When Did Mortgages Start Earning Rewards?

Spoiler: Right now.

Let’s get real: each month, your mortgage payments have been the OG take-no-prisoners expense — the biggest, longest-running, most committed relationship you’ll ever have (unless you count your Netflix subscription).

And yet, they’ve historically been allergic to the idea of giving something back. No cashback. No points. No “thanks for the six figures.” Just the privilege of paying it… again next month.

This is now changing.

The market has already been experimenting with mortgages that ofr cashback on mortgages. Several of the Big Five banks offer one-off cashback at closing, usually between 1% and 7% of your mortgage amount. It’s often used to cover closing costs, furniture, or renovations.

It’s a reasonable offer, but it only has a single payout, and only when you close.
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A few fintechs want to go further and promise, amongst future features, to offer monthly cashback or credits for home expenses, bringing the same reward logic that credit cards have used for decades into homeownership. We’ve been following their news.

Here’s the neat part: you don’t have to wait for the “someday” version. That shift — where your mortgage starts to pay you back — is something you can get here, now.

Cue the mic drop moment:

‍Neobanc is now doing mortgage cashback, as of today.

(Yes, that sentence might just be the most satisfying line you’ve read all rent cycle.)

Why does it matter? Because this isn’t just a money-back gimmick — it retools the economics of homeownership. A cashback component turns your most significant debt into something that nudges you forward instead of just sucking you dry. It acknowledges that loyalty should go both ways — and that paying for your own home for decades shouldn’t feel like banging your head against a financial cement wall.

What the Data Says (Because We’re Not Just Dropping Punchlines)
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Cashback mortgages aren’t new. In Canada, the Big Five Banks offer them, but they usually come with trade-offs like slightly higher interest rates or repayment requirements if you break your term early. The smarter approach is treating cashback as an ongoing wealth-building tool, something you actually get back every month, and can take advantage of right away.

Bottom line (Cashback for Mortgages? Finally.):
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Your mortgage doesn’t have to be a one-way street anymore. The market was inching toward it for a long time, and we’re already there — giving you cash back instantly, not just charging you endlessly. You’ve been feeding your mortgage thousands and getting nada; it’s about time it gave something back