Alliance with Optimum Pay to Boost Survey Participation

SPSS MR has forged a new alliance with Optimum Pay, a leader in online payment systems in a drive to boost survey participation rates. With Optimum Pay, customers can create highly differentiated incentive programmes that drive cooperation rates in surveys. Since Optimum Pay runs on the Web, administrative burdens and costs are kept to a minimum.

SPSS MR has decided to work with Optimum Pay because of its wide range of payment options and its international outlook. Incentives are either cash, paid directly into bank accounts, points, or paper cheques for those people who are unwilling to accept electronic rewards. Payments can be in any currency, in any language, and in any country. Optimum Pay can be easily integrated into existing rewards systems and can be totally customised to ensure that incentives are meaningful to participants. Rewards can be paid in real time, for example immediately after completing a survey - although, as with all electronic cash transfers, credits take around two days to clear.

'Optimum Pay has been helping customers from a variety of industries switch their rewards systems from paper cheques to electronic payments. This has enabled them to decrease expenses associated with their payment processes by 25% to 30%,' said Randy Barker, CEO and President of Optimum Pay. 'Optimum Pay will be a strategic platform for the market research industry as they seek out new and innovative methods to more cost effectively acquire and retain participants and promote respondent cooperation.'

In recent years the market research industry has faced a decline in respondent cooperation and has to compete with other distractions to gain a slice of people's time. 'Our customers depend on active and willing survey participants and this technology is one of the most flexible and cost effective ways I know of compensating respondents anywhere in the world. Optimum Pay truly unleashes the power of participation," said Patrick Quigley, SPSS MR's VP in charge of Sales for the Americas.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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