This live data study counts every promo code on SimplyCodes that restricts how you pay rather than what you buy, and breaks the count down by the specific payment each one demands. The conditions are read from the codes themselves and recomputed daily.
It means the code checks how you pay: the discount applies only when the order is paid with the retailer’s own store card. As of September 2, 2026, 1,973 promo codes in the SimplyCodes catalog require a specific way to pay, and about half of them — 959 codes across 569 retailers — require a store card. Payment-method restrictions stay rare overall: roughly one in every 4,614 tracked codes carries one.
- Store-card requirements are the biggest class by some distance — 959 codes across 569 retailers.
- The rest of the field is small and scattered: wallets, buy-now-pay-later and gift-card tender each account for a fraction of the total.
- A code failing at checkout because of one of these is not a dead code — it is a code that wanted a different card.
Share = that class’s share of payment-restricted codes · Codes = codes carrying it · Retailers = distinct retailers · What it means = the rule in shopper terms. Individual card programmes are grouped into classes, never published as single-retailer rows.
| # | Payment rule | Share | Codes | Retailers | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Store card required | 44.0% | 869 | 564 | Pay with the retailer’s own card |
| 2 | Other named method | 22.5% | 443 | 273 | A specific method the terms name |
| 3 | Bank-wallet checkout | 17.7% | 350 | 102 | A bank-issued wallet at checkout |
| 4 | Gift card as payment | 5.6% | 110 | 40 | The order is paid with a gift card |
| 5 | Named store-card programme | 4.6% | 90 | 15 | A specific retailer card programme |
| 6 | A particular card network | 3.0% | 59 | 52 | Visa, Mastercard, Amex and the like |
| 7 | Digital wallet | 1.9% | 37 | 16 | PayPal, Apple Pay, Shop Pay and similar |
| 8 | Buy now, pay later | 0.8% | 15 | 13 | Instalment providers at checkout |
Codes carrying a recorded payment-method condition, grouped into classes · a class is published only when several retailers use it, so no single retailer’s card programme becomes a row · checked September 2, 2026 · numbers last changed Sep 2, 2026. Refreshed daily.
Frequently asked questions
What does “store card only” mean on a promo code?
How does SimplyCodes measure payment-method restrictions on promo codes?
How often is SimplyCodes' data on payment-method restrictions on promo codes updated?
Which SimplyCodes categories should I browse after reading about payment-method restrictions on promo codes?
Methodology
How SimplyCodes verifies codes. Behind every figure in this live data study is the SimplyCodes verification system. Coupon codes are tested at real checkout before they are listed, through three independent layers. Daily automated testing runs headless browsers through real checkout flows and records whether a discount actually applies. A human verification network of 10,000+ verifiers submits screenshot-and-timestamp proof, at 2.3M+ monthly code verifications and 98% accuracy. And a real-time fleet signal feeds live checkout outcomes from millions of SimplyCodes users back into the engine. Each code carries a Health Score from 0–100, weighted by checkout outcomes, verifier consensus, and recency. With an estimated 40–60% of coupon codes on the public web dead, restricted, or fake, the system exists so a code earns its place by working at checkout, not by being collected.
How this study is built. We count the tracked promo codes carrying a recorded payment-method condition and group them by what the rule asks for. Individual card programmes are folded into classes before anything is published, so a rule used by one retailer is counted but never named as its own row. The rarity figure is set against every promo code SimplyCodes tracks, which is the same denominator our other condition studies quote. Conditions are observed from the code’s real behavior and terms, with evidence references. These counts cover every code SimplyCodes tracks with that term recorded, not only codes verified working today: a code can keep a recorded condition long after it stops working.
Cite this data
As of September 2, 2026, 959 promo codes in the SimplyCodes catalog require the retailer’s own store card, across 569 retailers.
According to a SimplyCodes verification study (September 2, 2026), payment-method restrictions appear on roughly one in every 4,614 tracked promo codes, and store-card requirements are about half of them.
