There are plenty of online survey panels out there who use electronic banking services such as PayPal to move money from a survey site, to you, the survey taker. But not everyone has these accounts, and some people simply prefer getting paid by check. Find out which survey panels issue payment checks to their panelists.
» Skip ahead to view survey sites who pay by check
How it works
When you sign up as a participant with an online survey website, you are often given a choice for how you’d like to receive your earnings to get paid. It’s common to be able to select from items listed in a rewards catalogue, or to be able to simply request your earnings in the form of cash. Some survey panels offer the option of mailing a payment check to their participants.
The upside
Who doesn’t like receiving checks in the mail? Getting a check from an online survey panel is essentially the same as cash. Simply deposit it into your bank account, and you’re good to go! As an added bonus, most banks won’t charge you any additional fees to deposit a check.
Perhaps the biggest upside is the freedom to spend your check however you please. With cash in hand, you decide where and how you’d like to spend it. This gives you more freedom than being constrained to spending your earnings at a particular store, on specific merchandise, etc.
The downside
The biggest downside is the extra time you’ll have to wait to receive your earnings. Unlike online payment systems which can be instant, receiving your check in the mail will take longer due to two main factors: someone has to actually administer, or “cut” the check, and the postal service will take a few days (or more if you’re located overseas) to get it to you.
This isn’t a big deal if you’re not in a hurry to receive your money, but keep these factors in mind if your check is taking longer than usual to receive.
Receiving checks in a foreign currency
If you live outside of the USA especially, there is a chance that you may receive some of your checks in foreign funds (typically US dollars). Since many online survey panels are based in the US, but operate panels in places like Canada, Australia and the UK, any checks you receive could be issued in US funds.
There isn’t anything extra you have to do – even if you deposit the check into your bank account that’s currently in Canadian dollars, British pounds, Euros, etc., your bank will automatically convert it into your local currency. More than anything, it just makes it a little confusing to figure out the exact value of the surveys you’ve taken, when you cash your check for what ends up being an odd amount.
Who offers payment by check?
Currently on SurveyPolice, some of the top rated legitimate survey panels that pay by check are:
LEO Surveys
Take paid surveys on your computer or using the LEO app and request a payment check when your account balance reaches just $20.00. Focus groups are also offered.
SurveySavvy
Take interesting online surveys and request a payment check with as little as $1.00 in your account. Surveys always pay in cash.
Savvy Connect
Download the web browser plugin to passively earn income and request a payment check with the very low payment minimum of $1.00 in your account.
» See the full list on SurveyPolice Pick-a-Perk
If you’re interested in getting paid by check for doing more than just taking surveys (such as watching videos, playing games, doing micro-tasks, filling out offers, and more), check out our list of GPT sites that pay by check.
hello, i am new here and i need assistance with messages like this which i get in my email every time. this is the message:
“Member, your cash balance of up to *** $312.25 *** is being prepared for transfer to you! Simply move through the highlighted directions to get your money.” sometimes too, i get gift vouchers in a form of cash. If such messages pop up in your email, what does it mean and how can i cash out. please help.
Hi Richmond,
Unfortunately the messages you are receiving are spam and are being sent by scammers. Legitimate survey sites won’t prompt you to withdraw your earnings, and if you haven’t taken any surveys for any survey site to begin with, receiving money out of the blue like this doesn’t make sense.
These scammers will basically ask you to jump through a bunch of hoops which will include divulging your personal information, and may potentially ask you to send them money first, in order to ‘verify’ your account information. Essentially, they are either phishing for your information and/or are using email subject lines like the one you mention, in order to entice people to interact with them and will then turn the tables, getting you to send them money.
These types of messages should be marked as ‘spam’ or ‘phishing emails’ in your inbox. Do not respond to them and simply discard them.
If you’re looking for legitimate ways of taking surveys and getting paid for them, please consult our list of the best survey sites, which are ordered based on user reviews from real survey takers.
I live in Trinidad can I still sign up?
Yes. You can find online survey sites for Trinidad and Tobago here: https://www.surveypolice.com/countries/trinidad-and-tobago
I want to take surveys but I want the money to be deposited into my account.
Hi Jane,
If you’re looking for specific payment options (bank transfer, PayPal, etc.), please use SurveyPolice Pick-a-Perk to find survey sites that specifically offer the payment types you’re looking for.
Hello, I am in a bit of a predicament here, I’m sixteen and don’t have a bank account (and I don’t see my parents getting me one either). Is there any way I could still get paid doing surveys?
Hi Hermione,
Even without a bank account, you can still participate in surveys and earn rewards. There are many survey sites who offer gift cards, movie tickets, and merchandise in exchange for participation.
If you check out SurveyPolice Pick-a-Perk, you’ll see a list of the top rated survey sites who offer membership to teens: https://www.surveypolice.com/pick-a-perk/search?mo_ids%5B%5D=19&p=1. You can refine the results further by doing a search for ‘Teen Surveys’ and selecting the rewards you are interested in receiving: https://www.surveypolice.com/pick-a-perk
If you’re adamant about receiving cash, even without a bank account, you can also technically receive payment checks. Payday loan centers offer check cashing services (though they will take a cut), or you can go to the bank that the check was drawn from, and you should be able to cash the check that way too. In your case, we do still recommend going the gift card route however, as it’s easier, with little chance of complication. Gift cards to places you probably already shop at like clothing retailers, Sephora, Target, etc. are commonly available.
how can a nigerian join this survey sites
Hi Emma,
You can find a list of survey sites available to Nigerians on our website here: https://www.surveypolice.com/countries/nigeria. All listed sites are free to join.
That is how I would like it send my check by mail only………
Hi Patricia,
You can find a list of survey sites who pay by their members via check here: https://www.surveypolice.com/blog/online-surveys-that-pay-by-check/#checkpayers
i want to believe you guys but i have been lied to before so i need proof that you guys pay cash and not gift cards or some other way like printing out the check. i would rather have it direct deposit but i bet money would go missing from my account. how can i be 100% sure you are not just a bunch of liars and cons?
Hi Frank,
SurveyPolice does not actually provide any surveys – we are a reviews site of online survey panels who are the ones who actually offer online surveys.
We always recommend that users research survey sites before joining them; you can find over 250 survey panels listed on SurveyPolice, where we have thousands of user reviews which will help you decide whether a site is worth joining. When you use Pick-a-Perk to find a list of survey sites that fulfill certain criteria (in this case, ones that pay by check), you can simply click the survey panel’s name on the results page to find out more about them, before deciding to join.