Commbank’s cashback app Cheddar closes

Commonwealth Bank unveiled Cheddar in November 2021. The cashback app, designed as a competitor to ShopBack, Cashrewards, and Afterpay was aimed at Gen Z shoppers and used artificial intelligence to deliver personalised brands, content, deals, alongside cashback offers. It launched with more than 600 merchants on board, including the likes of Menulog, Culture Kings, and Cotton On among others.

In an update posted on the Cheddar website on Friday May 5, the company wrote: “Since launching in November 2021, we’ve brought you incredible deals from more than 1,000 of your favourite brands and paid out $2m in cashback and bonuses. It’s been a wild ride but now it’s time to say goodbye and close up Cheddar.”

It confirmed that while customers cannot use Cheddar to make new purchases, any available cashback with Cheddar can be withdrawn at any time up to 31st August 2023.

“While we’re sad to be saying goodbye, we’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received from customers and brand partners, and all the hard work from our wonderful team over the last two years,” the message reads. “We couldn’t have achieved everything we have in that time without your support, so thank you.”

Staff at Cheddar are not the only affected workforce in Commonwealth Bank’s restructuring. It has been revealed that despite record profits, the bank has cut 224 jobs in the Operations and Technology, Financial Services and Risk Management, and Global Markets teams. News.com.au spoke to Finance Sector Union (FSU) representatives who revealed that most of the jobs will be lost in New South Wales, with 197 redundancies, followed by nine in Victoria, 16 in Western Australia, five in Queensland, and one job in South Australia.

Cheddar faced stiff competition in its industry. In December last year, Westpac partnered with ShopBack in a $44 million partnership that enables Westpac customers to access exclusive cashback offers via a dedicated Westpac hub in the ShopBack app and website. ANZ also has its own platform in Cashrewards, partnering with the company since 2021 when it bid a $100 million takeover for the platform.

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