Supermarkets offer ‘cashback’ for first time in France
Shoppers will be able to ask for “cashback” from their supermarket cashier for the first time ever in France, as the Casino group prepares to roll the scheme out across 150 stores nationwide.
Many Casino Géant hypermarkets and supermarkets are now offering the service, allowing shoppers to take out between €10-€50 in cash at the same time as paying for their goods at the till.
While common in other countries such as the UK and USA, this is the first time that “cashback” has been available in France.
The idea to make it easier to take cash out, and remove the need to find an ATM.
Shoppers simply need to pay for their goods using a card, and at the same time, inform the cashier that they would like to take out some cash. The cashier will then charge the customer the total of their goods, plus the cash amount, and hand the cash to the customer (along with their goods), upon payment.
From the end of this month (September 2018), Casino is planning to roll the service out across its 150 national stores, including at 500 automatic tills.
Eric Chabert, director of the Casino Géant hypermarket in Choisy, Paris, said: “At the moment, we are seeing a dozen transactions per week. We need time for the new service to become known, and become a habit, bit by bit. Our objective is to make our clients’ daily lives easier.”
The group is not planning further banking or credit card services for now, but the service has been hailed as a possible competitor to banks in some respects.
David de Matteis, partner at consulting firm OC & C, told news source Le Parisien: “With this new service, Casino is strengthening the relationship with its customers and building their loyalty, in the context of strong market competition.
“At a time when more and more banks are closing, this service could help bring the supermarket extra customer footfall.”
