ShopBack Pay No Longer Available in Australia from 25 March 2026

ElectricMallet on 02/03/2026 - 10:20
Last edited 02/03/2026 - 11:00 by 1 other user

TLDR: ShopBack Pay (in-store QR) ends in Australia on 25 Mar 2026

Full email below…

Hi there!

ShopBack Pay (in-store QR payment) will no longer be available in Australia from 25 March 2026 00:00 AEDT. Until then, you can continue using ShopBack Pay. From 25 March 2026 00:00 AEDT, it will no longer appear as a payment option in the ShopBack app.

Following a review of our offline offering, we are evolving how members earn in-store and focusing our investment on ShopBack Receipts, our receipt-based Cashback experience. This gives you a simple and flexible way to continue earning Cashback when you shop in-store. We will continue expanding it across more merchants and in-store use cases in Australia.

All other ShopBack services remain fully available. We remain deeply committed to supporting our customers in Australia, and to growing our broader Cashback and rewards ecosystem.

Here’s what this means for you:

  1. ShopBack Pay Transactions
    You can continue using ShopBack Pay for in-store QR payments until 25 March 2026 00:00 AEDT.

  2. Changes to Return Cashback*
    From 2 March 2026, new Return Cashback via ShopBack Pay will no longer be available. That means any ShopBack Pay transactions made on or after 2 March 2026 will not earn new Return Cashback.

    However, pending Return Cashback tracked in your lifetime earnings from ShopBack Pay purchases made before 2 March 2026 can still be confirmed.

    Example

    1. You make a purchase on 1 March 2026 and earn $10 pending Return Cashback.
    2. On 5 March 2026, you make another purchase at the same store using ShopBack Pay for the same amount. You will not earn $10 Return Cashback for this purchase.
    3. However, the $10 pending Return Cashback from the 1st March purchase will be confirmed and credited to your Cashback balance as usual.
    4. Service charges for ShopBack Pay transactions will also be removed from 2 March 2026.

    *Return Cashback is Cashback for ShopBack Pay purchases at participating offline retailers, confirmed only after you use ShopBack Pay again at the same retailer within a set period.

  3. If you are unable to return to the same retailer
    We understand that returning to the same retailer before 25 March 2026 may not be possible for everyone. To support you, we are making a one-time exception so you will not lose eligible Cashback you have already earned.

    If you have pending Return Cashback from an in-store purchase made before 2 March 2026, you can confirm it by making any eligible online purchase through ShopBack before 25 March 2026 00:00 AEDT.

We hope this added flexibility makes it simpler for you to enjoy the Cashback you have already earned.

Looking ahead

We are continuing to build more ways for you to be rewarded for the things you do every day. With ShopBack Receipts, you can now turn everyday purchases into bonus Cashback by simply uploading receipts from selected retailers, both online and in-store.

If you need more help or have any questions, our Consumer Ops team is available at help@shopback.com.au .
For FAQs and more information about this change, visit our Help Centre.

Thank you for being part of the ShopBack community. We appreciate your support and look forward to introducing more rewarding experiences ahead.

Warm regards,
The ShopBack Team

Financial

Related Stores

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Comments

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  • jv on 02/03/2026 - 10:28
    +3

    😲

    • mapax on 02/03/2026 - 21:23

      I taught you well. Have a poz

      • Wiadro on 02/03/2026 - 21:24
        -2

        xoxoxox

  • JimB on 02/03/2026 - 11:46
    +2

    A shame because I use shopback for instore purchases quite a bit.

    I've not once used ShopBack Receipts. Not even sure what benefits it provided.

    Last night, I redeemed a $50 credit (from a $500 restaurant spend in January) so it was good to use that. However it appears that I would be able to claim it anyway. I have about $10 pending from last night's purchase.

    Need to find out what ' eligible online purchase through ShopBack' is

    • cwan on 03/03/2026 - 23:32

      I asked ShopBack what counts as an eligible online purchase for this, and specifically asked about giftcards, and received the following reply:

      "An eligible online purchase generally refers to any transaction that:
      - Tracks successfully through the ShopBack app or website with a partner merchant.
      - Is not returned or cancelled.
      - Is completed by clicking through from the ShopBack app or using the ShopBack button to ensure tracking.

      Regarding your specific question about gift cards: Yes, purchasing gift cards through ShopBack Australia typically qualifies as an eligible purchase."

      • pongie on 04/03/2026 - 09:30

        Just tried this. Purchased a $5 Amazon gift card and non of the pending tracked return ShopBack was confirmed

        • cwan on 04/03/2026 - 10:25

          I did the same and got the same result. The time frame for approving pending claims is not clear. I wonder if they’re waiting until the deadline. In any case, I think I’ve got enough evidence to put in a claim should it not be paid out.

    • cooni on 04/03/2026 - 09:51

      All you needed to do is pay $0.10 after the big purchase to have your cashback confirmed :)

      • pongie on 04/03/2026 - 09:54
        +1

        Only if you can physically return to the store to scan the QR code. I don’t think you can do this within the app

        • cooni on 04/03/2026 - 09:56

          Nah you just take a photo of the QR code and do it anywhere anytime.

          Anyway, it's gone now sadface.jpg

  • burningrage on 02/03/2026 - 12:17

    The return cashback feature is eliminated without notice practically. Oh well…. first Liven now Shopback.

    • el8 on 02/03/2026 - 12:44

      is liven closing as well?

      • burningrage on 02/03/2026 - 12:56
        +1

        Liven is practically non-existence. LanZhou doesn't use them anymore (at least in all LanZhou I've visited so far), Rice Workshop doesn't use them anymore. The only one that is still practically using this Roll'ed.

        • JimB on 04/03/2026 - 07:43

          My local master Lanzhou still accepts them.

          Just checked and looks like many (if not all) stores in Melb accepts Liven.

          Which stores did you go to?

          The best days are behind us though. I remember buying $500 credit with 100% bonus.

          Currently there is a 20% which is stil decent.

          • cloudy on 04/03/2026 - 12:41
            +1

            @JimB: Too many stores i've been to in melb are listed and they end up saying paying with liven isn't available when I try.

            I remember contacting liven support about it and they apologized but never removed the establishment.

            I get the sense they never removed a location, in order to appear to still have a large offering, when in reality many no longer accept it.

            • JimB on 04/03/2026 - 14:06

              @cloudy: That's a good point.

              I had trouble (and had Brand dollars) with Shujinko accepting Liven. The App stated it will still accepting it but the store said no.

              I eventually got my Brand dollars refunded.

            • anastasiastarz on 10/03/2026 - 05:02

              @cloudy: lukumades (windsor) doesn't take liven, they have no idea what it is…

              Personally we've used all the credits we've bought (mostly for kariton) and removed the app. Everything/app has it's time and place, Liven was great in the early years ($10/20 free credit, no min spend), we recall a party with merch at Au79. Gone now.

  • Guybrush57 on 02/03/2026 - 12:25
    +10

    Is this the beginning of the end for ShopBack?

  • holdenmg on 02/03/2026 - 12:38
    +1

    If the question was "Shopback Receipts or ShopBack Pay?"

    I thought the answer would be ¿Por qué no los dos?
    (Why not both?)

    It doesn't seem the review of offline offering has been done in consultation with users and QR codes are everywhere…

    Surely having ShopBack Pay at an instore point of purchase is worth having/keeping.

    • KangaDrew on 02/03/2026 - 13:14
      +1

      They don't need to consult with us. We're just peasants to be data-mined.

    • ihbh on 02/03/2026 - 18:53

      Surely having ShopBack Pay at an instore point of purchase is worth having/keeping

      My local SB Pay had a 10% discount. Over the years I kept on wondering who paid for it. Guess, no one is prepared to pay for it now, hence they pulled it.

  • ihbh on 02/03/2026 - 12:56

    Does anyone know the details of how the instore cash back worked?

    E.g. mine gave a 10% discount each time on the return purchase. Did SB and the store share this cost or the store footed the whole cost and paid SB a bit? Or some other combo?

    • surfingedge on 02/03/2026 - 13:36

      No idea but the restaurant I mainly used it at has 1.5% card surcharge, 5% cash discount and 10% shopback pay discount

    • OzComment on 08/03/2026 - 00:52

      The stores pay for the discounts and SB charges them admin fees and shoppers also pay SB admin fees. It’s an expensive promotion scheme.

  • D0OMZDAYZ on 02/03/2026 - 15:05
    +1

    100% canary in the coal mine.

    I hope nothing happens to Eat Club. Getting a straight up discount for dining out is awesome. They don’t even mark up like DoorDash/Uber.

  • plmko on 02/03/2026 - 15:20
    +7

    Was pretty scamey outside of a few token good deals like Chemist Warehouse. A lot of the deals baited you with cashbacks but then reveals you needed to go back for another shop to activate it with the 2nd only giving a smaller %.

    • GreenGuava on 02/03/2026 - 18:09
      +2

      That's actually how it worked. Cashback was earnt as a % of what you spent on your prior visit and only became payable on spending something on your subsequent visit. If your second purchase seemed to give a smaller %, it probably was because you spent less on your previous visit compared to your subsequent visit.

      But yes, the whole 'return to get your cashback' system was probably a bit too convoluted for the masses to understand and get behind. Also, the different system they implemented for CWH (no service fee, instant bonus/scratch card) would have also added to the confusion.

      IMO, for this to have succeeded, SB should have stuck to what people were familiar with. ie earn cashback on each visit that became payable after a set period of time, without needing people to return. Forcing people to return to get their cashback would have put this in the too hard/can't be bothered basket for many.

      Personally, I think it's a bit of a shame that they've canned it. I did use it when I could over the years and got a decent amount of money back from it.

      • surfingedge on 02/03/2026 - 19:56

        It was quite clear that that you had to return to get the cashback, not really that complicated. The scammy thing was that for chains, you had to go back to exactly the same store rather than any store in the chain.

        Also you could just buy a coffee or something small in a separate transaction straight after to confirm the cashback if you really wanted to

      • haemolysis on 04/03/2026 - 08:41
        +2

        Although it may be “confusing”, repeat sales was the whole point for the retailer: that’s why they contracted with ShopBack (and paid for the discount, plus commission.)

        Without luring customers back for a second purchase they would have had a very weak offering.

  • silverham on 03/03/2026 - 08:28
    +2

    I felt the Shopback pay was pretty annoying to use. From bad phone signal in store to the lack of google pay integration (if I remember correctly) for the ad-hoc restaurant and other prepaid cards (annoying to copy/paste the card numbers into the app). I also couldn't use my amex card directly anymore at chemist warehouse as Shopback pay only worked with MasterCard/visa. The physical advertising felt really deceptive with "$10" discount sign in large letters but actually only for new users in small letters. The whole double purchase thing was confusing too as I only went to CW every once in a awhile so unsure if often enough. Anyway, the whole model didn't make sense to me. At least with with Shopback receipts you get something everytime independent of payment method even if it's only 3c or something and do with multiple retailers so the habit can stick.

  • turkey2 on 03/03/2026 - 10:59
    +1

    System was being abused.

    Go to restaurant which offered a 10% discount, Spend $500, pay with Shopback and have $50 shopback pending until you return to the restaurant.

    Pay $0.10 via Shopback to the restaurant again to activate your $50 cashback, and then you have a $0.01 cashback pending which you don't need.

    • surfingedge on 03/03/2026 - 13:27

      Shopback designed this abusable system. I thought it was weird you had to enter the amount yourself

    • tenpercent on 03/03/2026 - 23:55
      -1

      Nah that's not abuse. Making you go back and expecting customers to not do something like this basically cuts the discount in half.

      Your alternative: Go to a restaurant offering 10% cashback, spend $500 on 1st visit, pay with SB and have $50 cashback pending.
      THEN spend another $500 on 2nd visit, pay with SB, get $50 cashback (so that's $50 actual cashback for $1000 spend = 5% effective discount) and have $50 cashback pending… you only ever get the last pending cashback if you go again.

  • Lrbwood on 04/03/2026 - 07:14

    Good riddance.
    Stopped using them 2 years ago after they screwed me out of $300 cashback.Used them for years with no problems but then they started gaslighting me with excuses as to why purchases didn't track through my apparent "failure" to follow terms and conditions.
    Basically small ones tracked,big ones didn't.
    Scammers.

  • Sydneyswans on 04/03/2026 - 08:49
    -1

    Ouch my morning coffee was $4.50 with Shop back That means you'll probably have to switch to nespresso pods in the office.

  • Zippy7 on 07/03/2026 - 18:22

    I only saw the notification in the SB app this morning.
    I had bought a coffee from my regular coffee shop on Friday, and only then noticed they didn't charge a surcharge when I paid with SB credit (they always did, making my $5.30 coffee cost me $5.38)
    Then after I saw the notification this morning, I realised there was no tracking of Fridays coffee.
    Very strange - maybe this was a cleaning up of charging fees (8 cents) where they probably had no right do.
    Or it wasn't making the money they expected and wanted it gone before IPO, since there would be questions during investor education.

  • sintro on 11/03/2026 - 20:15

    Anyone know how I can get the qr code for one of the shops that had shopback pay? I tried going there to make a purchase tmbut they refused to let me use shopback pay.

    • NotBritishorUK on 12/03/2026 - 00:14
      +1

      "If you have pending Return Cashback from an in-store purchase made before 2 March 2026, you can confirm it by making any eligible online purchase through ShopBack before 25 March 2026 00:00 AEDT"

      • sintro on 12/03/2026 - 14:09

        The store refused to let me use shopback pay so how can I make another in store purchase?

        • GreenGuava on 12/03/2026 - 18:16

          To expand on what @NotBritishorUK said, instead of returning to the store to make another ShopBack Pay purchase (which you've said you essentially can't do), if you make an online purchase at any ShopBack store and earn some cashback, ShopBack will also confirm/pay out any pending ShopBack Pay cashbacks you may have.

          Eg You have $10 ShopBack Pay cashback pending from an in-store purchase. If you make an eBay purchase through ShopBack that earns some cashback, ShopBack will also pay out the $10 you have pending from ShopBack Pay

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