Cashback schemes shape software buying decisions, research shows

By Divya Shah

According to new research commissioned by ExpenseIn, more than 85% of finance leaders across the UK and Ireland expect cashback and reward schemes to influence their choice of financial software or expense management provider over the next year.

The study found that 85.3% of respondents believe cashback or rewards programmes will play a role in future provider selection, while nearly a quarter (24%) said such incentives would have a major influence on their decision-making.

The findings come as FinTech providers increasingly look to differentiate their expense management and business payments offerings through value-added features. ExpenseIn introduced cashback of up to 0.75% on its expense card for UK and Ireland customers in June 2026.

The research also highlights evolving business payment habits. While 19.3% of organisations primarily use company cards for recurring expenses, 42% rely on a combination of company cards and bank transfers. Meanwhile, 11.3% of businesses still require employees to pay expenses out of pocket before submitting reimbursement claims.

Rich Jones, VP of Product at ExpenseIn, said the data suggests cashback is becoming a tool for finance teams seeking greater visibility and control over spending.

“With 42% of businesses relying on a mix of cards and bank transfers, and over one in ten still having employees pay out of pocket and claim it back, cashback gives finance teams a reason to consolidate spend somewhere they can see and control it,” Jones said.

Beyond rewards, finance leaders continue to prioritise operational efficiency when selecting financial software. Automated expense tracking was identified as the most important feature by 91.3% of respondents, followed by real-time spend visibility at 88.7%.

At the same time, 82% of finance leaders said rewards on business spending are an important consideration when evaluating platforms. Cashback specifically was viewed as important by 70.7% of respondents, with stronger demand in Ireland (76%) than in the UK (68%).

The research also identified the business spending categories where organisations see the greatest value from cashback programmes. Business travel was cited by 44% of respondents, followed by software subscriptions at 32%. Fuel and utility expenses were each selected by 34.7% of finance leaders, indicating broader interest in applying rewards to operational spending categories.

Regional preferences also varied in how businesses would like cashback benefits delivered. In the UK, 35% of finance leaders preferred cashback to be displayed directly within expense reports, while 38% of respondents in Ireland favoured having rewards paid directly into company accounts.

According to the research, only 1.3% of finance leaders said cashback would have no impact at all on their next software provider decision.

Jones added that finance software is increasingly expected to deliver measurable business value beyond cost management, with cashback emerging as one-way providers can support spend optimisation strategies.