopmate and the principle of Cashback more generally.

As you can see, if you already have a Zak account and are planning a purchase – going via shopmate within your account is a no brainer. You’ll receive a nice juicy cashback which you   otherwise would have missed. So it’s worth checking the list of supported merchants when you make your next transaction.

For those that haven’t created a Zak account already, you can do so for free (just follow my guide if needed) and you’ll be able to take advantage of the shopmate offers straight away.

And how about you – Are you using it yet? Which deals have you found the best? Look forward to your comments below.

Thanks for reading

Mr. IH

🎁 Reader Bonus: I’ve partnered with Zak to bring Investing Hero readers (that’s you!) a 50CHF welcome bonus when you open a free account. No strings attached and no BS. Just use the code HEROCH to claim your 50 bucks.

About me

I’m a British expat who’s been living in Switzerland for the last 10 years. I’m a digital marketing professional by day, and anonymous investing blogger by night. I cover investing basics, robo advisor reviews and epic how to guides. You can call me ‘Mr. IH’ for short, and read more about me here.