A contracted university vendor for e-gift cards used in research participant payments, awards, prizes, and recognition. Offers 65+ U.S. e-gift card options (Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Kroger, Starbucks, Target, Uber) plus Visa and Mastercard prepaid cards, with tracking and reporting tools.

Fees: a 10% transaction fee is billed at the time of purchase. Create separate line items in your RealSource PO — one for funding, one for the fee:

How to get started:

1. Create a free account. Your account number appears in the top-right corner when logged in.
2. Create a RealSource PO to fund your account — use a PO, not a P-Card.
3. Reference your Rybbon account number on the PO so funds are applied correctly.
4. Complete receiving in RealSource. Funding occurs after receiving is done.

The Office of Research and Innovation manages a reloadable debit card program for paying study participants quickly — often within 24 hours of submission.

Requirements to use the program:

• Project has a Banner index and is ready to enroll
• Multiple participants will be paid multiple times
• Project timeline is longer than six months
• Principal investigator approves enrollment

Learn more about the prepaid card program →

Buy gift cards — Barnes & Noble's own and many other brands — from the VCU Bookstore at 1111 West Broad Street, or coordinate by email at sm620@bncollege.com. Cards are available for immediate pickup. Two ways to pay:

• RealSource PO: the Bookstore invoices the responsible staff member by email. Complete a PO to Barnes & Noble (V00808229), complete receiving, and submit the invoice to VCU.Invoices@trustflowds.com within 35 days.
• Department index code: the Bookstore charges your department index directly for the cost of the cards.

If a vendor accepts them, you can purchase gift cards directly through a RealSource Purchase Order. Make sure the vendor is established in RealSource first — see Make a Purchase for vendor setup instructions.

Gift cards may be purchased by P-Card only when compensating research or survey participants and no other payment method is reasonably feasible. Prior approval is required.

Email corpcard@vcu.edu for approval before purchasing.

Create a RealSource PO referencing your Rybbon account number, with the correct vendor (Rybbon Inc, V00969927). Email the invoice to VCU.Invoices@trustflowds.com with the PO number and matching line items, then complete receiving in RealSource. Accounts Payable processes payment on the next check run (Net 5), and your account is funded.

Funding is delayed if the PO isn't created with the correct vendor and account details, receiving isn't complete, or the invoice was sent to the wrong inbox or is missing the PO number. Confirm all three before following up.

Initiate the request through the Rybbon platform or via the sales rep, providing the unused gift card details. No banking info is needed — VCU Treasury has already provided ACH details. Refunds deposit directly into VCU's account. For help, contact VCU Treasury at treasacctg@vcu.edu.