Updated 21st January 2022 - Sadly Upside have announced that they will be closing the app, and it's services with immediate effect, and therefore this update is to confirm that this app is no longer available to new users, and it's cash back for current users, will cease from 21.01.22
Upside is an app based cash back service, offering much faster cash back on your purchases, than the other cash back sites in the UK. Rather than taking weeks or months to get your cash back to be available on your account, this service registers your cleared cash back on your account in just a few days, which is a refreshing change!
So how does it work?
As long as you have a bank account or credit card app on your phone, you can use Upside. The Upside app connects to your banking app, (which you re-authorise every 90 days), and will detect when you spend at a retailer who has partnered up with Upside. Once the transaction has been detected, which normally takes a few days, you will then awarded the applicable cash back, for your purchase, to your Upside account, which can then be transferred to your bank account. The connection to your banking app may seem a little scary, in a security sense, however it's totally secure, and I've had no issues at all, and it's all safe!
You can connect more than one banking app to the Upside system, so you can earn from all your accounts and cards, maximising your cash back opportunities!
Currently you can connect to the following banking services:
Monzo
Natwest
HSBC
Barclays UK
Starling
Revoult
Halifax
American Express
Santander
Tesco
Nationwide Building Society
Royal Bank Of Scotland
First Direct
TSB
In regards to retailers participating in the cash back service, there are quite a lot! If I'm honest many seem to be some of the smaller retailers, who I personally am unlikely to be a customer of, but that doesn't mean you aren't, but for me the highlight of the app is cash back from Morrisons and Lidl, both who offer 1% back on your grocery spend, which can, and does add up over the year, Morrisons for me has been my biggest cash back source via the app!
Cash back amounts vary by retailer, and vary from between 1% for the bigger companies and up to 25% for the smaller less well known brands, but even 1% isn't to be sniffed at!
The whole process is automatic, other than needing to re-authorise your banking apps every 90 days, the system automatically finds your cash back earning purchases, and adds them to your account, so you can just sit back, spend as normal, and watch the cash back trickle into your account... It's money for nothing, and one of my favourite new apps!
You can sign up for free HERE