I’m always a fan of earning money that I’m going to spend anyway (I usually don’t get incentivized to buy something just because there’s an extra sale or extra cash back). That’s why when I heard of Paymi, I was interested. You don’t have to open the app or do anything special to earn cash back with Paymi, and they have different retailers and restaurant partners as their cash back partners, so when you spend like you usually spend, you will see cash back in your account. Here is my Paymi review.
If you’ve heard of the Drop app (owned by Capital One bank) you may have heard of Paymi (partnered with CIBC Bank). Paymi is a Toronto based start up that is a shopper marketing program. Paymi has retail, restaurant, and travel partners, and when you shop at those locations, you can get cash back in your account. You don’t need any coupons and don’t need to be logged in to an app. Here is my Paymi review.
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Table of Contents
How does Paymi Work?
Paymi works similarly to other cash back apps, like Drop where you get money back for shopping at retailers they are partnered with. It is done ‘automatically’ because you link a credit card or debit card to Paymi, you will need to connect either a debit or credit card to the Paymi account. Then you just shop as you regularly would, and if you shop at the supported retailers, Paymi will pay you back in cash, and not points.
When you are ready to collect your cash back, you just request it using the Paymi app and they will send you your money via an Interac e-Transfer®. This may take up to 5 business days after you submit a request.
You don’t need to log into a shopping portal or log into the app prior to buying your items, because it is automatically linked to your credit card or debit card. This is great for someone who is forgetful like me (I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve forgotten to shop through the Rakuten.ca portal when I buy something on Amazon.ca).
Related: Rakuten Canada Review: Get Cashback from Amazon.ca
Great Canadian Rebates is also similar to Rakuten but you have to log in through their portal.
CIBC has partnered with Paymi and offers double points. There’s a separate registration and login process if you have a CIBC card when you register for Paymi.
You can still collect points from the credit card that you link with Paymi like you regularly would. So you’re getting double points or ‘double dipping’.
You can also still collect the store’s loyalty points, so in fact you’re ‘triple dipping’.
In fact, you could probably quadruple dip, because you can shop through the Ebates portal at these retailers, and then pay with your Paymi-linked credit card, with that credit card earning cash back, and you collecting the loyalty points from that retailer still!
Related: 5 Easy Ways to get Free Gift Cards in Canada
How Can you Cash Out Money from Paymi?
When you cash out, there is a minimum of $2.00 to request your money, and there is a $1.50 fee if you request an Interac e-Transfer® of less than $25.
If you request more than $25 there is no $1.50 fee.
Is Paymi Safe?
When you sign up for an account with Paymi, they retain this information about you below according to the Privacy Policy:
- “age, gender, name, email address, password, the province you live in, home address, mobile location phone number, your transaction data, your rewards balance within your account, redemption activity, demographic data, and the financial institutions you use through our service providers, including related financial data”
Additionally if you sign up with CIBC, CIBC will send your transaction history from 90 days before you register with Paymi to Paymi and will share your daily transaction history with Paymi so that you will receive relevant offers and also have your points credited to your account.
They use this information for to provide you additional offers that may be of interest to you on behalf of retail partners that Paymi is associated with.
When reading some of the app store reviews, there were reviews that their bank account was almost hacked. Therefore I would recommend only connecting a credit card instead of a debit card just to be safe.
Which Stores Can You Earn Cash Back With Paymi?
Some of the stores that Paymi partners at the moment include:
- SportCheck
- Gap
- Lowe’s
- Burger King
- Sobey’s
- Zara 1% cash back
- Lululemon 1% cash back
- H&M 1% cash back
- MIlestones Bar and Grill
When you shop at these retailers and restaurant locations with a connected card you will get the percent cash back.
As mentioned, with CIBC linked accounts, CIBC offers double the cash back on all Paymi offers with a CIBC card.
You can also earn $5 when you refer your friends and they make their first purchase. They also get a $5 bonus. In the app they have a referral code that you can share with your friends.
Related: The Ultimate List of Canadian Cash Back Apps and Websites in Canada
Paymi Review: Pros and Cons of Paymi
One downside of Paymi is that the list of retailers is not very big. Ebates has a bigger list of retailers in comparision. However, Paymi’s list of partners is high quality, like Leons, H&M, and Zara. All places that one may normally shop at.
One pro is that it is automatic, and you don’t have to log into a special website or app first to make the purchase and get your cash back. Therefore, there’s no ‘wasted’ opportunity of points or cash back that you forget about. Another pro is that the minimum to cash out is very low, at $2. They do charge you a fee of $1.50 if you cash out with less than $25.
Related:
There we go, that’s my impression of Paymi so far. Hope this Paymi review was helpful!
Do you use Paymi? What’s your Paymi review?
GYM is a 30 something millennial interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for blog updates, a free dividend yield spreadsheet, and the free Young Money Bootcamp eCourse.
I have heard of Drop, but not Paymi. I haven’t signed up for Drop and have heard that it doesn’t have a lot retailers like you mention with Paymi. Rakuten/Ebates is my clear favorite in this money saving area. I just saved $10 on our first ever snowblower. Now I have to teach Mrs. DD how to run it. My work is never done. 🙂 Tom
@Tom- I like Rakuten/ Ebates too, they have a different model compared to Drop/ Paymi. Haha, Mrs. DD has her work cut out for her this winter, now you added snowblowing to her winter chore list.
I don’t like anything that I have to link up a credit or debit card! I’ll stick to Ebates (Rakuten). Recently Oshkosh had 40% off their kids clothes and then I got an extra 10% back from Rakuten. Yeah I’ll have to wait a bit longer for the cheque, but At least I won’t have to worry about my credit ever being compromised.
@Connie- Thanks for visiting. 40% + 10% off– yeahhhh! I love Rakuten, it’s great. I don’t mind the quarterly cheques though, it’s a nice treat for delayed gratification.
I was actually thinking about Paymi the other day. I shared my Ebates link on Facebook and someone asked if I was familiar with it. Talk about good timing. Will likely check it out (because I sure do love cash back haha)
@Tara- Hah, cool, definitely good timing! I think Drop and Paymi will be/ are very popular.