Runa has highlighted the effects of late payouts in its 2025 study, Decoding Payouts: New Insights on Payments in the Independent Worker Economy. A July 7 article discussing the research says 40% of independent workers experienced financial or emotional stress when payments were delayed.

The consequences described included emotional or mental stress for 29%, falling behind on bills for 25%, drawing on savings for 24% and difficulty meeting basic needs for 22%. These are findings reported by Runa, rather than outcomes independently measured by Gift Card News.

The company says 70% would reconsider or leave a platform following a poor payment experience, while nearly 60% said reliable payment would encourage them to stay. Those responses describe stated intentions and should not be read as observed platform-switching rates.

The article also reports demand for faster access and method choice: 45% wanted instant payouts, 60% preferred services such as PayPal, Venmo and Zelle, and 31% said persistent payment problems could prompt them to leave.

Runa separately cites a Mastercard survey in which 85% of gig workers said faster pay would encourage them to take on more work. It uses that finding alongside its own research to argue that payout design affects how workers assess a platform.

The provider promotes options including bank transfers and digital gift cards within that context. Its recommendation is to consider payment reliability, timing and recipient choice together rather than treating disbursement only as an internal processing task.