Chemist Warehouse & ShopBack roll out Pay by Bank rewards
Banked, Chemist Warehouse, and ShopBack have jointly launched Australia's first in-store Pay by Bank service with rewards for consumers.
The collaboration means shoppers at Chemist Warehouse stores across Australia can now make in-store payments directly from their bank accounts using the ShopBack app while also earning Cashback rewards. This system, utilising Banked's Pay by Bank technology, has been introduced in response to growing concerns about rising card surcharges for both merchants and consumers.
Recent data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) indicates a 33.3% increase in eftpos debit fees in the last quarter. A 2024 analysis estimates Australians lose nearly a billion dollars annually to these fees. Chemist Warehouse is aiming to address these costs by introducing a lower-cost payment system ahead of a proposed RBA move to ban debit card surcharging, as suggested in the previous Federal Budget.
The Pay by Bank experience is now available at every Chemist Warehouse payment terminal nationwide. Customers can pay by scanning a QR code with the ShopBack app on Chemist Warehouse's Quest payment terminals. The process allows seamless linkage of preferred payment methods, including Pay by Bank, to ShopBack accounts. It enables shoppers to avoid merchant payment fees and use ShopBack Cashback to offset purchases, while receiving new Cashback rewards on their Chemist Warehouse transactions.
Brad Goodall, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Banked, commented, "This is a leading global use case of payment and loyalty working together as one seamless experience for the consumer. We are proud to be partnering with Chemist Warehouse and ShopBack to give Australian consumers better value from their shopping experiences, while also providing Chemist Warehouse with a simpler and cost-effective way to introduce customer rewards."
Jack Gance, Founder of Chemist Warehouse, said, "Combining the use of ShopBack's Cashback was a natural evolution of our plan to implement an in-store Pay by Bank solution and reduce the cost of transactions for customers. We are a business built on providing great value for everyday Australians, and it is important that we have a competitive, low-cost payment system. The simplicity, security, and low cost of Pay by Bank, layered with ShopBack's Cashback rewards, meets our business objectives and gives our customers greater choice and value. We are proud to lead the retail industry with this innovative, all-in-one solution."
As part of this partnership, ShopBack has made Banked's Pay by Bank the preferred debit payment method in its app, offering a surcharge-free option with no additional fees across 2,500 participating merchants Australia-wide. Retailers accepting ShopBack Pay include New Balance, Chatime, Sushi Sushi, and Sharetea. This means consumers will not be required to pay surcharges on everyday purchases at these locations.
Julian Foo, ShopBack's General Manager of Financial Services, said, "Our business model is built on providing rewarding experiences and value for our users and brand partners. Brands partner with us for increased traffic, and we reinvest that into operations and Cashback for users. Introducing Pay by Bank allows us to enhance our offerings further, bridging the online and in-store ecosystems. This gives our users the flexibility of choice in payments. For brands, ShopBack's rewards and demand generation tools empower us to drive our partners traffic and sales, while helping them better understand their customers."
Australian users of ShopBack can access Banked's Pay by Bank by selecting 'Securely Add Bank Account or PayID' within the app. After enabling 'PayTo' on their banking app, subsequent ShopBack Pay transactions will be debited directly from their chosen bank account.
ShopBack partners with approximately 2,500 brands across Australia, providing access to Cashback on a range of daily purchases such as groceries, coffee, clothing, and fuel.
