The digital challenger is set to launch its new £5.99 a month membership scheme on Monday (9 March) for existing cashback credit card customers.

These customers currently enjoy a generous 0.5% cashback on both UK and overseas spends, plus no foreign transaction fees, all without a monthly fee.

But in December, Tandem Bank pulled its popular cashback credit card from the market and revealed its plan to launch a new paid for membership scheme.

For £5.99 a month, customers will continue to receive 0.5% cashback and no foreign transaction fees. But they will also have access to the Tandem Instant Access Savings Account, which pays a market-leading 1.5% AER.

Users responded angrily to the move, unhappy that they would now need to pay in order to continue to benefit.

Given the change, it would take a £1,200 monthly spend just to cover the account fee based on the 0.5% cashback rate.

If users don’t opt in, the card will stop working though customers will need to pay off the outstanding balance – interest (18.9% – 29.9% APR) will continue to accrue so it’s best to settle the amount as soon as you can.

A Tandem Bank spokesperson, said: “We have seen particular interest from customers who have been engaged with the card. They continue to see benefit from the cashback offered as well as from the 1.5% AER on the IASA. The current response rate has exceeded our original expectations and Tandem is excited to continue to serve customers who have signed up for the Tandem Membership plan.”

The Tandem Cashback Credit card was launched in February 2018 and to date, users have earned £1.4m in cashback and saved over £2m in foreign exchange fees.

The new membership scheme will run on a trial basis for existing customers and could be rolled out to new customers at a later date.