The RF recognizes the importance of fast turnaround times, hence our second round up-or-out policy, commitment to avoid over-refereeing and respect author primacy, and introducing payments for on-time reports (see http://revfin.org/editorial-policy/). We recognize that fast turnaround times are particularly important for junior scholars. While the Fast Track submissions guarantee a response within two weeks, not all authors will have budget for fast-track submissions.
Effective immediately, we are pleased to announce the following policy. If the most junior author on a paper is 4 years or fewer from either (a) the grant date of the PhD or (b) the date of starting his/her first faculty or post-doc position, whichever is earlier, then if a Fast-Track submission is given an R&R (or accepted), we will refund the difference between the Fast-Track fee (€900) and the regular submission fee (€250 for EFA members, €300 for non-members). The refund also applies to Fast-Track resubmissions.
The grant date or start date will be assumed to be 1 July, regardless of when the actual grant date or start date is. Thus, for example, an author who graduated in summer 2015 will have until 30 June, 2019 to benefit from this policy. In your cover letter, please state if you qualify for this policy (who the most junior author is and when he/she received a PhD or started a faculty/post-doc position), and whether the submitting author is an EFA member (to determine the amount of the refund if the paper is given an R&R or accepted).