Rakuten is an affiliate marketer. The platform works with hundreds of retailers who pay Rakuten for referring its members to their websites. When members make a purchase, Rakuten pays them a portion of the commission they earned as cashback.

In short, it’s a platform to go through to make purchases and earn cash back on things you’d normally buy or even on splurges. It’s like having built-in coupons, only you receive the money back in your Rakuten account rather than as cash off your purchase at the time you buy it.