diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ae79ecb..f1fd2f7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -171,14 +171,30 @@ the new configuration the next time they return to `WAITING`.
 ```yaml
 rewards:
   winner:
+    money: 100
     commands:
-      - "eco give %player% 100"
+      - "give %player% diamond 3"
       - "say %player% won BlockParty in %arena% after %round% rounds!"
+
+integrations:
+  vault: true
 ```
 
-Commands run as the console, so no Vault/economy plugin is required by BlockParty itself —
-if you reference an economy command (like `eco give`) you need that plugin installed
-separately. `%player%`, `%arena%` and `%round%` are replaced before dispatch.
+Two independent reward mechanisms fire on a win, both optional:
+
+- **`money`** is deposited straight into the winner's balance through the
+  [Vault](https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/vault.34315/) Economy API — no console command
+  string parsing involved. This requires Vault **and** an economy plugin that registers a
+  Vault `Economy` provider (e.g. EssentialsX, CMI). If Vault or an economy provider isn't
+  present, BlockParty logs one warning and simply skips the money portion — it never crashes
+  and console-command rewards still run normally. Set `money: 0` to disable this entirely, or
+  `integrations.vault: false` to force-disable it even with Vault installed.
+- **`commands`** run as the console with `%player%`, `%arena%` and `%round%` substituted, for
+  anything beyond currency (items, permissions, external plugin hooks, announcements, etc.).
+
+Vault is declared as a `softdepend` in `plugin.yml`, so BlockParty starts up fine whether or
+not it's installed; the Economy service lookup happens fresh each time a reward is dispatched
+(not cached at startup), so plugin load order relative to your economy plugin doesn't matter.
 
 ## Statistics storage
 
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 301afbe..2ccbbca 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -16,11 +16,15 @@ repositories {
     mavenCentral()
     maven { url = 'https://repo.papermc.io/repository/maven-public/' }
     maven { url = 'https://repo.extendedclip.com/content/repositories/placeholderapi/' }
+    maven { url = 'https://jitpack.io' }
 }
 
 dependencies {
     compileOnly 'io.papermc.paper:paper-api:1.21.4-R0.1-SNAPSHOT'
     compileOnly 'me.clip:placeholderapi:2.11.6'
+    compileOnly('com.github.MilkBowl:VaultAPI:1.7') {
+        exclude group: 'org.bukkit', module: 'bukkit'
+    }
     implementation 'org.xerial:sqlite-jdbc:3.47.1.0'
     implementation 'com.mysql:mysql-connector-j:9.1.0'
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/arena/Arena.java b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/arena/Arena.java
index 85fecad..71db54c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/arena/Arena.java
+++ b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/arena/Arena.java
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ public class Arena {
                 spawnCelebration(winnerPlayer);
             }
             plugin.getStatsManager().recordWin(winner);
-            plugin.getRewardManager().dispatchWinnerRewards(winnerName, config.getName(), round);
+            plugin.getRewardManager().dispatchWinnerRewards(winner, winnerName, config.getName(), round);
         } else {
             for (UUID uuid : allParticipants()) {
                 Player p = plugin.getServer().getPlayer(uuid);
diff --git a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/config/ConfigManager.java b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/config/ConfigManager.java
index 9250047..4d680f5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/config/ConfigManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/config/ConfigManager.java
@@ -57,6 +57,14 @@ public class ConfigManager {
         return config.getStringList("rewards.winner.commands");
     }
 
+    public double getRewardMoney() {
+        return config.getDouble("rewards.winner.money", 0);
+    }
+
+    public boolean isVaultEnabled() {
+        return config.getBoolean("integrations.vault", true);
+    }
+
     public List<String> getDefaultFloorMaterials() {
         return config.getStringList("default-floor-materials");
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/economy/VaultEconomyHook.java b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/economy/VaultEconomyHook.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..02c956a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/economy/VaultEconomyHook.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package us.tss3.blockparty.economy;
+
+import net.milkbowl.vault.economy.Economy;
+import org.bukkit.OfflinePlayer;
+import org.bukkit.plugin.RegisteredServiceProvider;
+import us.tss3.blockparty.BlockPartyPlugin;
+
+/**
+ * Thin wrapper around the Vault {@link Economy} service. Only ever constructed/touched when
+ * the Vault plugin is actually present (see BlockPartyPlugin#registerVaultEconomy) so a
+ * missing Vault install never causes a classloading error on startup.
+ */
+public class VaultEconomyHook {
+
+    private final Economy economy;
+
+    private VaultEconomyHook(Economy economy) {
+        this.economy = economy;
+    }
+
+    /** Returns a hook if Vault is present and has a registered Economy provider, else null. */
+    public static VaultEconomyHook tryCreate(BlockPartyPlugin plugin) {
+        RegisteredServiceProvider<Economy> rsp = plugin.getServer().getServicesManager().getRegistration(Economy.class);
+        if (rsp == null || rsp.getProvider() == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return new VaultEconomyHook(rsp.getProvider());
+    }
+
+    public boolean deposit(OfflinePlayer player, double amount) {
+        if (amount <= 0) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        return economy.depositPlayer(player, amount).transactionSuccess();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/reward/RewardManager.java b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/reward/RewardManager.java
index 8e57bec..4d076f5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/reward/RewardManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/us/tss3/blockparty/reward/RewardManager.java
@@ -1,20 +1,33 @@
 package us.tss3.blockparty.reward;
 
 import org.bukkit.Bukkit;
+import org.bukkit.OfflinePlayer;
 import us.tss3.blockparty.BlockPartyPlugin;
+import us.tss3.blockparty.economy.VaultEconomyHook;
 
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 
-/** Dispatches configured console commands as rewards, substituting placeholders. No Vault required. */
+/**
+ * Dispatches configured winner rewards: an optional Vault-backed money deposit
+ * (rewards.winner.money) plus a list of console commands, both with %player%/%arena%/%round%
+ * placeholders substituted. Vault is looked up fresh on every dispatch (rather than cached at
+ * startup) so plugin load order relative to the underlying economy plugin doesn't matter; a
+ * missing/absent Vault is logged once and simply skips the money portion, never crashing.
+ */
 public class RewardManager {
 
     private final BlockPartyPlugin plugin;
+    private boolean warnedNoVault;
 
     public RewardManager(BlockPartyPlugin plugin) {
         this.plugin = plugin;
     }
 
-    public void dispatchWinnerRewards(String playerName, String arenaName, int round) {
+    public void dispatchWinnerRewards(UUID playerId, String playerName, String arenaName, int round) {
+        dispatchMoney(playerId);
+
         List<String> commands = plugin.getConfigManager().getRewardCommands();
         for (String cmd : commands) {
             String parsed = cmd.replace("%player%", playerName)
@@ -24,4 +37,37 @@ public class RewardManager {
                     Bukkit.dispatchCommand(Bukkit.getConsoleSender(), parsed));
         }
     }
+
+    private void dispatchMoney(UUID playerId) {
+        double amount = plugin.getConfigManager().getRewardMoney();
+        if (amount <= 0) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (!plugin.getConfigManager().isVaultEnabled() || Bukkit.getPluginManager().getPlugin("Vault") == null) {
+            warnNoVaultOnce();
+            return;
+        }
+        try {
+            VaultEconomyHook economy = VaultEconomyHook.tryCreate(plugin);
+            if (economy == null) {
+                warnNoVaultOnce();
+                return;
+            }
+            OfflinePlayer offline = Bukkit.getOfflinePlayer(playerId);
+            boolean success = economy.deposit(offline, amount);
+            if (!success) {
+                plugin.getLogger().warning("Vault deposit of " + amount + " to " + offline.getName() + " reported failure.");
+            }
+        } catch (Throwable t) {
+            plugin.getLogger().log(Level.WARNING, "Failed to deposit winner reward via Vault", t);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void warnNoVaultOnce() {
+        if (!warnedNoVault) {
+            plugin.getLogger().warning("rewards.winner.money is set but Vault (with an economy plugin) is not "
+                    + "available - skipping money rewards. Install Vault + an economy plugin, or set money: 0.");
+            warnedNoVault = true;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/resources/config.yml b/src/main/resources/config.yml
index 1290e6d..118fc1f 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/config.yml
+++ b/src/main/resources/config.yml
@@ -69,9 +69,14 @@ storage:
 
 rewards:
   winner:
+    # Deposited via the Vault Economy API (requires Vault + an economy plugin like EssentialsX).
+    # Set to 0 to disable money rewards entirely; console commands below still run either way.
+    money: 100
     commands:
-      - "eco give %player% 100"
+      - "give %player% diamond 3"
       - "say %player% won BlockParty in %arena% after %round% rounds!"
 
 integrations:
   placeholderapi: true
+  # If false, money rewards are skipped even when Vault is installed (console commands are unaffected).
+  vault: true