NeoCurrency, mailing specialist NPC and Ipsos KnowledgePanel are exploring whether a physical card linked to digital rewards can improve household survey recruitment.

In an account published on November 13, 2025, NeoCurrency described a comparison between a $1 cash incentive visible through an envelope window and a $5 Reward Choice card. Recipients of the card could scan a QR code and select a reward from more than 100 brands.

The approach retains a physical incentive in the mailing while adding information about activation, brand selection and redemption timing. Cash enclosed in an envelope does not provide the same record of subsequent use.

NeoCurrency said early findings suggested that the two approaches attracted broadly similar types of respondents. People receiving the reward card appeared more likely to complete panel enrolment, but the company described the work as ongoing and did not publish a quantified uplift in the article.

The partners were also considering cost alongside response rates. The experiment therefore examines both recruitment performance and programme economics, rather than assuming that a higher face-value incentive necessarily performs better.