85% of Finance Leaders Shift to Cashback Finance Software, ExpenseIn Research Finds

New research from ExpenseIn reveals that 85.3% of finance leaders in the UK and Ireland now view cashback and reward schemes as a primary factor when selecting financial software. As payment methods remain fragmented across the mid-market, these incentives are transitioning from peripheral perks to essential tools for consolidating corporate spend.

What was announced

The study, which surveyed finance professionals across the UK and Ireland, found that 82% of respondents rate rewards on business spending as an important feature when choosing a platform. While functional requirements like automated expense tracking (91.3%) and real-time spend visibility (88.7%) remain the top priorities, cashback has emerged as a significant differentiator. Specifically, 70.7% of leaders value cashback, with appetite notably higher in Ireland (76%) than in the UK (68%).

The data highlights a significant gap in how businesses currently manage recurring costs. Only 19.3% of firms primarily use company cards for these expenses, while 42% rely on a combination of cards and bank transfers. Perhaps most concerning for finance departments is that 11.3% of businesses still require employees to pay out of pocket and claim reimbursements later.

ExpenseIn, which introduced a cashback feature of up to 0.75% on its expense card in June 2026, noted that business travel (44%) and software subscriptions (32%) are the top categories where leaders want rewards applied. Other high-interest areas include fuel and utility costs, both cited by 34.7% of respondents. Reporting preferences also vary by region: UK leaders prefer seeing cashback within expense reports (35%), whereas Irish leaders prefer direct payments into company accounts (38%). Indifference to these schemes is rare, with only 1.3% of respondents stating cashback has no bearing on their choice of provider.

"What stands out in this research is less the appetite for cashback itself, and more the payment habits sitting underneath it. With 42% of businesses relying on a mix of cards and bank transfers, and over one in ten still having employees pay out of pocket and claim it back, cashback gives finance teams a reason to consolidate spend somewhere they can see and control it."

Rich Jones, VP of Product at ExpenseIn.

The companies involved

ExpenseIn is a provider of expense management software designed to automate the process of recording, processing, and reporting business expenses. The company's platform focuses on reducing the administrative burden on finance teams through features like real-time visibility and automated tracking. In mid-2026, the firm expanded its offering by integrating cashback rewards into its proprietary expense card, targeting categories such as vendor costs, supplies, and software subscriptions.

The research was conducted by Censuswide, an international market research consultancy based in London. Censuswide specializes in providing data-driven insights for various sectors, including fintech and professional services. Other entities operating within the broader financial infrastructure and payments ecosystem relevant to this space include Stripe Technology Europe Limited, which provides payment processing software, and RBC Europe Limited, the European arm of the Royal Bank of Canada. Additionally, PYX PAYMENTS (UK) LIMITED operates as a specialist in the payments sector. These organizations represent the diverse landscape of payment processing, banking, and data analysis that supports the modern expense management industry.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously explored the evolving landscape of financial technology and the data-driven shifts in business spending. In the report Beyond Black Box AI: Why Expense Fraud Detection Needs Explainable Pattern Recognition, the publication examined how finance teams are moving toward more transparent automated systems to combat fraud. Additionally, coverage of the broader payment market includes SMEs Embrace Flexible Payments to Compete with Retail Giants as BNPL Demand Surges, which highlights the growing necessity for flexible financial tools. Other relevant insights were featured in Worldpay Data Reveals Scottish Fitness Boom: 26% of Consumers Now Use Digital Booking Platforms and CoinCover Research Reveals $5.4 Billion 'Crypto Black Hole' as UK Investors Fail to Plan for Death.

What this means

The shift toward cashback as a deciding factor suggests that the expense management market is entering a commoditization phase where functional parity is assumed. When over 90% of leaders demand automated tracking, that feature is no longer a differentiator; it is a baseline requirement. This puts immense pressure on pure-play SaaS providers who do not offer integrated payment rails. The real battle is no longer over user interface, but who can offer the best unit economics to the customer. As finance leaders look to turn cost centers into revenue-generating activities through rewards, traditional banks and legacy software providers without agile card programs risk losing the primary relationship with the finance department.