London-based VibePay has confirmed a significant change to its platform, outlining plans to introduce weekly cashback rewards while placing peer to peer payments on hold from March 2026.
The payments firm said the update marks a shift towards a rewards first payments model built on Open Banking. From March 2026, users will be able to access weekly cashback opportunities on eligible payments, regardless of where they choose to spend.
Central to the update is the launch of VibePay Friday, a new in app feature that will run every week. The feature will allow users to select one of their recent payments for a chance to receive the full transaction amount back as cashback.
According to VibePay, the weekly cashback rewards will be bank agnostic and work across all major UK banks. The experience will be credit free and fee free, using Open Banking rather than traditional card based systems, and will apply to everyday spending rather than selected retailers only.
“This is about rewarding real spending,” said Chris Franklin, CMO of VibePay. “From March 2026, every eligible payment becomes a chance to get something back, regardless of bank or merchant. At the same time, we’re making a deliberate shift to focus on cashback and merchant payments, where Open Banking delivers the greatest value for both consumers and businesses.”
Alongside the introduction of weekly cashback rewards, VibePay said it will pause peer to peer payments from March 2026. The company said the move is intended to sharpen its focus on two priorities. These are building a leading cashback experience and rolling out VibePay Checkout, its Pay by Bank checkout product for merchants.
“Pausing P2P allows us to double down on what matters most,” Franklin said. “We’re building a rewards layer that sits on top of every UK bank and connects consumers and merchants in real time. This is a focused step forward, not a reduction in ambition.”
VibePay Checkout will enable consumers to pay merchants directly from their bank accounts. Every purchase made using the service will automatically qualify for the weekly cashback rewards and unlock personalised offers, according to the company.
VibePay said its approach differs from traditional card based reward schemes. The Open Banking model is designed to work across all UK banks, without credit checks, interest charges or hidden fees.
By bringing payments, rewards and merchant engagement together within a single Open Banking ecosystem, VibePay said it aims to create a payments experience that consumers actively choose to use, rather than one they rely on by default.
