H-E-B hopes its loyal shoppers will want a branded debit card

Texas grocer H-E-B on Monday launched a debit card that gives 5% cash back on the retailer’s branded products, among other benefits.

The H-E-B Debit Card, which can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted, also features an optional savings account and provides no-fee cash withdrawals at H-E-B-branded ATMs. The card is free.

Customers who use the card to purchase items in the “H-E-B family of brands” such as products from H-E-B, Hill Country Fare, Meal Simple, Field & Future by H-E-B, Home by H-E-B, Kodi, Cocinaware, H-E-B Kitchen & Table and GTC, among others, will be automatically issued 5% cash back to their debit accounts, the retailer said.

“At H-E-B, we’re always looking to provide Texans with more ways to save,” Ashwin Nathan, H-E-B group VP of marketing said in a statement. “With the H-E-B debit card, customers can have a more-rewarding shopping experience that allows them to keep more money in their pockets while enjoying valuable benefits and perks.”

The H-E-B Debit Account can be linked to another debit card or bank account and can be used for direct deposit, income tax returns and other payments, the company said.

Shoppers can manage their accounts via the H-E-B app to check account balances, see transaction history and more.

Walmart has long offered debit cards and other financial services for its customers. In 2009, the retail giant launched its Walmart MoneyCard, a prepaid, reloadable Visa debit card that offered cash back on gas purchases. The card now offers 3% cash back at Walmart.com, 2% at Walmart fuel stations and 1% at Walmart stores.

Around the same time, Target expanded its RedCard debit card program to give customers 5% off all store purchases.

H-E-B is known for having some very loyal shoppers in its home state. The retailer outperformed some much larger grocers in the first-ever E-Commerce Retailer Preference Index survey from data firm dunnhumby earlier this summer. The grocer’s app performed well among consumers in terms of ease of use and payment, as well as on-time delivery. Plus, H-E-B shoppers said they trusted the grocer more than a third party such as Instacart or DoorDash.

“Customers have loyalty to the retailer and not the intermediary,” dunnhumby said.

H-E-B, the largest private employer in Texas, said last week it would open a new 111,000-square-foot store in Frisco, Texas, later this month, part of the grocer’s planned expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The retailer’s market in Plano, Texas, is slated to open this fall.

H-E-B operates more than 420 stores and has 137,000 employees in Texas and Mexico.