Stockback

About Stockback

Stockback, also known as Stockback Capital, was an early player in the fintech rewards space, founded in 1999 by Craig Peters. Peters, who holds an MBA from The Wharton School, brought experience from roles at A.T. Kearney and Homestead Technologies to the venture. Following his time at Stockback, he went on to hold senior positions at the PGA TOUR, Fox Sports Interactive, and is now the CEO of Getty Images.

The New York City-based firm pioneered a consumer finance model designed to build personal savings through everyday spending. The business operated a rewards program linked to the Chase Stockback Mastercard. When cardholders made purchases at participating merchants, such as Dell and Barnes & Noble.com, they would earn a percentage of their purchase, not as cash back, but as shares in a mutual fund. This approach turned consumers into investors, transforming their shopping rewards into a growing asset.

The core of the service was the Stockback Fund, a no-load, no-fee mutual fund managed by financial giant Merrill Lynch, which held stocks of the companies offering the rebates. This created a unique ecosystem where loyal customers of a brand could become its shareholders. In April 2000, the company demonstrated significant promise by securing $25 million in a Series B funding round from investors including RRE Ventures, NeoCarta Ventures, and TH Lee Putnam Ventures.

Stockback Capital was ultimately acquired on April 22, 2004. The trademark was later associated with Vesdia Corporation, a company that merged with Cartera Commerce in 2011. Eventually, the stockback.com domain was redirected to Splender.com, a cashback platform that Cartera launched and was subsequently acquired by Ebates (a Rakuten company) in 2017. The "stock-back" concept has since been revitalized by other fintech companies, such as Stash, which launched a similar rewards program in 2019.