Cash payouts explained
This feature is only accessible to specific impact.com editions or add-ons. Contact us to upgrade your account and get access!Your Advocate program can be configured to pay out cash rewards to your customer advocates and their referred friends. When cash payouts are turned on for your account, your widget or microsite can be set up to collect participants’ tax and banking details. After this information is on file, they are eligible to receive cash rewards directly to their bank account in alignment with your program goals.
Advocate payouts function similarly to partner funds transfers, but they are automatically handled by your Advocate program and don’t need to be sent out manually. Learn how to set up cash payouts for Advocate.
Warning: You must have enough funds in your impact.com account to accommodate the cash payouts. If you don’t, your participants will not receive their earned rewards. Learn how to deposit funds into your impact.com account.
Participants must provide impact.com with a tax declaration and their banking details before they can receive cash payouts. Your program’s widget or microsite will collect this information through a 4-step tax interview.
Participants accessing the interview through your widget will need to provide a verification code before proceeding. The code is sent to the email address associated with their profile.
First, participants fill out their name, email address, and personal information, then select a payout currency.
If the participant uses an email address that's affiliated with an impact.com partner account, then we'll connect the two accounts.
Then, they provide any indirect tax details, like VAT or HST numbers, if applicable.
Next, depending on your brand's location and where your participant is based, they may need to complete a W-9, W-8BEN, or W-8BEN-E form.
Finally, participants select a payout frequency and a payout method—either directly to their bank account or via PayPal. Before payments can be made, the participant must ensure they meet all partner payment requirements.
impact.com creates the payment on the participant's selected payout date, and it is transferred to their earnings account the following day.
If processing or currency exchange fees apply for the transaction, then the amount will be subtracted from the customer advocate’s reward. The currency exchange rate is determined by the currency the brand’s account is funded in, the reward currency, and the partner’s account currency.
Learn more about the withdrawal methods, processing times, fees, and supported currencies in Withdraw Funds to Your Bank Account.
For participants who are also existing partners, updates to banking details are made within their impact.com account rather than your widget or microsite.
If participants run into issues with payout holds or have questions about payments, they can reach out to the impact.com support team for assistance.
Note: The following section on tax compliance and resources is relevant only if your program includes US-based advocates who are eligible to earn $600 or more in a calendar year.
The impact.com platform handles 1099 tax reporting for cash rewards paid to US-based advocates, simplifying compliance for your brand.
1099 process: impact.com collects required tax information and issues a 1099 to US advocates who earn $600 or more in a calendar year.
The following resources are helpful to your advocates who need more information on their tax forms and payments:
Payment FAQ: The Cash Payouts FAQ for Advocates help document answers common questions about payment processing.
Tax documents: For more information on accessing their 1099, share the article: Where do I Find My Tax Form 1099 as a Partner?
Cash payouts work well for high-value rewards. For these participants, a significant deposit to their back account (e.g., $250) is often more motivating than the equivalent value in gift cards.
Cash is an excellent and highly motivating option for:
Referral programs with high value rewards: Cash is the most effective reward, appealing directly to the advocate.
Community expert programs: Cash is also a good option for rewarding participation, knowledge sharing, or specific contributions within your community.
Note: If your program offers lower-value rewards, consider another program reward type—like a gift card—that doesn't require your participants to supply tax or banking details to impact.com.