Cashback: Where Does the Money Come From, and Why You Never See a Dime of It
One in two French people say they use at least one cashback platform. Few people realize that the amount refunded is a shared advertising commission—and that just a few minor details in how the system works are enough to make it disappear.
Cashback money comes from advertising. More specifically, it comes from an affiliate commission, a portion of which the platform passes on to you. The whole system is based on this, including the pitfalls.
The merchant launches an affiliate program and agrees to pay a commission on every sale referred by a third party. According to the 2026 Barometer published by the Collective for Digital Marketing Professionals, this commission averages around 6 percent, ranging from 3 percent in the consumer goods sector to 8 percent in the high-tech and sports sectors.
A technical platform handles tracking and billing, taking its cut in the process. The cashback platform is just one affiliate among many, with the exception that it passes on a portion of its commission to the user and keeps the rest. You click through from the platform, a cookie is placed on your device, you make a purchase, the sale is attributed to the platform, the commission is paid out, and a portion goes to you.
Why do rates vary from one site to another
The commission paid by the merchant is neither public nor uniform; it is negotiated based on the volume generated. Each platform is then free to decide what portion it passes on, and none of them publish this rate. This is the industry’s blind spot. Add in the temporary “boosts” during events like French Days or Black Friday, which occasionally inflate the rates, and you end up with a market that’s nearly impossible to compare.
Comparing two platforms therefore only makes sense at a specific point in time and for a specific amount. Based on the average affiliate shopping cart value of 92.57 €, the realistic difference amounts to just a few euros; the dramatic differences we see reported correspond to high-value purchases or promotional campaigns. Be wary, by the way, of cashback comparison sites, which are paid referral fees by the platforms they rank.
What Makes Your Cashback Disappear
Attribution is based on the last click. If, after clicking from your cashback platform, you go to another site to look for a promo code, that site gets the commission and your cashback vanishes. The golden rule is therefore to click the cashback link last, right before you pay.
Next comes tracking. The terms and conditions of the French market leader are clear: if cookies are disabled or blocked, no purchase can be attributed. Ad blockers, private browsing, tracking opt-outs, and purchases made through a mobile app—all of these transactions fall off the radar. Also note that cashback does not apply to sales tax or shipping costs.
Finally, the financial aspect. The first payment is made only once a threshold is reached—€20 for the market leader. Earnings expire two years after the end of the calendar year in which they were credited. And here’s a crucial clause: as long as the conditions aren’t met, the user “does not own the cashback credit.” They have no vested claim. Combine the withdrawal threshold, the expiration date, and a rate of a few percent on an average shopping cart value of €62—the average for French e-commerce in 2025, down 3%—and an occasional user may never reach the threshold before the credits expire.
Don’t confuse these two models
The distinction matters. On one hand, there’s affiliate cashback—which is free—as described above. On the other, there are paid loyalty clubs, which offer a refund immediately after an online purchase and sign users up for a monthly subscription without their knowledge—€18 per month in the most widely documented case in France. In 2019, the DGCCRF found that consumer information was insufficient in nearly all of the cases it investigated, and a foreign regulatory authority determined that 62% of subscribers to one such service had signed up without realizing it. Known disputes involve these paid clubs, not the free platforms.
Two legal points
When it comes to cookies, cashback programs enjoy preferential treatment. In April 2022, the Council of State ruled that traditional affiliate cookies require the user’s consent, but that cashback cookies are exempt from this requirement because the user has requested the service.
When it comes to taxation, caution is advised. The prevailing view treats cashback on personal purchases as a discount on the price paid—and therefore as a reduction in expenses rather than taxable income. While this reasoning is consistent, it is not based on any published official doctrine: neither the BOFiP nor the service-public website addresses the case of individual consumers. Cashback from banks, businesses, or referral programs follows different logic.
