Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/runa-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3/ --- description: The company’s January outlook anticipates broader payout choice, a larger role for prepaid cards and stronger responses to AI-assisted fraud. title: Runa Forecasts Prepaid Payout, Gift Card Choice and Fraud-Control Trends image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/runa-forecasts-prepaid-payout-gift-card-choice-fraud-control-trends-f42227ce2f8f9cc59c1ecf0d0245dbb6.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) 3. Runa Forecasts Prepaid Payout, Gift Card Choice and Fraud-Control Trends [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News # Runa Forecasts Prepaid Payout, Gift Card Choice and Fraud-Control Trends The company’s January outlook anticipates broader payout choice, a larger role for prepaid cards and stronger responses to AI-assisted fraud. By [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) Published: January 7, 2026 at 11:13 PM 2 min read Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Runa%20Forecasts%20Prepaid%20Payout%2C%20Gift%20Card%20Choice%20and%20Fraud-Control%20Trends "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Runa%20Forecasts%20Prepaid%20Payout%2C%20Gift%20Card%20Choice%20and%20Fraud-Control%20Trends%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Source image for Runa Releases Payout Predictions for 2026, Including Rise of Universal Payout Links and AI-Enabled Fraud Defenses](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/runa-forecasts-prepaid-payout-gift-card-choice-fraud-control-trends-source-image-w1280.webp) Photo: Source: runa.io [Runa](https://giftcard.news/company/runa/) identified universal payout links, expanded prepaid use and fraud controls as three developments to watch in 2026, in an outlook published on January 7\. The company based its predictions on its payout operations, customer discussions and its assessment of changes in payment technology. The first proposal was a single link through which a recipient could choose among available gift cards, prepaid cards and direct-to-card payments. Runa described this as a direction for programme design, allowing a sender to manage several payout methods through one recipient journey. Its example used a hypothetical $100 payout that could be taken as card value or increased to a $105 merchant gift card. The amounts illustrated how a programme might use a bonus to encourage one option; they were not a new public offer or a guaranteed Runa rate. The second prediction concerned prepaid cards becoming Your free reader account ## Continue reading for free. Create your account or sign in to get unlimited access. 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Sign in](https://giftcard.news/login/?returnTo=%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F) ## Sources and documents ExpandCollapse * [Three Payout Predictions To Watch in 2026](https://runa.io/blog/three-payout-predictions-to-watch-in-2026?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — runa.io ## In this article ### Companies * [Runa](https://giftcard.news/company/runa/) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Runa%20Forecasts%20Prepaid%20Payout%2C%20Gift%20Card%20Choice%20and%20Fraud-Control%20Trends "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Runa%20Forecasts%20Prepaid%20Payout%2C%20Gift%20Card%20Choice%20and%20Fraud-Control%20Trends%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fruna-releases-payout-predictions-for-2026-including-rise-of-universal-pa-b8de41076df3%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/daniel-brooks-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) Journalist — Payments, Security & PCI DSS Daniel Brooks covers payment networks, financial technology, payment security, gift card fraud and PCI DSS for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [AI Can Shop for You. Can It Spend Your Gift Cards?](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/ai-can-shop-for-you-can-it-spend-your-gift-cards/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 17 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Gift Card Fraud in the United States](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/gift-card-fraud-in-the-united-states/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 66 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Can You Cash Out Your Gift Card? A State-by-State Guide](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/can-you-cash-out-your-gift-card-state-by-state-guide/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 79 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/brand/giftcard-news-logo.svg"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/#person","name":"Daniel Brooks","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/","description":"Daniel Brooks covers payment networks, financial technology, payment security, gift card fraud and PCI DSS for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Payments, Security & PCI 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