> Of course, you must realize that if you substitute "entry in the bank database" for "points", your (pun intended) point is still valid. This is quite differe

> Of course, you must realize that if you substitute "entry in the bank database" for "points", your (pun intended) point is still valid. This is quite different. Banks have strict regulations regarding how they have to handle your money. Now, of course, the banking system could collapse, but so could the state, in which case the cash in your wallet would loose validity, too. Gold would be valid, but only as long as you have people to trade to. For most states, though, this is a far smaller risk compared to some retailer shelving their cashback system. EDIT: Responding to your edit: > Yes, I know that trust(private company) < trust(bank) < trust(banking system) < trust(government), but neither is 100% (or even very, very close). You are right, but reasonable trust in some unregulated cashback system of a private company is orders of magnitude smaller than the reasonable consumer trust in a bank (assuming we're talking about a stable country).