What Clinical Trials Can Learn from the Gig Economy About Payments

Clinical trials are increasingly using modern technologies, such as wearable devices and virtual visits, to make participation more convenient. Yet one important detail has not kept up: how participants get paid.

Many trials still rely on prepaid cards and checks. These methods create extra work for staff and increase the risk that people lose access to funds they were counting on.

At the same time, the gig economy has reshaped how people expect to get paid. Clinical trials are not gig work, but they can borrow a similar approach by giving participants faster access to funds and more control over how they receive them.

The hidden cost of outdated trial payments

Traditional trial payment methods may be familiar, but they come with practical drawbacks. Non-reloadable prepaid cards create extra work for staff, who need to load funds, track which cards have been issued, and manage unused or expired cards. The cards can also create a security risk. If activated non-reloadable debit cards are stolen from a trial site, those funds may be difficult, or even impossible, to recover.

Once participants receive a card, they need to keep track of both the card and the remaining balance. If a new card is issued after each visit, that can quickly turn into a juggling act. Prepaid cards are also often limited to purchases and do not offer ATM access for cash withdrawals.

Checks create a different problem. They take time to clear, which may force participants to cover transportation, meals, and other trial-related costs out of pocket first.

People notice whether the process feels convenient and respectful of their time. Even when the payment eventually arrives, traditional methods make everything feel harder than it needs to be.

When payment friction becomes a retention issue

Payment issues can quickly turn into something bigger. Many who enroll in trials are elderly, living with disabilities, managing serious health conditions, or caring for children in pediatric studies. For someone in that position, a prepaid card can be easy to lose and frustrating to replace, putting funds they were counting on at risk.

That frustration can affect whether people stay engaged and remain part of a trial. They may join for many reasons, including access to treatment or a desire to contribute to research, but compensation still shows that their time and effort are valued. When getting paid feels difficult, it weakens trust and can cause someone to leave altogether.

Considering that it costs thousands of dollars to recruit each participant on average and that roughly a quarter drop out of trials, payment friction compounds an already expensive problem. Payment is not the only reason people leave, but it is one source of friction sponsors can quickly address by adopting more flexible, modern methods.

What the gig economy got right

Payment expectations have changed through the popularity of gig work. People are increasingly used to choosing how they receive funds and accessing that money quickly.

That matters for trials because people do not all want the same payment experience. Some may prefer a direct bank transfer. Others want a payment card with ATM access that reloads after each visit, or a digital option they can manage from their phone.

When people can receive funds in a way that works for them, payment feels like a smoother part of participation instead of another administrative hurdle. Companies like PayQuicker can make these options available for clinical trials.

Modernizing without adding compliance complexity

Clinical trials involve strict protocols around how patient data is collected, stored, and shared. That can lead to concern about trying a new payment approach.

In reality, newer systems make payments safer and easier to oversee. A specialized platform can manage fraud checks, transaction tracking, and privacy controls in a single workflow, rather than pushing those steps onto trial sites.

For example, payments can be tied to a participant ID, rather than requiring trial staff to handle names, addresses, or other unnecessary personal information across the process. That limits unnecessary data exposure while keeping the workflow easier to manage.

Why global trials raise the stakes

The payment challenge grows as trials move beyond a handful of physical sites. Traditional payment methods were easier to manage when studies were concentrated in a few locations. As people participate across regions and countries, that approach quickly runs into trouble.

Expanding trial access requires payments that can reach patients wherever they are. PayQuicker, for example, supports payments across 210+ countries and territories and 80+ currencies, helping sponsors manage payments through a centralized process while still giving participants access to local payout options.

That makes it easier to support global research without forcing each site to build its own payment workaround.

Payments are part of the experience

People already have a lot on their minds when joining a trial. They should not have to worry about tracking down their payment. Modernizing the system removes one source of frustration from an already demanding process. That way, participants can focus all their energy on the study itself.

Kevin Zeman, VP of banking operations, and Bill Beldham, VP of global sales; both with PayQuicker