Chexy, the Canadian fintech platform that enables consumers and businesses to earn credit card rewards on recurring payments like rent and bills, says cashback card usage through the platform is increasing 2.5 times faster among users under 40 than those aged 40+.
Cashback transaction volume among users under 40 rose 125 per cent between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. The increase points to a broader shift away from passive rewards accumulation toward more immediate, flexible returns on essential expenses.
Based on an analysis of overall Chexy user activity, cashback transactions rose 97 per cent over the same period, while the number of users earning cashback grew 60 per cent, signalling both rapid adoption and increased usage frequency among existing users. This momentum reflects a broader repositioning of rewards from passive perks to active financial strategy, led disproportionately by younger Canadians, who are shifting to cashback at 2.5 times the rate of those 40 and over, it said.
The generational divide is also evident in how value is distributed across the platform. Canadians under 40 processed $24.7 million in cashback volume in Q1 2026 compared to $11.6 million among those 40 and over, a gap driven largely by the fact that younger users now make up the majority of the platform’s user base. When controlling for headcount, older users actually transact more per person, highlighting two distinct but equally important behaviours: one focused on maximizing value in real time, and another rooted in larger, more consistent individual spending patterns, added Chexy.
Chexy Founder & CEO Liza Akhvledziani discusses the data.
Question: What’s driving younger Canadians to prioritize cashback rewards over traditional points-based loyalty programs right now?
A: Younger Canadians are increasingly prioritizing cashback because it delivers immediate, practical value on everyday expenses. As affordability pressures continue, there is a growing expectation that spending should provide a more tangible return, particularly on essential payments like rent, bills and taxes. Cashback aligns with that mindset because it feels flexible, accessible and relevant to how younger consumers are managing money today.
Q: Your data shows Canadians under 40 are adopting cashback 2.5 times faster than older consumers — what broader shifts in spending habits or financial attitudes are behind that generational divide?
A: The generational divide reflects a broader shift in how younger Canadians approach spending and financial management. Younger consumers have come of age in an environment shaped by real-time payments, digital banking and flexible financial tools, so there is a stronger expectation that financial products should provide immediate utility and transparency.
Consumers who are 40 and older built their financial habits around legacy loyalty ecosystems where rewards were closely tied to travel, premium credit cards and long-term points accumulation. That model still resonates with them and since they are more established financially they may be less focused on accessing immediate value from their expenses.
Q: How much of this behaviour change is tied to affordability pressures and the current economic climate versus a longer-term change in consumer expectations around rewards?
We see this as both a response to current economic conditions and part of a longer-term behavioural shift. Affordability pressures have accelerated the demand for immediate and flexible value, but consumer expectations around rewards were already evolving before the current economic climate. Increasingly, Canadians expect rewards to integrate more seamlessly into everyday finances rather than functioning solely as aspirational perks tied to travel or luxury spending.
Q: Are consumers increasingly treating rewards and cashback as part of their monthly budgeting strategy rather than as occasional perks, and how is that changing the fintech or retail landscape?
A: Yes, our data shows us rewards and cashback are increasingly becoming part of how consumers manage monthly spending rather than something viewed as occasional or secondary. Consumers are looking more closely at how to unlock value from recurring expenses that historically did not earn rewards, including rent, utilities and taxes.
In response, companies are expanding cashback offerings, building more flexible loyalty models and looking for ways to integrate rewards into recurring spending categories that drive consistent consumer engagement.
For retailers specifically, rewards are increasingly being used as a retention tool as consumers are paying closer attention to where they shop, how they pay and what value they get back, which is putting more pressure on brands to make loyalty programs feel immediate, practical and easy to use.
Q: Based on the growth you’re seeing between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, what do you think this signals about the future of consumer finance behaviour in Canada over the next few years?
The growth we’re seeing suggests consumers are starting to rethink what counts as a valuable financial product. For a long time, rewards programs were built around aspirational spending like travel, luxury purchases or occasional big-ticket transactions. What’s changing now is that consumers increasingly want financial value tied to the payments they make most often and care about most month to month.
Over the next few years, we expect that to reshape both payments and loyalty more broadly. Consumers will likely become less loyal to financial products that feel passive or disconnected from their everyday lives, and more willing to switch toward platforms that help them get value from recurring expenses.
We also think the line between payments, budgeting and rewards will continue to blur, with consumers increasingly expecting all three to work together rather than exist as separate experiences.
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