Runa expands into India to streamline Instant Payments for Businesses

By Gloria Mathias

Runa, the global FinTech infrastructure, has announced its expansion into India, opening access to the country’s $8.9 billion gift card market.

With this expansion, Runa allows its business customers the ability to easily send instant, domestic, and cross-border payouts to consumer recipients in India, dramatically reducing the traditional barriers of cost and complexity.

By unlocking access to India, Runa emerges as a strategic partner for companies looking to tap into India’s thriving gift card sector for consumer disbursement, rewards, recognition, and incentives. With the Indian market growing by 15.3% year over year, Runa enables companies to simplify regulatory compliance, reduce foreign exchange risks, and provide flexible funding options when sending funds to Indian recipients.

“We’re proud to bring Runa to India, where digital payments and gift cards are transforming how people connect and transact,” said Aron Alexander, CEO of Runa. “India’s fast-growing market is full of opportunity, and we’re here to help businesses effortlessly join one of the world’s most exciting economies and connect with millions of new consumers.”

Through Runa’s technology, businesses can now deliver instant payouts via an expansive network of thousands of global and Indian merchants.

Runa’s customers benefit from:

• Real-Time Payouts: A streamlined solution for instant payments, eliminating the delays and costs associated with traditional cross-border transactions.
• Flexible Funding & Foreign Exchange Options: Mitigation of capital control risks and seamless transactions without the need to hold Indian Rupees.
• Built-in Regulatory Compliance: Comprehensive handling of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, GST regulations, and data protection requirements.
• Extensive Merchant Network: A single integration granting access to top Indian and global merchants.

The expansion comes at a pivotal time as The International Trade Administration reports that India is experiencing a digital payments revolution and e-commerce boom, fueled by rapid smartphone adoption, 650 million users in 2024, and internet connectivity extending to more than 950 million people.

“Runa has done all of the heavy lifting to pave the way for us to launch in India, sourcing popular merchants and alleviating the hassles and compliance challenges,” said Mike Bowles, Senior Director of Operations at Augeo Marketing. “We’re looking forward to launching our program into the Indian market.”