ZIPZERO app review: snap receipts to save money on household bills
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ZIPZERO update November 2024
Arg. So I just went to upload a receipt and the app said it needed updating, yet I couldn't find it in the app store. Has the app finally given up? It would seem so. I've had no emails, but I found this on X, so some people have had an email.
What a pain. I had £20 outstanding, 4x £5 payments. I always try to cash out of these apps as soon as I reach the payment threshold incase this happens, but they hadn't paid any of my cashouts since May.
Some people lost hundreds if you search ZIPZERO on X.
Here's what I found on X:
What a pain!
There are still some receipt apps that pay cash or gift vouchers in the UK. Check out my list of receipt snapping apps to learn more!
ZIPZERO update August 2024
Unfortunately there has been no end of complications and trouble for the ZIPZERO app. While I did finally get to release my funds at £10 per month, things seemed to be going well, until a couple of months ago...
I noticed my May 2024 payment wasn't made, so I emailed them and was told it would be made in August.
As we head into the last third of August and I see my May payment hasn't been released yet, nor have two more I have requested since, I messaged ZIPZERO again to check these will be made this month, only to receive this reply:
"Hello there,
Thank you for contacting us.
We are writing to inform you about a further delay in the payment for your May-June ordered transfers. Unfortunately, the funds we were promised last week have been delayed. The new expected date for the transfer is now the end of the first week of September.
To be completely transparent, we anticipate that this may also be delayed, and we expect to receive the funds along with the September tranche around the middle of September. We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but at this point, we have no influence to expedite the process.
We understand and respect if you decide to stop scanning or submitting online purchases due to these delays. If you do make this decision, we must stress that your account, along with your accumulated units is safe. This is also confirmation that no data is being monetised during this period.
We will keep you informed of any further updates.
Sincerely,
The ZIPZERO Team"
Screenshot:
ZIPZERO update January 2023 - my funds will be released soon (from most complicated receipt snapping app to exist...)
If there was a prize for most complicated receipt snapping app then ZIPZERO would win it. They keep changing the rules and how money can be accessed and making people jump through hoops to get it...
Hopefully for new users it will be much easier. But if you are an old user like me with a bunch of money saved in there, they won't just release it to you... only in £10 amounts and only if you've snapped at least 5 receipts per month for 12 months.
So, I got £10 released in December, but not in January... so I messaged and here's what they said.
Here's my latest email exchange with ZIPZERO:
Me:
"Hey, shouldn’t I have at least £10 available this month according to the new rules?"
ZIPZERO:
"Hello there,
Thank you for reaching out and waiting patiently for a response.
Regarding your pending funds, in the last months we have been in communication with all users via email and social media channels announcing the intent of releasing old Base unit funds at a monthly rate of up to £10 until fully depleted.
In order to have these funds released, users are required to remain active for 6 consecutive months by successfully scanning at least 5 in-store receipts or by forwarding 5 online order confirmations monthly.
We have looked into your account further and found that you must be active for another 2 consecutive months for up to £10 to be released from your previously accumulated Base units (units acquired up until 30th November) which will commence for you on the 1st of March 2023.
Please note that any units earned after the update (1st of December 2022) will be subject to a separate grace period. The grace period for any purchase that is not connected to a premium offer (in-store receipts and online purchases) will now be set at 90 days. Purchases that are connected to a premium offer will be subject to a grace period, which can be found by clicking on the offer details.
We hope this information helps but please visit our website for more on this and let us know if you have any further questions."
Pretty sure I have been active, at least with uploading Amazon orders for the premium offer while that was there... but hey-ho... it looks like I'll start getting my money (now £90) released in £10 installments each month from March 2023 so long as I keep uploading at least 5 receipts to the app every month.
And anything earned from December 2022 just has a 90 day pending period.
Let's just hope they stick to all this and don't change the requirements again!!
ZIPZERO update Novemeber 2022 - new rules for the better?
Receipt snapping app ZIPZERO are once again changing its rules and it seems this time they are for the better!
For all of us who have been eagerly waiting to withdraw our base units without having to spend a small fortune on premium offers, the wait might finally be over.
Here are their recent tweets:
For active users of the app, it looks like ZIPZERO are going to start releasing these base units from January 2023. They will release £10 per month until the base units are used up and that seems to be the end of the base unit and premium unit saga!
Since writing my last update, I have over £90 in base units, so it will be a relief to finally release these and have the money towards my household bills, knowing it wasn’t a waste of my time snapping and sending in all my receipts.
It’s been a frustratingly long wait, but it looks like it’s time to try this app again properly and start snapping receipts every week.
Going forward they look like they’re scrapping the whole premium units thing, which is very much welcome, especially for those of us with substantial rewards we haven’t been able to cash out for such a long time.
ZIPZERO update December 2021 - is this receipt snapping app worth it anymore?
ZIPZERO started out as an amazing app. You could snap photos of your UK receipts in exchange for money to go directly towards your household bills. The money made from your receipts was pending, then when it cleared you could send it directly to one of your household bills, the details of which you uploaded to your account (account number, sort code and reference). It was a great way to chip away at some household bills and, in effect, get some cash back from your in-store shopping receipts.
It was a receipt snapping app, like many receipt snapping apps I have previously written about, with the twist of the money you make going towards your bills rather than cashing it out directly.
BUT THEN…. ZIPZERO lost investment or needed more investment and stopped paying out. My last payout was 23rd March 2020 and I have been patiently waiting for them to source investment and get their app started again.
Not least because I had a balance of over £70 which I would like to cash out!
Time went on and on and they have now finally relaunched their app in November 2021, but with so many changes, it’s not the app it once was.
And, most frustratingly, they are not letting any previous owed balances be cashed out (or rather, paid to bills).
Instead, they have reverted the balances to ‘pending’ and have instead become a cashback app of sorts. Now, you must generate enough cash back from online shopping via ZIPZERO to equate your receipt snapping balance, in order to cash it out.
Mission!
And super annoying as they should honour the payments from previous customers who signed up to use the old version of the app and wanted to use it as a receipt snapping app.
It’s going to be a right faff to use their app for online shopping and to earn the equivalent of £70 in order to then cash out my previous receipt snapping balance, PLUS I’m not convinced I will ever get paid given how long this has all been going on.
So I’m wary of wasting my time using their app to build this online cashback balance IN CASE nothing ever comes to fruition. They’ve already cancelled everyone’s available balances from the last business model of their app so who’s to say they won’t make changes again or lack investment and cancel everything altogether?
Right now I just can’t recommend using this app and I know many others are super annoyed they can’t cash out their previous balances (just check Twitter).
So, as I said previously in my January update, you can use this app for receipt snapping and cashback, but it is currently at your own risk as they may not pay you what you earn.
Hoping they have a more positive update for previous loyal customers soon and will honour paying out the balances people took time and effort to build up.
Fingers crossed.
Here's a screenshot showing my available balance of £73.20 has now moved back into the pending balance. The only way I can now release this is if I earn £73.20 in online shopping cashback using ZIPZERO, but my concern is whether I'll waste all my time again and not ever be paid. So sadly I won't be using ZIPZERO anymore as it's not the receipt snapping app I signed up for.
Really, really disappointed to have wasted my time with this app previosuly and for them not to honour everyones payouts when they relaunched.
My best advice is to always cash out as soon as you can with these sorts of apps to prevent all your money getting stuck in the app and for them to refuse to pay it out if their business model changes.
ZIPZERO update January 2021
January 2021 - Since writing this blog post, ZIPZERO have not paid out since March 2020 for me personally.
My last cash out was 23.03.2020 (coincidentally the date we first went into lockdown in England) and my next request for cashout in April 2020 was voided.
I have had £15 in 'processing' mode for months now and another almost £40 in available and pending balances which I really hope I will be able to cash out.
So what's the deal with ZIPZERO? Why aren't they paying out? Is ZIPZERO a scam/legit?
They are apparently waiting for some investment or choosing the right investors, but given the pandemic, lockdowns and economic instability, the whole process has been going on for ages.
I have been snapping my receipts still with my fingers crossed that they will get investment and allow us to cash out again soon, but it's been so long now I don't know if it will happen.
I hope it does, but just be warned.
If you are already a member of ZIPZERO or thinking of signing up, you may not be able to cash out if they don't secure the finances they need.
It’s up to you whether you take the risk of spending time taking photos of your receipts without any guarantee of being rewarded.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed they will be up and running with cash outs soon!
Below is my original review for ZIPZERO when all things seemed good back in 2019. However it's pretty much a completely different app now, so I've crossed it out as it seems irrelevant now!
ZIPZERO original review from 2019
In this blog post I will share my ZIPZERO review. ZIPZERO is a new receipt snapping app in the UK that gives you 1% of the value of all your receipts as cash towards your household’s utility bills. I have been using this money saving app for one month and have already cashed out £9.93 towards my broadband and water bills - that’s in addition to the money I am already making by snapping these same receipts on other receipt cashback apps.
Amazing!
Read on to discover what ZIPZERO is and how you can save money too. I’ll also share my ZIPZERO payment proof.
What is ZIPZERO?
ZIPZERO is a way for you to turn any of your UK store receipts into cash!
You simply download the free ZIPZERO app and take photos of your receipts. Your ZIPZERO account will then be credited with 1% of the transaction value.
You can take a photo of any receipt from any UK store to get 1% back! There are no limitations on which receipts, unlike many other receipt snapping apps.
Once you have uploaded your receipt to the ZIPZERO app you will see amount in your pending balance. It takes a couple of days for the receipt to be verified and approved. Once approved, the funds will move into your available balance.
As soon as you have at least £1 in your available balance you can use the funds to pay towards your household bills!
It’s really straightforward. Here’s how ZIPZERO explain it:
"ZIPZERO gives you 1% of the value of any purchase every time you snap a photo of your receipt:
- any receipt
- for any purchase
- at any shop
Get up to £50 each month to pay your utility bills of choice:
- any bill
- from any provider
- at any time"
Which type of receipts can I use on ZIPZERO?
One of the great things about ZIPZERO is you can use any UK in-store receipt. There are no limitations on the type of store. It works on all UK store receipts!
How do I cash out on ZIPZERO?
ZIPZERO is unique in comparison to the other receipt snapping apps out there as you must use the funds to pay towards your household utility bills.
You can’t withdraw the cash to spend as you please. At first I thought I'd rather the cash in my bank account, but actually I’m really enjoying ‘zipping’ my bills down!
And in effect, the less I have to pay off my bills each month, the more money I have in my pocket!
This is where their name comes from - they want to help you ‘zip’ your bills down to ‘zero’!
How do I pay my bills with ZIPZERO?
To pay your bills you simply add your chosen billers to their app. You need their sort code, bank account number and your identifying customer reference or customer account number.
The billers they suggest you include are council tax, water, mobile phone, broadband, gas and electric.
I have been able to add my broadband account and our water account.
Some billers don’t have a way of paying by bank transfer, so you will only be able to pay those who let you. You can also contact ZIPZERO if you need assistance as there might be a way they can set up a biller on the app even if you can’t find the billers bank details yourself. This is exactly what happened to me and I will explain below.
ZIPZERO customer service
I have been very impressed with the customer service at ZIPZERO. I had a slight problem as I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find a biller to pay with the app. I pay all my household bills by direct debit and none of my bills had any internet banking details listed. I tweeted out to my billers and even contacted some of their customer services to see how I could make extra payments by bank transfer.
I also reached out to ZIPZERO who responded really quickly and were keen to help me out. Even though Virgin Media told me I couldn’t make additional bank transfer payments, ZIPZERO were able to set up a payment to my account from their app after all.
If, like me, you can’t find your billers payment details on your statements then do get in touch with ZIPZERO as they are more than willing to help and resolve any issues.
So long as you can add at least one biller then it’s worth it.
How much money can I make on ZIPZERO?
The sky is the limit… well kind of! They do have an upper limit of £50 per month, but you’d have to spend £5000 in one month in stores to reach this, so that’s pretty unattainable for most of us!
This means you’re going to get 1% of the value back of all your in-store purchases with ZIPZERO, unless you spend over £5000 in stores.
Just remember to get receipts for all your store purchases!
The best part is you don’t need to do anything different. You don’t need to buy anything specific, you just need to continue shopping as normal and you’ll get 1% back on all your purchases, just as they are.
ZIPZERO payment proof
I have so far paid a whopping £9.93 towards my bills in just one month! This means I have spent £993 in one month, but that’s not surprising as we are currently doing some home improvements so we’re spending more than usual. We also easily spend £400 per month in the supermarkets and around £250 on fuel each month, so 1% of this is £6.50 that we can definitely put towards our bills each month!
Here is some payment proof showing my pay-outs from ZIPZERO to my billers. You can tell it’s not my usual direct debit of around £40 as they are much smaller amounts which are happily chipping away at reducing my household bills.
You can, of course, choose to save your earnings up to eradicate a bill in full, or you can use the cash in smaller chunks as and when it’s ready to use in your available balance. I was using small amounts to test the app, but now I might start saving up a minimum of £10 or so and paying a larger chunk off each bill, each time.
Severn Trent ZIPZERO payment proof from my online account:
Virgin ZIPZERO payment proof from my online account:
How do I sign up to ZIPZERO?
They are available as a free download on the AppStore or Google Play. Simply get the app and start saving money on your household bills today.
