Research Participant Payment Management Solutions

The University of Texas at Austin has issued a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting qualified vendors to provide research participant payment management solutions. This market research initiative, issued on February 19, 2026, with responses due by March 6, 2026, at 2:30 PM CST, seeks vendor input across three service categories: Category A includes participant payment management platforms such as Tango and Tremendous; Category B encompasses crowdsourcing and end-to-end research execution platforms with integrated payment capabilities like Amazon Mechanical Turk; and Category C comprises survey distribution vendors with payment integration features. Vendors must demonstrate functional capabilities including payment processing methods, tax compliance and reporting, data security standards (PCI-DSS, SOC 2, GDPR compliance), and experience with academic and federally regulated research environments. Required submissions include company overviews, detailed service descriptions, pricing model explanations (transaction-based, subscription-based, volume-based, or hybrid structures), relevant certifications, and a minimum of two client references preferably from academic institutions. The solicitation covers three commodity codes: NIGP 94670 (Payment Card Services), NIGP 95839 (Financial Management Services), and NIGP 949 (Financial Services for Higher Education), with geographic applicability across all 25 Texas highway districts. All responses must be submitted in PDF format through the University's EUNA Procurement portal at https://utexas.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/223018, with the question period opening February 19, 2026, at 2:00 PM CST; vendors should allow at least one business day before the closing deadline to complete uploads and finalization.

No set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or incumbent vendor information is specified in this RFI, as it represents an information-gathering solicitation rather than a competitive bidding process for immediate contract award. The University has not publicly disclosed specific payment volumes, dollar amounts, or participant projections in the RFI documentation, and no award values, budget ranges, or contract term lengths are provided at this stage. The RFI explicitly states that it does not obligate the University to issue any procurement instrument, award a contract, or reimburse vendor response costs, indicating that this is preliminary market research preceding potential future Request for Proposal issuance. As the University of Texas at Austin, which leads the nation in NSF-funded research with $176.4 million in FY24 expenditures, is conducting this evaluation, respondents should be prepared to address integration with academic research infrastructure and compliance with federally regulated research requirements. The primary contact for this opportunity is Michelle Bernal at (512) 111-1111 or michelle.bernal@austin.utexas.edu, with technical support available through Euna Procurement at support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com.