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Human Subjects Payments

NYU Steinhardt offers two pre-approved methods for distributing incentives to research participants:

  1. If the research design involves in-person research, VISA prepaid gift cards are used. 
  2. For online research, Amazon digital gift codes are used. 

Although NYU continues to phase out petty cash in favor of payment options with better trackability and replaceability, there are times when anonymity and confidentiality take precedence. Contact steinhardt.research@nyu.edu if your research involves especially sensitive topics. 

Prepaid VISA cards are physical gift cards. They provide payments to human subjects and are pre-loaded with amounts indicated by the program requestor. Prepaid cards can be used for purchases like a standard debit card. For security precautions, we recommend keeping the card in the envelope. Please contact steinhardt.humansubjects@nyu.edu with any questions. 

The US Bank assesses a monthly administrative fee to all cards, beginning 13 months after the date the card(s) were loaded with funds. A $3.00 administrative fee will be deducted from all card's balances, each month, until the card expires or the card value reaches a zero balance.

The process for initiating VISA Prepaid Physical Gift Card payments to human subjects is as follows:

  1. Complete the Request Form for Human Subjects Incentives
  2. Once the request is reviewed and approved, the Office of Research will:
    • Submit a request to the Bursar’s Office scheduling for immediate pickup of prepaid gift cards. 
    • Send an email to the PI and Card Manager confirming the Request #.
    • Create/update reconciliation tracking sheet using Google Sheets to share with the PI and Card Manager.
  3. The PI will receive an email to approve the request before processing. 
  4. Once the request is complete, the cards can be picked up at the Bursar's Office (383 Lafayette St) between 9:00 am - 5:00 pm ET.
  5. Once prepaid gift cards are received, the PI and Card Manager may distribute them to research participants. 
    • Upon distribution, use a unique ID for each participant.
    • Notify research participants of the monthly administrative fees assessed by US Bank (see above).
    • Update the tracking sheet accordingly as cards are distributed. 
    • Complete monthly reconciliation emails from the Bursar's Office. 
    • Please see the guide to identifying and tracking the cards. 

Prepaid Amazon cards are digital gift codes. They provide payments to human subjects and are pre-loaded with amounts indicated by the program requestor. These codes must be electronically sent to the research participant`s email account after the completion of the research requirement. Please contact steinhardt.humansubjects@nyu.edu with any questions.

The process for initiating Amazon Prepaid Digital Gift Card payments to human subjects is as follows:

  1. Complete the Request Form for Human Subjects Incentives
  2. Once the request is reviewed and approved, the Office of Research will:
    • Create/update a reconciliation tracking sheet using Google Sheets to share with the PI and Card Manager. This spreadsheet will include a secured password to access the locked attachment of Amazon redemption codes.
    • Email the PI and Card Manager an encrypted Excel file with Amazon card redemption codes with instructions for access and reconciliation.
  3. Once Amazon redemption codes are received, the card manager may distribute them to research participants. 
    • Upon distribution, use a unique ID for each participant.
    • Update the tracking sheet accordingly as cards are distributed.
  • Effective May 2024, NYC DOE IRB issued a new Policy Guide governing research and evaluation in New York City schools to support research facilitation and oversight.
  • §5.3.9 of the Policy Guide covers NYC DOE's specific policies pertaining to study subject compensation.
  • With NYC DOE IRB’s May 2024 policy update, researchers may no longer contribute to a specific teacher or classroom. Contributions must be made to the school.
  • NYU prohibits cash or cash-equivalent donations including donations to schools. Under the new NYC DOE IRB Policy, NYU researchers are permitted to make in-kind donations (e.g., school supplies) to the school.