Rewarding Participants with Cash Rewards

How do I set up my session to pay participants with a cash reward?

That depends on how you're recruiting participants.

If you're using FindingFive's built-in participant pool, you can simply select a cash reward and set the per-participant amount when setting up your session. FindingFive will handle payments automatically.

If you're recruiting through platforms like Prolific or Mechanical Turk, you'll need to use their payment systems instead, as FindingFive does not process payments for external platforms.

For in-lab studies where you plan to pay participants in person, you can set up your session without a reward and distribute the payments yourself.

When will my account balance be deducted for the cash payouts of a session?

Funds for participant payments are set aside in your account as soon as the session launches. Participants receive their payments automatically upon completing your study.

If there are any unused funds after the session ends—such as when participants drop out before finishing—they will be refunded to your account balance within 1-3 hours. Since participants may time out at different points, the refunds might be processed in multiple installments.

Can I withdraw leftover funds?

Of course! Contact our researcher support team ([email protected]) to make a withdrawal request and we will provide a refund within 3-5 business days. A 5% refund fee will be applied to cover the cost of accepting the initial deposit.

If the refund can be processed within 90 days of the original deposit, we can issue a direct refund to the original payment method. If the refund request cannot be processed within 90 days of the original deposit, the refund will be issued through PayPal or through a physical or electronic check.

How will the cash reward be dispensed to participants? Do I need to manually approve a payment?

FindingFive handles payments automatically—once a participant completes your study, their reward is sent immediately. There's no need for manual approval.

Only participants who fully complete the session will receive payment. FindingFive does not support rejecting payments after completion for any reason.

Can I pay my participants on my own, bypassing FindingFive's direct payment feature?

Yes, that's completely fine.

If you prefer to handle payments yourself, simply set up your session without an official reward. Be sure to include details in your study description so participants know how and when they will be paid.