Cashback cards 2026: where to get up to 5% back on groceries and fuel

Cashback has become the main weapon in banks' fight for salary clients: in 2026 it is offered by 14 of Kyrgyzstan's 23 banks. But a big 5% often means 1% in practice because of caps and "categories of the month". We analysed 12 cards and calculated the real return for a family spending 45,000 som a month.

Best cards by category

• Groceries: Bakai Bank — 5% at Globus and Narodny (cap 1,500 som a month), MBank — 3% at all supermarkets with no cap.
• Fuel: MBank — 5% at Gazprom and Bishkek Petroleum, Optima Bank — 3% at any station.
• Cafés and restaurants: Demir Bank — 5% on Visa Platinum, KICB — 4% at weekends.
• Everything else: Optima Bank — 1% on all purchases with no limits, Elcard from Eldik Bank — 1.5% when paying by QR.

A real calculation

A family spends 45,000 som: 18,000 on groceries, 8,500 on petrol, 6,000 in cafés, 12,500 on other things. With the MBank card the return is 540 + 425 + 60 + 125 = 1,150 som a month. With Bakai Bank it is 750 (hit the cap) + 255 + 90 + 125 = 1,220 som. The gap between the best and worst card in the sample is 900 som a month, or almost 11,000 som a year.

The catches

• Cashback cap: at half the banks it is 1,000–2,000 som a month.
• Minimum turnover: Demir and KICB require spending from 15,000 som, otherwise no cashback.
• Annual fee: 600–2,500 som a year eats part of the benefit — calculate the net result.
• Cashback in points rather than money: points expire after a year and can only be spent with partners.
• Categories of the month: they must be activated in the app, otherwise 0%.

The optimal strategy is two cards: one with high cashback on your main category, the other with 1–1.5% on everything. Compare all cashback cards by category and cap in the FinMarketKG debit card section.