Cashback is one of the many ways you can save into your child’s Beanstalk Junior ISA. It could be seen as the savviest way to top up your child’s account as the money you receive is essentially ‘free’ from retailers after you’ve made a purchase with them.
In this article we explain what exactly cashback is, how you can earn it with KidStart and how it gets paid into your Beanstalk account.
What is cashback?
Cashback is money back that you can collect when you shop at over 2000 online retailers via us; this can be either a percentage of what you’ve spent e.g. 2%, or a fixed amount e.g. £5.
The unique feature of Beanstalk is that any cashback you earn is automatically paid into your child’s or children’s Junior ISA once the purchase is confirmed and the retailer has paid us.
How do I earn cashback with Beanstalk?
Beanstalk works with its sister business, KidStart, to operate the cashback programme. KidStart has been operating a child savings linked cashback scheme for over 10 years and has paid millions into children’s savings accounts in that time. As KidStart and Beanstalk are run by the same company, you can use the same login credentials for both KidStart and Beanstalk.
It’s really simple to earn cashback with Beanstalk. There are three ways to do this:
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Find KidStart in the tools section on the app and click ‘START’. You’ll then be automatically logged into KidStart account where you can search for the retailer you want to shop with. Once you’ve found them, click ‘Shop now’ to be taken to the retailer’s website and then, make your purchase as normal. Once the retailer reports the purchase to us, the transaction will be recorded in your KidStart account and you will receive a notification and email from us. This process can take several days and to save your inbox, we only send one notification per day so if you make several purchases, you will only receive one email.
- The other way is go directly to the retailers website from one of the Top Offer slots on Beanstalk's homescreen. Similarly to the first option, once you’ve clicked through to the retailer’s website, make your purchase as usual and we’ll contact you in the days following to let you know that we’ve recorded the purchase and the cashback you could earn.
- Finally you can go directly to KidStart’s website and log in using your Beanstalk credentials and then shop as before. KidStart also offers a browser extension that works when you shop from a PC or laptop to notify you whenever a retailer offers cashback.
You can monitor your purchases on KidStart’s website, after you make a purchase you’ll see the KidStart Savings earned as pending, they will remain like this until the retailer has confirmed the purchase and paid us the amount. Once that has happened your purchases will be classed as cleared. Cashback is paid into your child’s Beanstalk Junior ISA at the start of each month once they have £5 in cleared KidStart Savings.
How long does cashback take to be paid?
How long cashback takes to be paid can vary depending on the type of purchase, the retailer/service in question and the terms and conditions set. For example it can take longer for cashback to be paid on a holiday purchase due to how long in advance they can be booked compared to cashback being paid on an item of clothing, which may have a short return window.
Is it only online retailers that offer cashback?
No, many different types of services offer cashback. We work with insurance providers, travel websites, financial services and many other industries. Some of these offer high cashback rates, so it’s always worth checking the KidStart tool to see if we have them!