Consumer rebate and cashback programs are a proven strategy to drive incremental sales, build brand loyalty, and gather valuable buyer data.
But while they can be powerful levers, they’re also full of financial blind spots. If your program is not actively monitoring your rebate ecosystem for common risks, you're likely bleeding money without realizing it.
This is called at risk spend, and it can be in the hundreds of thousands. So, we’re going to help you:
- Understand the factors of at-risk spend
- Calculate your at- risk spend
- Reduce your at-risk spend
Let’s dive in!
Factors of At-Risk Spend
At-risk spend refers to the portion of your total rebate program budget that’s vulnerable to loss, misuse, or compliance issues.
It’s money that should be working for your business but is instead slipping through the cracks. In short, it’s the silent ROI killer hiding in plain sight.
Fraud detection
Fraud detection (or lack thereof) is a major ROI killer of rebate and cashback programs. Think:
- Duplicate submissions using the same receipt across different identities or channels
- Falsified purchase data, including altered receipts or invalid proof of purchase
- Ineligible claims from consumers outside offer parameters (e.g., date range, product, retailer)
- Mass submission attacks by bots or syndicates exploiting bulk rebate offers
- Increased payouts to unqualified claimants, inflating program costs
- Erosion of trust among legitimate consumers due to delayed processing or payouts
- Compliance risks from redemptions outside regulated regions or tax/reporting requirements
- Distorted analytics, hindering accurate measurement of program performance and consumer behavior
These losses can quickly scale, eroding program ROI and creating risk for your company.
Legal and compliance issues
Many rebate programs walk a tightrope when it comes to compliance. One misstep—like not managing uncashed checks properly—can land your business in hot water.
Common issues include:
- Unclaimed property laws: If you issue checks or prepaid cards and don’t handle the unused funds correctly, you may be in violation of state escheatment laws
- Tax reporting: Payouts that aren’t tracked properly can create reporting and audit liabilities
- Data handling: Inadequate tracking or documentation across departments (finance, marketing, legal) leaves room for inconsistencies and legal exposure
The cost? Hefty penalties, brand damage, and wasted time spent chasing paper trails.
Unclaimed rebates
Even when a rebate is claimed successfully, part of it might never get used. While it’s often seen as a “win” by finance teams, it’s a liability in disguise.
This can include things like:
- Partial or unused prepaid card balances
- Rebate checks that never get cashed
- Consumers abandoning payout links or instructions
Calculating Your At-Risk Spend
If you’re math-averse, you can skip this part and just use our calculator to figure out your at-risk spend amount. If you want to geek out and then use our calculator, here’s the breakdown.
(Average Total Annual Claims × Average Claim Amount) × Average Industry Decline Rate = Estimated At-Risk Spend
This gives you a ballpark figure for how much of your rebate budget is vulnerable to loss—whether through fraud, non-compliance, breakage, or manual error.
What do each of these factors mean?
- Average Total Annual Claims:
This is the number of rebate claims your program typically processes in a year. (If your program fluctuates seasonally, use an average across quarters.) - Average Claim Amount:
The dollar value of the average rebate payout. This might vary by product category or promotion type but use a blended average if you run multiple rebate types. - Average Industry Decline Rate:
This is your risk multiplier—the percentage of your program budget that’s typically lost due to fraud, breakage, or human error.
- Low risk = 5%
- Average = 8%
- High risk = 13%
If you’re not sure where you fall, start with 8% as a conservative baseline.
This can add up to hundreds of thousands in preventable losses. So, how much are you looking at? Take a minute to get your answer: Calculate your at risk spend
Reducing At-Risk Spend
You’ve got your at-risk spend estimate. So what does that actually mean for your team?
Step #1: Benchmark Your Performance
Compare your current program savings (from fraud prevention, claim validation, etc.) to your projected savings from our calculator.
If you’re not seeing savings in line with your at-risk estimate, that’s a sign you’re leaving money on the table.
Step #2: Flag the Gap
Even a 2% gap on a $1M program = $20,000 in lost savings
If your platform isn’t catching that, it might be time to evaluate your tools—or your provider.
Plus, flagging this opportunity to leadership is a surefire way to demonstrate strategic thinking and value. It’s a win-win-win for you, your program, and your company.
Step #3: Reinvest for Bigger ROI
Every dollar saved through better fraud prevention or compliance can be reallocated to boost your channel strategy:
- Increase promotional reach
- Improve partner incentives
- Run additional campaigns without inflating budget
This Is Your Platform’s Job
We will say it again for the people in the back. This is your platform’s job.
Manually tracking this stuff isn’t scalable or safe. It’s your provider’s responsibility to:
- Flag fraudulent or non-compliant claims
- Automatically reconcile redemptions and breakage
- Provide visibility into risk-adjusted ROI
If they’re not helping you uncover and recover this money… let’s talk.
