Santander Edge vs Zopa Biscuit: which is best for cashback on bills?

These two current accounts let you earn money back on direct debits

Options to earn money back on bills have been few and far between in recent years, with just the Edge and Edge Up from Santander available to new customers, and the same bank’s 123 and 123 Lite for people who opened one up before late 2022.

But in the last few weeks that’s all changed – a little. Just as Santander axes the 123 Lite account for existing customers (it’s already been closed to newbies for a few years), Zopa officially launches Biscuit, it’s first current account, which is also the first non-Santander account to offer cashback on direct debits since 2019.

So whether you don’t currently earn any money back on bills, are about to lose out with the closure of 123 Lite accounts or aren’t sure about the two Edge accounts, I’ve taken a look to compare the cashback options available.

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How to earn cashback on bills

You can of course use a cashback credit or debit card to pay some bills, and you might get similar or better rates at times (check out our analysis of the best cashback cards).

However, when it comes to some payments, such as energy bills, paying by direct debit will give you a bigger discount than what a card will offer.

It’s also worth remembering that some cards have caps on how much you can earn each month, so paying bills with those cards could limit cashback on other spending. You might also find it hard to pay by credit cards, especially American Express, for Council Tax in some areas.

Which is where the accounts we’re talking about come into play. They pay money back on direct debits that leave your account.

There are, as you’d expect, restrictions such as which direct debits qualify. You might also need to factor in monthly fees which will eat into your profits. But I’ll explain all these in more detail in the comparison.

It’s also worth clarifying that a direct debit is different to a standing order or continuous payment authority (CPA). A standing order is just a payment you set up to regularly leave your account, usually to another current or savings account, and a CPA is when you use your long card number to take recurring payments. Neither of these will qualify.

A direct debit is a separate agreement, which can vary month on month, which you set up with whoever you are paying.

It’s worth checking how you pay. For example, you might think it’s a direct debit paying your broadband, but sometimes it could be a CPA. Likewise, a subscription such as Netflix is going to be a CAP and not a direct debit.

Which current accounts pay cashback on bills?

Right, so how to the accounts compare? I’ve not included the 123 Lite as that closes for existing customers on 9 September 2025.

Account (links go to our full analysis of each account)	Cashback	Which bills?	Limit	Fee
Santander Edge	1%	Selected providers	£10 a month	£3 a month
Zopa Biscuit	2%	Any direct debit	£30 a year	None
Santander 123 (existing customers only)	Up to 3%	Selected providers	£5 a month	£4 a month
Santander Edge Up	1%	Selected providers	£15 a month	£5 a month

It’s worth noting two big differences between the Zopa account and the Santander options.

First, the Santander accounts only pay on selected bills, and sometimes selected providers. These are Council Tax, water, energy, mobile phone, broadband and pay TV. Biscuit though will offer cashback on any direct debit you pay from the account, which could expand your options to include gym memberships and more.

Second, Biscuit caps the cashback you earn annually whereas for Santander it’s monthly. So you can earn on your direct debits with Biscuit until you’ve spent £1,500 in a year. That averages out at £125 a month – roughly what you might expect for a Council Tax bills. But if you paid direct debits totalling £500 a month you’d reach the limit in just three months and earn nothing more for the year.

How much can you earn?

Looking at the cashback limits, the Edge Up obviously looks the most promising. If you made the full £15 a month, even after the £5 fee is knocked off, that’s still £120 profit a year. Likewise the Edge could total £84 a year after the fee.

However, these caps are misleading. To earn £10 or £15 a month when the cashback rate is just 1% would require total bills of £1,000 and £1,500 a month for the Edge and Edge Up respectively. Realistically, most of us won’t be paying bills high enough each month.

For example, my eligible bills total £526 a month and would net me £5.26 this month from either of those two accounts. Now, I don’t pay for Sky TV, which can be very expensive (too expensive if you ask me), and I haggle and switch other bills where I can, but most households who do similar wouldn’t earn much different.

That rules out the Edge Up for me with a profit of just £3.12 a year. The Edge is better – it would make me £2.26 a month, or £27 a year. That’s just a little more than what the new Biscuit account would pay me with it’s £25 annual cap.

The 123 account would earn me £4 a month or £48 a year, based on my current bills, but sadly I have the soon to end 123 Lite so that’s not an option for me, and it won’t be for most of you either. However if you do currently have the full 123 account, then that’s likely to be the top payer just on bills.

First impressions would suggest what’s the point of having these accounts if you’re only going to get between £25 and £30 a year – and I’d agree if that was the only perk from these accounts.

Edge vs Biscuit savings rates

Let’s start with the Santander Edge. For me the real perk of this account is the linked Santander Edge saver. This pays 6% for one year on a balance of £4,000. That’s the highest paying account right now for a lump sum, albeit a limited amount. If you put the full amount in, you’ll earn £233 in interest over the year. When the year is over you can close it and open up another, though the rate is variable so it could change.

Now, if you’re not paying your bills out of the Edge current account, you’re not covering the £3 monthly fee, and that massively dents your interest return. In fact you could lose money if you don’t have enough saved!

So if you’re not currently earning cashback on bills, and are able to earn at least £3 a month from doing so, and if you have £4,000 to save, I think it makes sense to open an Edge and then the linked Edge Saver. Even better, you could nab a switching bonus on top if you’re new to Santander.

And remember you don’t have to make the Santander Edge your main account. You can use it just for those bills, which can also be a handy budgeting hack that ring fences those essential expenses away from everyday spending.

Biscuit by Zopa on the other hand also has a fantastic savings account. This one pays 7.1% variable on a regular saver – the most you can get right now over a year. You’re limited to adding £300 a month for 12 months, but assuming you do this, you’ll earn £137 in interest.

And you don’t need to pay any direct debits from the account to qualify for this rate. Of course, if you do then there’s the potential for another £25 a year on top. And if these direct debits are ones not covered by Santander Edge, that’s extra free cash you wouldn’t have earned elsewhere!

Biscuit also offers 2% interest on in-account balances. That’s poor in comparison to other savings rates, but one of the better ones when looking at earning in the current account itself. Realistically that’s only going to be a benefit if you make Zopa your main current account, and I’d personally still look at other options first at the moment such as personal favourites Starling and Monzo (that could change – Biscuit is brand new).

One thing to remember if you are thinking of using either or both the Santander Edge and Zopa Biscuit accounts as additional accounts to earn the cashback is to ensure you transfer enough over each month to meet those direct debit requirements!