The Problem with Respondent's Virtual Gift Card Announcement

Respondent has announced that by the end of 2025, all incentive payments will be issued via virtual Visa gift cards and no longer through PayPal. Here’s why this is a problem, my take on why Respondent is making the switch, what you can do about it and why you should care about this change.

Why this is a problem

 The main issue is simple: PayPal is basically cash. You can move your PayPal funds directly to your bank account with no fee. Some people might think they can just route their Visa gift card through PayPal to get cash, but that doesn’t work with Visa gift cards from Tremendous. 

Why Respondent is making this change

Respondent claims they’re switching to virtual Visa gift cards because it’s more convenient—no need for a PayPal account and no small PayPal fee. But honestly, I think the real motivation is profit.

Here’s the deal: Respondent earns money by providing a recruiting platform for researchers and participants. Recruiters pay to post studies and access a pool of over 3 million participants. Participants, in turn, get charged a 2.25% service fee on incentives, which makes it the only platform that charges participants a fee for redeeming their rewards. Many people I’ve referred are okay with this fee since it means they get cash through PayPal. 

But that changes with the move to Tremendous. So why would Respondent switch if participants can’t get cash anymore? Because Respondent wants to avoid paying PayPal’s fees. Tremendous is free for senders in most cases and makes money through partnerships with reward providers like Amazon and Visa. According to Tremendous, “If you’re sending in high volume, we’ll even share some of that revenue with you.” Respondent runs thousands of studies each month, so they’re likely to qualify for that revenue share. Bottom line: Respondent stands to earn money from recruiters, participants, and now from Tremendous, too.

What you can do about it

The good news is that Tremendous also offers options like Venmo, PayPal, and direct bank transfers, but these carry an extra 4–6% fee. It seems Respondent just doesn’t want to pay that fee, which is why bank transfers aren’t available as an option. 

Here’s how you can push back: Contact Respondent and ask them to add bank transfers as a payment method since Tremendous supports it. If Respondent really wants to make things easier for participants, letting people transfer their incentive straight to their bank account is the way to do it.

Here’s a template you can use if you’re not sure what to say. Feel free to personalize it by mentioning how many studies you have completed on the platform or how many participants you have referred. Adding your own experience can help make your email even more impactful. 

Subject: Request to Add Direct Bank Transfer as a Payment Option

I recently learned about the upcoming change to virtual Visa gift cards for incentive payments. I appreciate that you’re looking for convenient ways to pay participants, but I wanted to share some feedback.

I really value the ability to receive incentives as cash, which PayPal made possible with direct transfers to my bank account. With the new system, it looks like this won’t be an option anymore.

Since Tremendous supports direct bank transfers for incentive payments, I’d like to ask that you add this option for participants. Being able to transfer incentives straight to my bank account would make things much more convenient and flexible. Thank you for considering this suggestion.

Best,
[Your Name]

If you’ve already received the email from Respondent reply to them with this template or you can send it to info@respondent.io

Why You Should Care About This

Even if you only use Respondent occasionally, this change affects you. When incentive payments are limited to virtual Visa gift cards, it becomes harder to access your rewards as cash. This means more hassle, more restrictions on how you spend your incentive, and potentially losing value if you can’t use the gift card easily.

Taking a moment to speak up now matters, even if you’re not a frequent participant. If enough people request direct bank transfers or other cash options, Respondent is more likely to listen and offer more flexible choices for everyone. By sharing your feedback, you help make the platform better not just for yourself, but for all participants—now and in the future.

Note: This is purely my opinion based on the research I’ve done with publicly available data and does not reflect Respondent, Tremoundos or PayPal’s views.

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