Zilch Review 2023: Cashback + £5 Sign up Bonus

Zilch is an app based buy now, pay later (BNPL) product, and an alternative to Klarna, Laybuy and Clearpay. In most cases I wouldn’t support the use of BNPL products as it’s my personal belief that they promote poor money management.

However, there are some advantages to responsible lending in this case, such as 0.5% cashback both online or in store when you pay upfront, and the Zilch rewards sign up bonus (which is currently £5). Here’s my Zilch review to help you figure out if it’s right for you.

Zilch Review 2023:

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Zilch Review: Cashback + Sign up Bonus

How does Zilch work?

Once you create an account & add a payment method, your virtual Zilch card is issued. To use your card you’ll need to enable purchases either online or in the app. There are 100’s of available stores online including amazon and eBay, but if you can’t find the one you’re looking for you can use the ‘Try Anywhere’ feature – this allows you to shop anywhere else in store or online. When paying you have 2 options:

Pay the full cost upfront – which will reward you will 0.5% cashback at participating stores.
Pay in 4 – you’ll need to pay 25% of the overall cost upfront, 25% in 2 weeks, 25% in 4 weeks and the final 25% in 6 weeks. This often comes with a £2.50 fee.

The payment is taken from the payment method you initially added to your account (e.g. a debit card), unless you have rewards credit. You can now also pay with apple.

When you sign up using an existing users referral link you’ll get £5 worth of rewards points. You can use your £5 worth of rewards towards any purchase, but when I first signed up I claimed a free Amazon gift card using the steps below:

Steps:

Sign up using my Zilch referral link.
Complete the sign up process.
Add a debit card.
Receive 500 reward points (worth £5).
Click on the Amazon store.
Tap “pay it all now”, then click the button to enable the £5 discount.
The green enable button should take you to Amazon, buy a £5 gift card using your Zilch card.
The gift card will be free as it will use your £5 reward points to make the purchase.

Frequently asked questions

As this is a fairly new app I’m sure you have lots of questions, here are some of the common questions I’ve been asked. If I haven’t answered your questions below please do leave a comment or email their customer service directly support@payzilch.com.

Is Zilch safe?

In response to the many questions asking is Zilch legit? Yes. Zilch is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. I had a small issue with my card when I first started using the app but it was sorted within 24 hours.

Do Zilch run a credit check?

They run a soft credit check when you sign up. This won’t impact your credit score and it won’t be visible to others on your credit record.

What happens if I miss a payment?

Like most credit products, Zilch will report any missed payments to the credit reference agency Equifax, which can negatively impact your credit score. You will always be sent reminders of any due payments and you should contact them asap if you’re unable to meet these payments.

Are there any costs/fees?

The only time it costs to use Zilch is if you use the buy now, pay later function (costing £2.50). All other features are free to use.

Monavate Company Number: 12472532

My Zilch review

I’ve been using Zilch since 2021. Originally I signed up to claim the sign up bonus and haven’t stopped using it since. I have my Zilch card saved in my apple wallet and use it to fairly regularly; although I have never used the buy now, pay later option.

They used to offer 2% cashback and recently reduced this to 0.5% on pretty much anything. Previously I would use this with my various other cashback apps to increase my savings. The referral scheme is a massive bonus too. Each friend you refer will earn you an extra £5 of rewards – t&cs apply. They get a 4 out of 5 stars from me – it would have previously been 5 stars but I don’t use it as much now that the cashback has decreased.

I have lots of positive things to say in my Zilch review, but a word of warning for those of you that might be temped by the buy now, pay later aspect of the app – please, please, please think sensibly when borrowing, and ask yourself should you really be buying something if you can’t afford to buy it upfront?

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