How to Buy, Send, and Track Bulk Gift Cards for Research Participants

Buying bulk gift cards for research participants involves more than just placing an order and calling it a day. Research teams may need to purchase hundreds of rewards, distribute them over time, protect participant information, and keep accurate records of every payment. That's a lot of 'i's to dot and 't's to cross without the right setup. 

In this article, we’ll answer common questions about buying bulk gift cards for research participants, including how to order Amazon gift cards and prepaid cards at scale, plus how to deliver rewards through a spreadsheet or other workflow, protect participant privacy, track payments, and handle account setup and funding.

📨 TL;DR: 

Buying bulk gift cards to use as research participant incentives generally comes down to three steps:

1. Confirm what your institution or organization has approved.
2. Use a business rewards platform instead of a personal retail account.
3. Keep clear records of which rewards were issued, claimed, reissued, or remain outstanding.

How should I purchase gift cards for participants in a research study? 

When planning to buy gift cards for your research subjects, start by confirming your study’s internal requirements for research incentives. Then use an approved business platform that supports the reward type, delivery method, and reporting your program requires.

Participant payments can be subject to institutional controls beyond the study protocol itself. For example, in one r/Accounting discussion, a commenter noted that while gift cards are “very common for research studies,” buying them is often closely controlled by an institution’s grant administration office.

This highlights the need to check your own institution’s process, and pre-warned: they can get quite specific.

Take Dartmouth’s research participant payment policy, which includes documentation and reconciliation requirements for participant payments. It specifies that payments shouldn’t be charged to a research project until they’re distributed and that unused gift cards can’t be charged to the project. And of course other institutions may handle the process entirely differently.

So all said, before choosing a research incentive and purchasing rewards, you'll want to:

• Check your IRB or ethics plan, grant terms, procurement rules, financial requirements, and approved participant payment methods
• Confirm who is authorized to own the account or place the order, whether that’s a principal investigator, department, procurement office, or central research office
• Avoid using a personal retail account unless your institution has explicitly approved that workflow
• Identify participant countries, reward values, timing, and expected quantities
• Decide whether you need a specific merchant gift card (like an Amazon gift card), prepaid card (like a Visa® incentive card), or recipient-choice reward (where recipients can pick from a large gift card catalog).

A simple bulk purchasing workflow for research incentives

For larger participant groups, bulk sending can also reduce the need to create and process each reward individually. The exact process varies by institution, but the basic steps to secure gift cards for your study typically include:

1. Obtain the required study and purchasing approvals.
2. Select the reward type, country, value, and quantity.
3. Decide how participants will receive the reward (email? text? something else?)
4. Create and fund the business account.
5. Place the bulk order or configure an automated workflow.
6. Track distribution, claims, exceptions, and remaining budget.

Can I get Amazon eGift card codes in an XLS spreadsheet to use as participant honoraria?

Yes—in the United States and Canada, organizations can obtain batches of Amazon gift card claim codes through Amazon Incentives. Amazon’s U.S. bulk claim-code product provides the codes in a downloadable CSV file that opens in Excel, while Amazon Canada explicitly documents a CSV containing claim codes and serial numbers. The file is not a native .xls or .xlsx workbook, but it does contain raw Amazon redemption codes.*

Amazon Gift Cards are marketplace-specific: Amazon.com codes are intended for Amazon.com, while Amazon.ca codes are intended for Amazon.ca. Don't assume that the same purchasing, file-format, delivery, or redemption rules apply in every country.

Learn more about sending Amazon gift cards to multiple countries here.

If you would rather distribute unique reward links than store and manage raw claim codes, consider using a gift card platform that lets you download unique reward links in a CSV file. Each link can lead a participant to their gift card, and you control when it is distributed.

For example, Giftbit lets you send gift links, each of which gives one participant access to the reward you’ve configured (which can be an Amazon card or anything else in the digital rewards catalog).

If you expect to issue 200 to 300 participant honoraria over several weeks, you can keep the unique links in a controlled CSV and assign them as participants complete surveys, interviews, or other approved milestones.

There’s also a separate spreadsheet option if you want Giftbit to handle delivery. For a known recipient list, you can upload a CSV, TSV, or XLSX file to the Giftbit platform and send the rewards in bulk. That’s different from downloading Gift Links for your research team to distribute itself.

Finally, you'll want to keep a few operational details in mind:

• Confirm available quantities, values, brands, and regional restrictions before ordering.
• Some Amazon and prepaid products may require an additional approval step (reach out if you have questions)
• Limit access to downloaded Gift Links and record which link is assigned to which participant or study ID.

And always treat unused Gift Links as valuable inventory, because each unique URL provides access to a funded reward. Anyone who obtains a link may be able to claim it, so restrict access to the CSV and track each link from assignment through redemption.

*Sources: Amazon.com bulk claim-code listing (U.S.), Amazon Incentives bulk gift cards (U.S.), Amazon.ca Incentives FAQ (Canada, PDF), Amazon.ca eGift Card marketplace restrictions, Amazon.com Gift Card marketplace restrictions. Whether gift cards are permitted as participant honoraria depends on your institution’s policies and any applicable IRB/REB, tax, privacy, and recordkeeping requirements.

How should you deliver gift cards to research participants?

The right delivery method for research incentives depends on your approved workflow, the participant information you can share, and how much of the process you want to automate.

How should I purchase Visa incentive cards for participants in a research study?

If your study lets you use Visa incentive cards as research incentives, you can also purchase them in bulk through a business rewards platform. You should also have the option to issue different values as participants reach approved study milestones.

For example, Giftbit's prepaid Visa cards for research participants in the U.S. can currently be issued from $10 to $2,000, with physical options available, too. Meanwhile, Giftbit's Mastercard® prepaid cards range from $1-$500 USD.* Note that Visa and Mastercard prepaid cards aren’t technically the same as merchant gift cards, and their terms may differ.

What does this look like in 'real life'?

Take one r/clinicalresearch discussion, where a coordinator running a 30-person study needed to pay participants $40, $60, $75, or $90, depending on how much of the study they completed. The cards also have to be distributed in person.

With this amount of complex distribution requirements, you'd want to confirm that the payment amounts and milestones match your approved study process, then choose the prepaid card format that fits your distribution and record keeping.

Before ordering, check:

• Available denominations and participant countries
• Whether you need virtual or physical cards
• Any card-specific fees
• Expiration terms
• Registration or activation requirements
• Mobile-wallet and in-store availability
• How your team will track each card or reward against the appropriate participant or study ID

Fees and other terms vary by product and region, so check current prepaid card options and pricing before you build your study budget.

And be aware that physical cards also create an added inventory-management task. For example, in that same Reddit discussion, one researcher described recording the card number, value, PIN, and participant assignment for each card, then having to store the cards in a secure, restricted-access location. They called the process “easy but a little tedious.”

That said, while a digital prepaid card workflow can reduce physical inventory and manual handling, it doesn’t eliminate the need for participant payout records.

So whether you distribute physical or digital prepaid cards, you'll still need a reliable way to track participant payouts. The advantage of digital delivery is that it removes much of the inventory, storage, and manual handling involved with physical cards.

For example, a platform like Giftbit can deliver Visa prepaid cards individually or in bulk via email, text, the platform, or an API, while keeping reward records in one place. If your institution requires physical distribution instead, that can still be the appropriate workflow.

*Accurate as of September 2026. Ranges can change, so check the catalog for the latest data.

Is there a confidential and unidentifiable way to distribute research incentives?

A digital workflow isn’t automatically anonymous, confidential, or compliant. If you’re looking for anonymous research incentives, you should focus on minimizing the participant information you collect and share.

A PhD student raised this concern directly on r/research: if they sent participant gift cards through a personal account, participant information would leave password-protected university systems and move into a personal account such as Amazon. So they needed a way to distribute incentives without creating that privacy problem.

That’s one key reason to keep study-response data and reward-fulfillment data separate wherever your institution’s approved workflow allows.

And approaches like Giftbit’s unique Gift Links can support that approach. Researchers can distribute links through an institution-controlled survey, portal, email system, QR code, or approved messaging channel. Participants can claim applicable Gift Links without the research team supplying an email address to Giftbit. The research team can then maintain the connection between the participant ID and the reward link inside its own controlled environment.

Of course, while this helps protect sensitive data (PII) by reducing the amount of participant information shared with the incentive provider, it doesn't automatically guarantee complete anonymity. Certain reward types or higher-value payments may require additional information or verification, and institutions may have their own documentation requirements.

The College of Charleston’s policy, for example, treats electronic gift cards for research participants as cash equivalents and includes specific requirements around confidentiality, internal controls, and recordkeeping. Those requirements are specific to that institution, but they illustrate why researchers should confirm what their own institution requires.

What should researchers track without combining it with study responses?

Researchers should track only the information needed to issue and reconcile rewards, while keeping those reward records separate from study-response data wherever the approved process allows.

Depending on your institution, that record may include:

• Participant or study ID
• Reward value
• Reward type
• Study milestone
• Issue date
• Delivery method
• Delivery or claim status
• Reissue or exception notes

The minimum necessary record depends on the study and the institution.

Ideally, your incentive platform will also show you what happens after a reward is issued. Good research incentive tracking gives your team visibility into delivery and claim status, helping you identify undelivered or unclaimed rewards, follow up where needed, and account for remaining funds when the study ends.

Can professors and students use Giftbit for university research?

Giftbit supports eligible academic and organizational research programs, but account setup may depend on both Giftbit’s verification requirements and your institution’s rules about who can create, fund, and manage the account.

Before creating an account, check whether your university needs to own the account, approve Giftbit as a vendor, issue a purchase order, and/or fund the program centrally. You should use institutional or approved team information rather than setting up the program as personal gifting.

And if your institution requires shared access to program records, make sure key account and reward information is available to more than one authorized team member.

Not every professor or student will necessarily be able to begin sending rewards immediately. If you have questions about verification or institutional onboarding, book a quick chat with our team before placing an order.

Do freelance researchers need business documentation to sign up for Giftbit?

Freelance researchers may need to provide business documentation to sign up for Giftbit, depending on their account and enterprise use case.

Say you’re an independent freelance researcher working on behalf of an enterprise company that will reimburse you for the incentives you send, but you’re not sure what documentation you’ll need at sign-up. Giftbit can support independent contractors administering such legitimate enterprise research programs, but verification requirements vary.

So be prepared to provide information about:

• The enterprise client
• The research purpose
• Expected reward volume
• The funding arrangement

Additional business documentation may also be requested as part of the verification process.

If you plan to fund a large order yourself and be reimbursed later, confirm that arrangement with your client before placing the order. It’s also worth clarifying who will own the participant payment records and handle reconciliation at the end of the study.

If you’re unsure what documentation your setup will require, contact our team before ordering. We'll be happy to review the use case and help you understand your verification requirements.

What funding methods does Giftbit support for research incentives, and are there any fees associated with them?

Giftbit supports several funding methods for sending incentives, with fees depending on how you fund the account and which rewards you send.

There’s no platform subscription or minimum usage requirement for Giftbit clients, but certain prepaid products may carry separate fees. Custom pricing or volume arrangements may also be available for eligible programs, so check current pricing before finalizing your budget.

What should I confirm before ordering bulk gift cards for research participants?

Before ordering bulk gift cards for research participants, confirm that the incentive is approved, the account and funding responsibilities are clear, the rewards and delivery method fit your participants, and you have a plan for recordkeeping and reconciliation.

Ask yourself:

• Is the incentive type and amount approved?
• Who is authorized to create and fund the account?
• Are the rewards available in each participant’s country?
• Will participants receive email delivery, Gift Links, physical cards, or automated payouts?
• What participant information can be shared?
• Where will the reward-assignment record be stored?
• How will partial completion and milestone payments be handled?
• Who will monitor undelivered or unclaimed rewards?
• Which funding method will be used, and what will it cost?
• How will the program be reconciled when the study ends?

Giftbit helps approved business and academic research programs order, distribute, and track digital incentives without relying on personal retail accounts or manually managing large quantities of physical cards.

Ready to send bulk gift cards for research participants? Research teams can create a free Giftbit account to get started.

Independent researchers, institutions, and/or teams with questions about verification, prepaid cards, or high-volume programs are more than welcome to book time with our team for more information.