SampleNinja and Virtual Incentives announced a partnership in July 2023 to connect research panel management with participant reward delivery.

The integration lets sample providers use Virtual Incentives’ payment capabilities from within SampleNinja’s software. The companies said the arrangement is intended to reduce the work involved in arranging payouts to panel members and research communities.

SampleNinja co-founder and chief executive Tariq Mirza linked the integration to improving the participant experience. Virtual Incentives co-founder and chief executive James Gary described it as an extension of the companies’ work on research incentives.

The release listed gift cards, virtual and physical Visa products, PayPal, Venmo and bank deposits among Virtual Incentives’ wider offerings. It described more than 1,400 gift card brands and payments reaching 182 countries at that time.

For panel operators, the change places reward fulfilment closer to the software used to manage participants. The announcement described the new connection and its intended benefits, without publishing a measured effect on survey response rates.