Payment Options & Editing Payment Settings

1. How do I set up a payment method?

Part 1 - Sign documents (If you’ve never set up a payment with Rainforest)

• Click the “Account & Profile” tab
• You’ll see the following messages displayed at the top of the screen, “You haven’t set up a payment method. Set up one of the available payment methods and start working with us today!”
• Before beginning setup for your desired payment method, check out the FAQ for that payment method. Links to each FAQ are available on the “Account & Profile” tab.
• Once you’re ready to begin setting up your payment method, click the blue “Set Up Payment Method” button. A modal will appear asking for your personal info.
• Let us know where you live, your legal name, and your email address. This is the email address we will send your Tester Agreement and tax forms to, so make sure it is valid.
• Once the above information is filled out, click Next.
• You’ll see a pop up letting you know that Hellosign documents have been sent to your email address. Click okay.
• Sign and submit the Hellosign documents sent to your email address.
  • Testers located in the U.S. will receive a Tester Agreement and W-9
  • Testers located outside the U.S. will receive a Tester Agreement and W-8BEN

Part 2 - Setting up PayPal

• Once your Tester Agreement and tax form are signed, radio buttons will appear next to each payment method.
• Select the radio button next to PayPal.
• Click grey “Go to Setup page” button. This will open up a modal asking for your PayPal email address.
• Enter your PayPal email address or phone number and click Save. Make sure the email address you enter in this modal is the same email address associated with your PayPal account.
  • If you change the email address associated with your PayPal account in the future, please be sure you update it here as well.
  • To do so, click “Edit” next to PayPal. A modal will appear.
  • Enter the new email address associated with your PayPal account and click Save.
• You’re all set up & can begin using PayPal as your Rainforest payment method!

Part 3 - Switching Payment Methods

• Once you’ve set up PayPal, you might decide you want to switch to use Skrill instead. No problem!
• Select the radio button next to Skrill and click the blue Save button at the bottom of the screen.
• Clicking save will open a pop up asking you to confirm if you’d like to change your payment method.
• After clicking “Yes, change provider”, a modal will appear asking for the email address associated with your Skrill account.
• Enter the correct email address and click Save.
• Your payment method is now switched!

Part 4 - MTurk Users If you get paid for Rainforest tasks via MTurk, you can also change your payment method to PayPal (or Skrill) if you prefer.

• To change your payment method from MTurk to PayPal, follow the instructions in Parts 1 & 2
• To change your method from PayPal to Skrill, follow the instructions in Part 3
• If you want to change your method from PayPal (or Skrill) back to MTurk, do the following:
  • Click the blue Reactivate Old Payment Method link
  • A modal with a list of payment options will appear
  • Select Mechanical Turk from the list of payment options
  • Click the blue Save button

2. I don’t want to use PayPal. Will I still be able to get paid for Rainforest tasks via MTurk or CrowdFlower?

Current MTurk users will have the option between MTurk and PayPal (but not CrowdFlower). Crowdflower is no longer available as a Rainforest payment method, so CF users must set up PayPal and Skrill.

3. Do you plan on adding any other payment methods?

We currently offer Skrill and PayPal. We may add a third option in the future. Mturk is also available to people who were already using it to begin with.

4. How do I know if PayPal is available in my country?

The following resources can help you determine if you are able to use PayPal in your country. Use the first link to see a list of countries where PayPal is available. Use the second link to see if you can receive AND withdraw funds using PayPal in your country :

• https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide
• https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-country-functionality-outside&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8dc3f308debf7330dd8d0b0a9f21afd7d3

5. Does my profile email need to be the same as my PayPal email address?

No. It’s okay if the email address associated with your PayPal account is different from the email address associated with your Rainforest profile. You can change the email address associated with your PayPal account at any time without affecting your Rainforest profile (and vice versa).

6. Do I need a verified PayPal account?

No, you should not need to be verified with PayPal in order to receive funds from Rainforest. However, we do recommend going through this process, as it may be needed to withdraw funds from PayPal. For more information on verified PayPal accounts visit their website: https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/what-does-a-verified-account-status-mean-faq1014

7. I signed my legal name on the PayPal documents — will this change the name displayed on my Rainforest profile?

No. Signing the PayPal documents with your legal name (as you are required to do) will not change the name displayed on your Rainforest profile. Changing your Rainforest profile name via “Edit Profile” will not change the legal name you provided on your PayPal documents.

8. Does the Paypal account need to be in my name? Can I use my Brother’s/Sister’s/Friend’s Paypal Account?

The PayPal account you use to receive & withdraw Rainforest payments must belong to you and be in your legal name. You cannot use your brother’s/sister’s/friend’s or any one else’s PayPal account.

9. If my RF account is blocked because my CrowdFlower or MTurk account was suspended, can I be unblocked if I change my payment method to PayPal?

Yes, your Rainforest profile can be unblocked, but it won’t be an automatic process. If you have been blocked by a previous payment channel and would like to get paid for Rainforest tasks via PayPal, you will need to submit a support ticket via the “Help” tab of your portal profile and request we review your account.

10. Will the contracts I signed legally bind me, Rainforest and PayPal forever? Is there an option to terminate the contracts?

The agreement you signed is between Rainforest and you. It doesn’t include PayPal. Either party (Rainforest or you) may terminate the agreement at any time upon notice to the other party. If you would like to terminate the contract, please submit a support ticket via the “Help” tab of your Rainforest profile and we will cancel the contract. Keep in mind that Rainforest will not be able to pay you via PayPal (or Skrill) without having a signed contract in place.

Cashing out, Withdrawals & Fees

1. What are the Paypal fees for U.S. and non-U.S. accounts?

For non-U.S. accounts the fee is 2%. For U.S. accounts there is a flat fee of $0.25. This information can also be found here. Note - PayPal will not charge more than $20 per transaction.

2. How do I cash out my available Rainforest balance from my portal profile to my PayPal account?

1. Log into your portal profile
2. Scroll down - you’ll see your available balance (labeled Available) alongside your other stats such as Total Completed Jobs and Total Found Bug
3. To cash out, click “Available to cashout” 1. If you don’t have enough funds to cash out, you will see the phrase “Funds too low to cash out” instead of the “Available to cashout” button.
4. Review the payment details presented to you and click the “Confirm” button 1. Click “Cancel” if you decide you don’t want to cash out right now
5. Funds should cash out to your PayPal account immediately 1. Contact Rainforest support if your funds don’t cash out to PayPal within 24 hours.

Note: the available balance "cashout" feature is only available in the private view of your portal profile, not the public view. Please ensure you aren't in the public view before submitting a support ticket about it being missing.

3. How do I withdraw funds from PayPal?

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click Withdraw money under "PayPal balance" on the left of the page.
3. Enter your withdrawal amount and select your withdrawal method.
4. Click Continue.
5. Review the details and click Withdraw.

For more information visit: https://www.paypal.com/bz/selfhelp/article/how-do-i-withdraw-funds-from-my-paypal-account-faq1737

4. Can I choose the amount I want to cash out to PayPal from my Rainforest balance?

No, you don’t have the option to choose the amount. Your entire balance will be cashed out to PayPal.

5. Is there a minimum $ amount required for cashing out to PayPal?

Yes, you must have an available balance of at least $0.25 in order to cash out funds from your RF profile to PayPal.

6. Is there a maximum limit to how much $ I can cash out to PayPal at once?

No, there isn’t a maximum.

7. Is there a limit to how often I can cash out? Can I cash out several times a week, for example?

There is no limit to how often you can cash out, as long as your account contains the minimum amount required for cashing out to PayPal ($0.25).

8. CrowdFlower Elite doesn’t have fees. Can you eliminate the cash out fee associated with PayPal?

Rainforest will waive your Paypal fee if your score level is 'A' during cashout. Note - the only score that matters for the decision whether to waive your Paypal fee or not is the score during cashout. Your score while performing the job/s doesn't influence the waiving decision.

9. Do you plan to add Bitcoin withdrawals?

We support whatever withdrawal method(s) the provider (in this case, PayPal) supports.

10. How will switching to PayPal affect the funds I’ve earned with a previous payment method (e.g. CrowdFlower Elite)?

Switching your payment method to PayPal will not affect the funds you’ve already earned through your previous payment method. HOWEVER, if you have a balance and you switch payment methods, your balance will not transfer to the new payment method.

You should cash out before you switch payment methods. But don’t worry - if you forgot to cash out your old payment method, you can switch back to the old payment method (via the “Edit Profile” tab of your portal profile) and the balance will reappear!

Processing & Receiving Payments

1. How long do I have to wait for cashed out funds to arrive in PayPal?

The payment should process instantly, but allow up to for 24h before contacting support.

2. Are we going to receive a notification whenever payment is requested/processed?

Yes, PayPal will alert you according to your notification settings when a payment is requested or processed.

3. Who should I contact in case nothing was credited to my PayPal account after cashing out? How long do I have to wait before sending a support ticket?

If you do not see the funds available in your PayPal account 24 hours after the request was made, please contact Rainforest Support.

4. How would I be able to know which job was set via paypal and which one was credited to my CrowdFlower or MTurk payment channel?

At this point Rainforest doesn’t indicate which job is associated to which payment method. Rainforest will soon implement a feature that will provide this information via the job history page. Until then, you will need to keep track of when you changed the payment method selection in order to figure out which job is associated to which payment method.

5. Payment notifications have stopped coming to my Elite account ever since I changed to Paypal. In that case how would I receive my Rainforest notifications?

If Paypal is set as your payment method in Rainforest, you will not receive payment related notifications to your Elite account anymore. That being said, you will continue to receive all other notifications as per the settings on your Rainforest profile.

6. Is it possible to transfer my available PayPal balance to my CrowdFlower account if I haven’t made a withdrawal yet?

No, your balance will not transfer between payment methods. You should cash out before you switch payment methods. But don’t worry - if you forgot to cash out your old payment method, you can switch back to the old payment method (via the “Edit Profile” tab of your portal profile) and the balance will reappear!

7. Is it possible to identify which bonuses have been processed via PayPal since we don't receive any notification unless we request payment?

You can find this information in the “History” tab of your portal profile. You will find there all the cash out transactions that you have made. Rainforest will soon implement a feature that will also indicate for each job its associated payment method.