In this guide
What Are Referral Programmes?
Referral programmes - sometimes called "refer a friend" schemes - pay you a bonus when someone you recommend signs up for a product or service. The company acquires a new customer, you get a reward, and your friend often gets a bonus too. Everyone wins.
If you share your genuine recommendations with friends, family, and your network anyway, you might as well get paid for it. The best referral programmes can earn you £20-200+ per successful referral, and some apps have no cap on how many people you can refer.
UK residents who are active on social media or have a group of friends interested in money-saving can realistically earn £100-500+ per year from referral programmes alone, simply by recommending apps they already use.
How Referral Programmes Work
- Find your referral link - usually in the app's settings under "Refer a Friend", "Invite Friends", or similar
- Share it with someone who'd genuinely benefit from the app
- They sign up using your link (or enter your code)
- Complete the conditions - usually both parties need to complete an action (a first trade, first cashback purchase, etc.)
- Both parties receive the bonus - usually within 7-30 days
The conditions vary by platform. Some are as simple as "they sign up and verify their identity". Others require "they make a first deposit and trade". Always read the specific conditions before referring.
The Best UK Referral Programmes
Banking and Finance
Monzo
- Your bonus: £5 per referral (in your Monzo account)
- Friend's bonus: £5
- Condition: Friend opens an account and makes their first debit card payment
- Cap: Unlimited referrals
Monzo is one of the easiest referrals - most people are genuinely interested in trying a digital bank, and there's no financial risk. With unlimited referrals, an active social network can earn meaningfully here.
Chase
- Your bonus: No cash referral bonus currently, but Chase does run current-account promotions from time to time
- What to share: Chase's current offers, which can be worth £100+ in cashback
Trading212
- Your bonus: A free share (typically worth £2-100, randomly allocated)
- Friend's bonus: A free share
- Condition: Friend signs up and deposits at least £1
- Cap: Unlimited
Trading212's free share referral is a strong one. The average share value is around £5-15, but occasionally someone gets a high-value share worth £50-100+. Given the low bar (just a £1 deposit), it converts well.
See our Trading212 guide for more details.
Freetrade
- Your bonus: A free share (£3-200 value)
- Friend's bonus: A free share
- Condition: Friend opens and funds an account
- Cap: Unlimited
Similar model to Trading212. Freetrade is well-known in UK investing circles, which makes referrals easier.
Cashback Platforms
TopCashback
- Your bonus: £10-20 (when friend earns their first cashback)
- Friend's bonus: Often receives a bonus too (check current offers)
- Condition: Friend signs up and earns cashback through a qualifying purchase
- Cap: Unlimited
TopCashback referrals convert well because the platform is free to join and immediately useful. With a £10-20 bonus per referral and no cap, this is one of the most consistently valuable referral programmes.
See our TopCashback offer for the current bonus. If you are comparing cashback referrals more broadly, pair this with our TopCashback vs Quidco comparison.
Quidco
- Your bonus: Varies - typically £5-15 per friend who earns cashback
- Condition: Friend earns cashback within 90 days
- Cap: Unlimited
Read our Quidco review if you want a closer look at how Quidco works beyond the referral bonus.
Energy and Utilities
Octopus Energy
- Your bonus: £50 account credit
- Friend's bonus: £50 account credit
- Condition: Friend switches to Octopus and remains a customer for 90 days
- Cap: Unlimited
The Octopus referral is exceptionally valuable - £50 per referral with the right audience. If you have friends and family on expensive standard tariffs, switching to Octopus is a genuine money-saving recommendation, making this an easy referral to make authentically.
See our Octopus Energy guide for full details.
Survey and Rewards Platforms
Prolific
- Your bonus: A percentage of your referral's earnings, indefinitely
- Friend's bonus: Access to the platform
- Condition: Friend joins and completes studies
Swagbucks
- Your bonus: 10% of friend's SB earnings for life
- Friend's bonus: Signup bonus SB
- Condition: Friend signs up using your link
See our Swagbucks offer for current bonuses.
Food Delivery and Lifestyle
Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats
All three major food delivery platforms run referral schemes, typically giving your friend a discount off their first order and you credit towards a future order. Bonus amounts change seasonally - check the app for current offers. These tend to convert well because they're immediately valuable to the recipient.
How to Share Referral Links Without Being Spammy
The biggest mistake people make with referral programmes is mass-blasting their link to everyone they know, irrelevant of whether they'd benefit. This damages friendships and rarely converts well.
A better approach:
Share contextually
When a friend mentions a relevant problem, share the solution naturally:
- "Oh, you're looking for a new bank account? I switched to Monzo and I can refer you - we both get £5."
- "You're always mentioning your energy bills - have you thought about switching to Octopus? There's a £50 referral bonus for us both."
Write honest social media posts
Sharing your genuine experience with a product on social media, including your referral link, can generate multiple conversions from people who already trust you.
A good social post for referrals:
- Explains your real experience with the product
- States clearly what the referral bonus is for both parties
- Includes your link naturally
- Doesn't feel like an advertisement
Use a "referral link" page
If you're seriously pursuing referral income, create a notes page or Google Doc with all your referral links, with a brief description of each product. Share this page when relevant.
If you want a broader "free money" framework rather than just referrals, read our Free Money UK roundup.
Be upfront about the referral bonus
People appreciate honesty. "I'll get [bonus] if you sign up through my link, and you'll get [bonus] too - worth it for you either way" is better than trying to hide the referral element.
Tracking Your Referrals
Most platforms have a referrals dashboard where you can see:
- How many people have used your link
- Which referrals are pending vs. confirmed
- Total earned from referrals
Check these quarterly to spot any referrals that haven't been credited correctly. Most platforms have a contact form or support email for disputed referrals.
Tax on Referral Income
Referral bonuses in cash (or credit) are generally treated similarly to cashback - as a discount or incentive rather than income - and most people won't need to declare them.
However, if you're earning significantly from referrals (e.g., through a blog, social media, or systematic referral activity), and particularly if you're promoting products regularly, HMRC may treat this as trading income. If your total miscellaneous income from all side hustle activities exceeds £1,000 per year, you should register as self-employed and declare it.
Combining Referrals With Other Side Hustles
Referral programmes work extremely well alongside other side hustles because you're recommending tools you already use:
- Bank switchers: Refer friends to Monzo as their "sacrificial account" for bank switching, earning the referral bonus plus your own switch bonus
- Cashback users: Refer friends to TopCashback and Quidco
- Survey earners: Refer friends to Prolific and earn a percentage of their earnings
The Most Valuable Referrals to Focus On
If you want to prioritise, here's a ranking by value-to-effort ratio:
| Programme | Per Referral | Effort to Convert |
|---|---|---|
| Octopus Energy | £50 | Medium (requires switching energy) |
| Monzo | £5 each | Low (easy sign-up) |
| TopCashback | £10-20 | Low (free, immediately useful) |
| Trading212 | £2-100 (random) | Low (£1 deposit) |
| Prolific | Ongoing % | Low if friend uses it regularly |
| Quidco | £5-15 | Low (free, immediately useful) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a limit to how many referrals I can make?
Most programmes have unlimited referrals. A few may have monthly or total caps - check the specific terms in the app. Octopus Energy, for example, has had no cap on referrals for years.
What if my friend forgets to use my link?
Most programmes require sign-up through your link. Once they've signed up via another route, you generally can't claim the referral retrospectively. Remind friends before they sign up.
Can I share my referral link publicly (blog, social media)?
Yes, for most programmes. However, some financial products prohibit referrals in anything resembling a paid advertisement without FCA authorisation. For financial products, sharing your personal experience is generally fine; marketing them professionally may not be.
Do both parties always need to get a bonus?
No - some programmes only reward you. Some only reward the person being referred. The best ones reward both, which makes the conversation easier.
How long do referral bonuses take to arrive?
Typically 7-30 days after the referral meeting the conditions. Some may take up to 90 days if the conditions include a waiting period (like Octopus's 90-day retention requirement).
Editorial disclosure
SideGuide may earn a commission if you sign up through some links on this page, at no extra cost to you. That never changes what we publish, how we rank options, or when we mark an offer as expired.
We explain our research, updates, and corrections process in our Editorial Policy.
How we researched this page
Research & review notes
Review timeline
Published: 2026-03-30
Last reviewed: 2026-04-13
What we checked
We reviewed current public referral terms for the featured platforms, removed schemes that were not consistently available to UK users, and prioritised referrals that are both valuable and realistic to share without spamming people.
Primary sources
Found something outdated? Tell us here and we'll review it.