Rakuten Rewards

Rakuten Rewards

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Affiliate marketing, E-commerce
Founded	1998 (1998) in Menlo Park, California, United States
Founder	Alessandro Isolani, Paul Wasserman
Headquarters	San Mateo, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Cash-back rewards, shopping incentives, mobile app, browser extension, in-store cash back program
Owner	Rakuten
Parent	Rakuten

Rakuten Rewards (), previously known as Ebates, operates as a cash-back and shopping incentive company that earns revenue via affiliate marketing links. Users accumulate cash-back rewards by accessing retailer websites through these affiliate connections before making purchases.

History

Originally established in 1998 under the name Ebates in Menlo Park, California, the company was founded by former deputy district attorneys Alessandro Isolani and Paul Wasserman. Supported by the venture capital firm Foundation Capital, Ebates.com officially launched on May 3, 1999, providing shoppers with up to 25% cash back from approximately 40 online merchants.

In September 2014, the Japanese e-commerce leader Rakuten purchased Ebates for $1 billion USD. The transition from the Ebates brand to Rakuten Rewards was completed in 2019.

Acquisitions

Date	Company	Business	Country
September 8, 2011	FatWallet	Comparison shopping site	United States
August 9, 2012	BFAds	Coupon platform	United States
September 8, 2012	AnyCoupons	Coupon platform	United States
June 22, 2012	OneReceipt	Receipt digitization service	United States
October 12, 2012	PushPins	Mobile coupon site	United States
June 25, 2013 disposed December 6, 2017	Extrabux	Comparison shopping site	United States
March 7, 2016	Shopular	Mobile app for product discovery	United States
January 23, 2017	Cartera Commerce	Provider of Rewards program services	United States
April 3, 2017	ShopStyle (including Cosmic Cart)	Fashion discovery platform	United States

Services/tools

Name	Description
Mobile app	Complimentary Android and iOS application allowing users to shop and receive cash-back rewards via mobile devices.
Hotels	Service enabling hotel reservations with cash-back incentives.
Cash Back Button	Browser extension compatible with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari that notifies users of available cash-back deals and emphasizes offers within Google and Bing search results.
Marketplace	E-commerce marketplace formerly hosted at Rakuten.com, featuring products from third-party vendors.
In-Store Cash Back	Program allowing users to earn cash back on physical store purchases by linking credit or debit cards to their accounts.