Tesco's 20 million Clubcard holders can now pay for shopping without card or cash

Tesco has launched a new way for 20 million customers to pay, save and pick up Clubcard points, every time they spend in stores or online.

All Clubcard members can now apply online for Tesco Clubcard Pay+, which is a sort of pre-payment debit card provided by Tesco Bank.

Shoppers can add money and ringfence their grocery spend from any UK bank account into their Tesco Clubcard Pay+ account, using the Tesco Bank mobile banking app.

If you want, you can also use the pre-payment card in any shop, or for online spending.

But you can only spend cash you actively put onto the card - it won't let you spend money directly from a current account.

Tesco Clubcard Pay+ also lets shoppers save while they shop by rounding up their purchases to the nearest pound, saving the difference into a Round Up account.

Almost 45,000 accounts have been opened by shoppers since its pilot launch for Tesco staff in March 2021.

The pilot scheme has seen more than £24million spent on 1.2million transactions using Clubcard Pay+ at Tesco and other retailers.

Tesco Clubcard Pay+ has also been used to pick up over 5.25million Clubcard points nationwide so far.

Tesco Bank chief executive Gerry Mallon said: " We’re very encouraged to see Tesco Clubcard Pay+ help give shoppers the confidence to start saving while managing their budget and picking up extra Clubcard Points wherever they shop.”

How does Tesco Clubcard Pay+ work?

Tesco Clubcard Pay+ account holders get a debit card which will also act as their Clubcard, replacing their current Clubcard.

The new scheme is provided by Tesco Bank and is available to Tesco Clubcard members who are resident in the UK and aged 18 or over.

The account can be applied for online and should only take a few minutes, with no impact on a customer’s credit rating.

How good is the Round Up savings option?

Tesco customers have so far saved more than £213,000 into their Round Up savings accounts.

These easy access accounts pay interest of 0.25% - better than many savings deals from high street banks but considerably less than the top deal of 0.67%, from Shawbrook Bank.

However, the Tesco Round Up deal does have the advantage of being easy to use and will help savers put away cash automatically.

The Shawbrook deal also needs £1,000 to open. The next-best rate for easy access accounts is 0.65%, from Paragon, and needs just £1.

Two weeks ago The Mirror reported how to triple your Tesco Clubcard points and match Aldi prices .

Tesco shoppers will be all too familiar with the supermarket’s Clubcard loyalty scheme, which gives you points when you shop.

Shoppers typically get one Clubcard point for every £1 spent on groceries in Tesco, or one point for every £2 spent on fuel.

You can collect points through Tesco Bank and Tesco Mobile as well.

In return each point is worth 1p each - so for every 500 points you get, you’ll accrue £5 to spend.

But if you swap your points to use at a Rewards Partner, you could potentially triple their value.

Money bloggers Ricky and Naomi explained: “Every 50p collected in Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be exchanged for up to £1.50 to spend on days out and attractions around the UK.

“This means you can get free or reduced entry to attractions like Shrek's Adventure! London, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Warwick Castle.”