Skip to main content
University of Washington UW W Logo Human Centered Design & Engineering Wordmark Logo

HCDE Intranet

Research Subject Payments

Research projects involving human subjects often offer a small payment to the research participants for purposes of recruitment or encouragement for participation in the project.

Note: Research Subject Payments are for individuals only. Requests for payment to groups or organizations (e.g., non-profit organizations), email hcdefiz@uw.edu to determine which payment method works best.

HCDE offers the following options for paying research participants:

US Bank VISA Card

The US Bank Visa Rewards card is an anonymous, one-time load VISA card that can be used anywhere VISA is accepted. This is a physical card that will need to be ordered and loaded by the department for pick-up and distribution by the requester. 

To request a US Bank Visa Rewards card, email hcdefiz@uw.edu with the following information: 

  1. Subject line: Research Subject Payments - US Bank Card
  2. First/last name
  3. Email address 
  4. Amount 
  5. Worktag/budget approval (e.g., award letter, email from faculty/PI/supervisor, etc.)

You will receive an email from the HCDE fiscal team notifying you when the gift cards are ready to be picked up. 

Please allow 15-20 business days from the date of order to receive your gift cards. 

Tango Rewards Card

Tango Card is an eGift card (a link) where the participant can choose to purchase their gift from a variety of vendors online. Internet access is required by the research participant to redeem their gift card.

The process for Tango cards requires that you or someone you designate, will serve as the intermediary to receive the Tango card links for distribution. The intermediary will receive an email from Tango containing a link to a spreadsheet, listing each individual link. Each link will need to be emailed to each research subject participant(s).

IMPORTANT: Tango requires that recipients open the links within 7 days, but there is no expiration as soon as the participants open their links. Please mention this to your participants.  

To request a Tango Rewards Card, email hcdefiz@uw.edu with the following information: 

  1. Subject line: Research Subject Payments - Tango Rewards 
  2. Email of the person who will serve as the intermediary to receive Tango card links for distribution
  3. Recipients email address (for fiscal office reference only)
  4. Amount of gift card 
  5. Worktag/budget approval (e.g., award letter, email from faculty/PI/supervisor, etc.)

Please allow 3-5 business days for processing. 

Amazon Gift Card

An Amazon gift card is an eGift card that our fiscal team procures and sends to research participants on your behalf.  

To request an Amazon eGift card, email hcdefiz@uw.edu with the following information: 

  1. Subject line: Research Subject Payments - Amazon Gift Card
  2. Recipient’s email address 
  3. Amount of gift card 
  4. From (e.g., “ABC Study”)
  5. Message (e.g., “Thank you for your participation in the ABC Study”)
  6. Worktag/budget approval (e.g., award letter, email from faculty/PI/supervisor, etc.)

You will receive an email from the HCDE fiscal team notifying you when the gift card has been sent. 

Zelle
Domestic only, US bank account required

Zelle provides quick electronic payments to a participant’s bank account without providing sensitive bank information. Participants will need to opt-in for Zelle through their bank or by downloading the app once and are eligible to receive digital payments in the future (often in minutes). 

To request a Zelle payment, email hcdefiz@uw.edu with the following information: 

  1. Subject line: Research Subject Payments - Zelle
  2. Recipient legal name
  3. Phone number
  4. Address
  5. Email 
  6. Payment amount 
  7. Worktag/budget approval (e.g., award letter, email from faculty/PI/supervisor, etc.)

You will receive an email from the HCDE fiscal team with a reference number as soon as the request has been submitted.

Check
Domestic only - TaxID required

To request a check payment, email hcdefiz@uw.edu with the following information for the recipient: 

  1. Subject line: Research Subject Payments - Check
  2. Full legal name
  3. Phone number
  4. Mailing address for check
  5. Select one of the following:
    • Domestic
    • Student
  6. Payment amount 
  7. Worktag/budget approval (e.g., award letter, email from faculty/PI/supervisor, etc.)

You will receive an email from the HCDE fiscal team with a reference number as soon as the request has been submitted.

Wire
Foreign nationals only; Tax ID not required; 30% tax withholding + 3% wire transfer fee

To request a check payment, email hcdefiz@uw.edu with the following information: 

  1. Subject line: Research Subject Payments - Wire
  2. Full legal name
  3. Phone number
  4. Mailing address 
  5. Select one of the following:
    • Foreign national
    • Student - foreign
  6. Payment amount 
  7. Worktag/budget approval (e.g., award letter, email from faculty/PI/supervisor, etc.)

The HCDE fiscal team will contact the recipient directly for banking information. 

You will receive an email from the HCDE fiscal team with a reference number as soon as the request has been submitted. 

Prolific

Each individual research project utilizing Prolific requires a unique contract through UW Procurement. Below is the process for a PI to establish a contract: 
 

  1. Review the Prolific User Policy on MyCoE and complete the Prolific User Agreement. Each person who uses Prolific in your group* needs to complete this agreement. It is the responsibility of the unit’s Grant Manager(s) to ensure they are registered and the paperwork kept on file.
  2. The PI works with the HCDE fiscal team to request a contract in Workday Finance. 
    • Notes on Contract Request:
      • Indicate in the notes of the request that it is assigned to Lynn Magill as the buyer.  
      • Complete the attached Prolific Project Summary Template and attach to the Contract Request in Workday Finance.  
      • Workday Finance has not yet released a job aid for the Contract Request business process. When this is available it will detail the workflow steps to complete within the Workday Finance environment.
  3. Once approved, PI and team members* who have completed the Prolific User Agreement can use Prolific using a departmental ProCard.

 *Current Restriction on Student Usage of Prolific: Students are not allowed to use the system directly since a Data Processing Agreement is not in place, and the UW has not yet negotiated terms that protect student data. Alternatively, the UW Privacy Office suggests using a shared account. 

Mechanical Turk

Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT, MTurk) is a crowdsourcing digital marketplace that enables individuals and businesses (known as Requesters) to coordinate the use of human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are currently unable to perform. 

To request assistance with MTurk, please review the university’s Amazon Mechanical Turk Policy in its entirety. Email hcdefiz@uw.edu with your intent to utilize MTurk and the HCDE fiscal team will be able to assist you with next steps.