Key points
- Trading 212 ends its 1.5% debit card cashback on 3 December because UK interchange caps at 0.2% left card income at just 3% of marketing spend.
- Jan Watermann calls Trade Republic's 1% save back, capped at €180 a year, probably the best non-crypto replacement.
- Jonny Pease predicts a power vacuum and expects better card offers, possibly in the first quarter of 2027.
Trading 212's cashback ends as debit card economics bite
Trading 212's 1.5% debit card cashback was paid out of marketing, not card economics. UK debit interchange is capped at 0.2%, so the £1.68m the card earned in 2025 covered about 3% of the company's £51.5m marketing spend. The offer drew users in faster than it could be sustained, and its end on 3 December sends UK and EU cardholders looking for replacements.
Takeaways
- Debit interchange caps made the cashback unaffordable. Because it is a debit card, UK interchange is capped at 0.2%, limiting what it can earn. Trading 212's UK company made £1.68m in card income against £51.5m of advertising and marketing.
- Cashback was marketing spend, and rivals will follow. Jan Watermann says the offer was far too expensive and became insanely popular. It makes sense early to funnel users through the door, and he expects other fintechs to retire similar offers after building a large base.
- Trading 212 tightened the card step by step. Users first had to invest all their cashback rather than withdraw it, then a subscription was required. Jonny Pease read those as product refinements, not the start of the end, and wonders whether card-only users were investing at all.
- The card still leads for travel spending. It gets the interbank rate, which beats Wise's variable fee on each exchange, and allows up to £400 or €400 of ATM withdrawals. Jonny Pease gets 1% cashback with Lloyds Ultra, though it uses Mastercard's rates.
- Trade Republic leads the non-crypto European options. Its 1% save back goes into an investment vehicle chosen in advance and is capped at €15 a month, or €180 a year. SumUp pays 2% on groceries and 0.5% elsewhere, plus 5% at merchants using its terminal.
- Kraken's card cashback costs foregone interest. Cashback depends on deposits, at 2% for 50,000, 1.5% at £10,000 and 1% at £1,000, with no deposit protection. £10,000 in a savings account earns about £500 a year at 5%, against £180 on Kraken.
- Chase and Zopa lead the UK replacements. Chase UK pays up to 2% on groceries, transport, fuel, restaurants, cafes and takeaways, capped at £20 a month, with a competitive current and savings account. Zopa pays 3% on selected categories and bills, capped at £54 a year.
What comes next
- Jonny Pease predicts a power vacuum once the cashback ends and expects other providers to come through with better offers, possibly in the first quarter of 2027. His own Lloyds Ultra benefit runs out soon.
- Jan Watermann says points cards have a right to exist for a frequent flyer. Avios redemptions on business class flights can be worth 2 to 4 pence a point, up to 4% cashback, though he dislikes planning redemptions.