The ‘National Cashback’ program remains one of the most popular consumer support initiatives in Ukraine. Every month, up to 4.8 million citizens use its services, primarily for purchasing domestically produced food products. The total amount of payments under this program has already reached approximately 8 billion hryvnias.
This is reported by Finway
Program Features and Recipient Profile
According to the Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev, the program effectively reaches its target audience, which consists of citizens with low income levels. These individuals are most responsive to price changes and actively take advantage of the opportunity to save through cashback.
“About 4.8 million Ukrainians use the ‘National Cashback’ cards every month. In my estimation, it has performed even slightly better than we expected. It is used primarily by those citizens we aimed to reach – low-income individuals who are more likely to respond to price changes,” said the minister.
Results from a study commissioned by MasterCard indicate that currently 67% of Ukrainians use cashback. Of these, 63% are families with a total income of up to 40,000 hryvnias per month. The main motivator for applying for cashback, according to 68% of respondents, is the opportunity to save money.
The largest share of cashback spending is on food products (86%), followed by pharmaceuticals (39%), cleaning products (28%), household goods (27%), personal care items (19%), and clothing and footwear (13%).
Economic Impact and Prospects
In total, around 8 billion hryvnias have been returned to Ukrainians for purchasing Ukrainian goods. The most common use of cashback remains for utility services – up to 70% of the received funds are directed towards these expenses.
Vadym Polishchuk, Vice President of Business Development for MasterCard Services in Ukraine and Moldova, emphasized that over nearly two years of the program’s operation, about 13% of all utility payments are made using funds received through cashback. According to him, this is an important indicator, as the energy sector has a significant economic impact.
The program already involves about 2,000 producers who have registered over 421,000 products. Most entrepreneurs view the program positively or neutrally, considering it one of the first steps towards protecting Ukrainian producers. Key reasons for business participation include stimulating demand and requests from retail chains.
Unlike producers, who are still unable to accurately assess the impact of cashback on their results, sellers note an increase in sales of Ukrainian goods — in some retail chains, this figure has risen by 7–9%.
Oleksiy Sobolev reported that the program will be improved in the near future. In particular, the Ministry of Economy is considering the possibility of extending cashback to weight-based products.
Additionally, the Ukrainian government has extended the fuel price compensation program until May 31, 2026.
