Guide
Embedded Instant Payouts for Influencer and Affiliate Marketing Platforms
Foreword from Runa's Chief Marketing Officer
For content creators, influencers and affiliate marketers, the payout experience is the most visible and emotionally charged part of their work. In short, getting paid is their moment of truth.
If it’s fast, transparent, and flexible, it builds loyalty and enduring trust. If it’s slow, confusing, or costly, it leaves a lasting negative impression that’s next to impossible to fix.
Runa's research shows affiliate partners and content creators primarily want instant access, flexibility, and lower costs. Their top demands: 56% desire instant payouts, 39% want reduced fees, 39% seek flexible payout preferences, and 35% request more payout options. Critically, 67% of creators and affiliate marketers would switch platforms over poor payment experience.
Embedded instant payouts offer the only scalable solution to disparate, slow and costly payout processes. Flexible, reliable, real-time and future-proofed, embedded instant payouts will enable you to drive operational efficiencies, lower costs and give your workers what they want.
Runa gives you everything you need to simplify and scale your affiliate and influencer payouts in a single integration. Our all-in-one solution enables automated, real-time global payments for every follower, sale, lead, or click. Read on to uncover the unique benefits and opportunities embedded instant payments bring to influencer agencies and affiliate networks.
If you’re ready to take the next steps on the path to putting in place a seamless payout experience, get in touch with our team today at contact@runa.io
Brendan Miller
Chief Marketing Officer, Runa
Introduction: Embedded Digital Payouts for Influencer and Affiliate Marketing Platforms
The complexity of managing influencer and affiliate marketer relationships is a growing challenge for brands, agencies and management platforms. And it’s the issue of compensation that’s shaping to become the biggest obstacle – specifically, the delivery of earnings to millions of creators and affiliate partners around the world in a way that’s frictionless for all parties involved.
With the creator economy booming – the market size of global influencer marketing has more than tripled since 2020, and is projected to reach $33 billion by the end of 2025 – this challenge is only getting bigger. Nearly two-thirds of brands have plans to partner with influencers in 2025, so there’s a huge growth opportunity for influencer marketing platforms. However, they won’t be able to take advantage of it if they don’t have an efficient, streamlined payout structure.
Similarly, the global affiliate marketing industry is growing nearly 10% every year and is forecasted to reach $27.8 billion by 2027. Currently, half of companies work with affiliate marketers to generate traffic and sales for their business, with more joining every day. Affiliate marketing agencies also have a great opportunity to grow their business – but only if they’ve got their payout processes in hand.
Handling daily payouts to fleets of influencers or affiliates is a complex undertaking. Each payout must be checked, verified and approved. Back office staff require an enormous amount of time to process even a hundred payments, let alone the thousands that these platforms typically handle on a daily basis.
The global nature of affiliate and influencer marketing adds another layer of complexity. Sending mass payouts to multiple territories around the world can be a daunting undertaking even for seasoned payments and finance operations professionals. It relies on establishing local banking relationships, building and managing integrations with the right payment processors and local payment schemes, as well as adhering to numerous local regulations and fulfilling compliance requirements. To operate at scale while keeping up with the demands of today’s rapidly expanding and highly competitive market requires a different approach.
It’s a matter of urgency that these organizations embrace embedded instant payouts if they haven’t done so already. They must be able to send large volumes of payouts at any time, outside of normal weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedules, and for amounts that could vary from $1 to several thousands. They must pay out in multiple currencies and in a variety of methods to meet the needs of their network.
Payments must be instant to match up with the expectations of the digital-native generation of creators and affiliate marketers or they’ll face inevitable network attrition. Platforms simply have to automate their payout workflows as much as possible.
And with the creator economy and affiliate marketing seeing such impressive growth, they must act now to take full advantage of the opportunities in front of them or risk getting outmaneuvered by competition. The difficulty of managing payouts at scale in an efficient way will increase exponentially and platforms that want to future-proof their own growth must meet this challenge head-on.
Fortunately for influencer networks and affiliate marketing platforms, there are robust, embedded payout solutions that help them to effectively manage payouts at scale. These solutions can enable them to automate and streamline complex compensation and incentive structures, driving internal efficiencies, reducing the risk of fraud, simplifying compliance, and keeping their creators and affiliates happy.
In this guide, which is tailored for C-level executives, finance, product and operations leaders, and network and community managers, you’ll find a comprehensive breakdown of the benefits of embedded instant payouts for creator management platforms and affiliate management platforms.
We will cover:
Key terms
Strategic Advantages of Embedded Instant Payouts with Flexible Payout Options
Challenges and Risks of relying on fragmented and inefficient payout disbursement systems
Affiliate and influencer benefits of embedded instant payouts
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways Runa's future-proof approach to embedded instant payouts
Key Terms
Embedded instant payouts offer influencer agencies, creator networks and affiliate management platforms a way to simplify internal processes, protect against fraud and ensure affiliates and creators feel valued.
Here, we will explain some of the key terms to understand and how these concepts fit in with efficient payout structures that meet the expectations of influencer and affiliate partners.
Embedded instant payouts
Embedded instant payouts represent a sophisticated application of embedded finance that streamlines the way that affiliate agencies and influencer networks compensate their partners.
This technology streamlines and automates the disbursement of variable performance-based commissions, fixed sponsorship agreements and other fees. It enables affiliate management platforms and creator agencies to compensate partners instantly in their preferred payout method – anywhere in the world, at any frequency and for any amount.
By embedding instant payouts inside the company’s tech stack so it seamlessly works with systems of record, agencies and platforms gain the flexibility to control the entire payment experience while significantly reducing the cost of payout operations, minimizing errors, and increasing efficiency.
Flexible payout methods
With hundreds of local payout options, affiliate and influencer marketing companies can send funds to digital gift cards, local e-wallets, prepaid Visa and Mastercard cards, or direct bank deposits.
With the flexibility offered by embedded payouts, platforms can easily take individual preferences into account, making sure every creator and affiliate partner receives their earnings in a way that makes sense to them.
Affiliate partner and influencer engagement
Creators and affiliate partners crave immediacy and convenience, so influencer agencies and affiliate marketing platforms must meet this need if they want to increase engagement and loyalty among their network. Runa’s recent research uncovered a direct link between independent workers’ payout experience and their motivation to work hard and stay loyal to their platforms. An astounding 62% of content creators and affiliate partners indicated that they scale back their work when they experience payment delays. Two out of three responders shared that they would switch to another platform if it offered better payout options.
For agencies and platforms seeking to keep attrition rates low, instant, flexible, and personalized payouts allow creators and affiliates to manage their finances on their terms, motivating them to stay with the platform.
.png?width=700&height=490&name=Web%20Images%20for%20Hubspot%20(1).png)
Strategic Advantages of Embedded Instant Payouts with Flexible Payout Options
Adopting embedded instant payouts brings clear operational and strategic benefits for influencer networks and marketing agencies. This approach offers a way to overcome the complexity of compensation management, expand your global network, provide a solid foundation for growth, and improve partner retention.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the strategic advantages of embedded instant payouts.
1. Simplified compensation management at mass scale
Influencers come in all shapes and sizes. While there are mega-influencers with millions of followers, there are many more nano influencers, micro-influencers, mid-tier influencers, and macro influencers with smaller – but often more focused and engaged – followings.
The size of the audience, as well as the platforms the creator is active on, play a part in determining how compensation is structured. Partnerships with high-profile influencers are one thing, but the long tail is equally – if not more – influential. In 2024, nano-influencers with 500-10,000 followers made up more than three-quarters (76%) of Instagram’s influencer base.
As a result, established influencer agencies need to send high volumes of payments for varying amounts on a daily basis. The same is true for affiliate marketing platforms which also must send payouts to an ever-growing number of partners.
For finance operations, managing such volumes and complexity typically entails hopping between different systems of record and payment solution portals, while manually entering and/or verifying payout details and recipient information. Even with just a hundred payments a day, this is operationally unruly, necessitating hiring and training larger payment ops teams to keep up with business growth. Using an embedded instant payouts solution that automates the entire process isn’t just a smart choice, it’s the only choice that removes costly manual steps from payout workflows.
2. Global reach in real-time
Creators are a truly global phenomenon. While 22.7% of all sponsored posts made by influencers in 2024 came from the US, Brazil (14.5%), India (6.7%) and Indonesia (3.7%) claim a sizable chunk of the market, as well. In Western Europe, the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and France have a combined 11.8% share of the global total of sponsored posts. Similarly, affiliate marketers are also distributed globally.
For both scenarios, embedded instant payout platforms with global payment coverage offer influencer networks and affiliate marketing companies the ability to make instant payments – and do that at scale, across borders, in a variety of currencies and payment methods to suit local expectations and individual preferences.
Additionally, greater cost efficiencies can be unlocked by sending payouts directly to e-wallets, gift cards and prepaid Visa or Mastercard cards, eliminating the high costs of sending wires to local or international bank accounts.
Instead of dealing with complex currency conversions, establishing and maintaining local banking relationships, figuring out local compliance regulations, and managing multiple payment processors and integrations around the world, mass payouts can and should be fully automated.
3. Future-proof growth
Embedded instant payouts that can be scaled up to meet the needs of a creator network or affiliate marketing agency without requiring any additional oversight mean that organizations will meet pent-up demand and grow sustainably.
When cross-border payment capabilities are built into an embedded instant payout solution, affiliate marketing platforms and influencer agencies can confidently expand their network into new countries without compliance complications, increased fraud risk, and additional integrations.
Innovative instant payout platforms are also constantly adding new payout options to keep up with market needs. However influencers and affiliates wish to receive their compensation in future, you can be assured that such platforms will be able to meet these ever-evolving needs.
4. Improved affiliate and influencer retention
Affiliates and influencers have numerous options when it comes to networks and platforms to which they can align themselves. According to our study, at least 50% of content creators and influencers work with multiple platforms. The data also shows that above everything, content creators and affiliates prioritize speed and reliability of payments (65%), as well as ease of access to funds (61%); so organizations in these sectors stand a better chance of keeping their networks engaged and loyal if they offer a fast, predictable and flexible payout experience. This is especially important as some creators are now seeking to change long-established 60-day payment terms to as little as 10-15 days.
Embedded instant payout solutions mean creator agencies and affiliate marketing platforms can send payouts directly to e-wallets, gift cards and Visa or Mastercard cards. When payouts can be received instantly and in a preferred payment method, trust and satisfaction levels are bound to increase, meaning you’ll have not only happy, productive workers, but real champions of your brand. Our research shows that an enhanced payout experience will keep 41% of creators and influencers motivated to remain on their current platform, encourage a third to recommend the platform to others (34%) and entice them to work harder and sell more (32%).
.png?width=700&height=490&name=Web%20Images%20for%20Hubspot%20(2).png)
.png?width=700&height=490&name=Web%20Images%20for%20Hubspot%20(3).png)
Challenges and risks for talent management, influencer/affiliate experience and community teams
- Unhappy creators and affiliates looking elsewhere: A poor payout experience due to lengthy settlement times, inflexible payment methods, or errors in payment amounts affects partner motivation, leading them to question their loyalty and actively consider alternatives. Our study shows that 44% of content creators have considered switching platforms or agencies due to poor payment experiences and issues with payouts.
- Competitors poaching creator talent and affiliates: Competitors that have embraced flexible and streamlined payments enabled by embedded instant payouts can offer better terms and without a doubt will go after your network.
- Difficulties growing network: Delayed or inaccurate payments not only cause churn among affiliates and influencers, they also lead to negative online reviews that discourage others from joining your network.
.png?width=700&height=490&name=Web%20Images%20for%20Hubspot%20(4).png)
Challenges and risks for executive leaders and the C-suite:
- Reduced operational efficiency: Managing high volumes of payments to influencers and affiliates requires an enormous amount of resources if managed manually.
- Inability to capitalize on growth of monetizable digital content: With the rapid growth of the creator economy and affiliate marketing, agencies that don't have a scalable payment infrastructure will struggle to onboard and compensate new partners.
- Poor reputation an obstacle to growth: Issues with influencer or affiliate churn and a reduced ability to attract new partners can negatively impact expansion plans and hamper growth.
- Weakened competitive position: Without a robust instant payout infrastructure, the C-suite faces a choice between increasingly crushing costs or the risk of losing market share as a result of network discontent and increased churn.
How Affiliate Partner and Influencer Benefits of Embedded Instant Payouts
According to our study, delays in payment are a major challenge for 41% of content creators and influencers, while 36% are also unhappy with high fees, and 30% dissatisfied with payment choices. And their challenges with payouts don’t stop there. About a quarter (24%) have also indicated that they’ve experienced payment errors, a lack of transparency on payment status (22%), and issues with currency conversions (15%).
Ensuring that every individual in your network gets paid in a reliable and personalized way is essential for creator agencies and affiliate marketing companies that want to keep their network partners engaged and happy.
A centralized system for compensation disbursement that seamlessly works with your internal systems of record gives your organization a clear competitive advantage.
In this section, we will outline the tangible advantages your organization gains with embedded payouts and the multitude of benefits they offer to your creators and affiliate partners.
1. Seamless, modern user experience
Influencers and creators working in the digital economy expect seamless, instant experiences. Monthly or bi-weekly paychecks don't make sense for them – they want to access their earnings immediately. Likewise, affiliates don't want to be kept waiting for their commissions; and with a cutting-edge embedded instant payout platform, they won't have to.
2. Choice of payout options
Robust embedded digital payment platforms give influencer networks and affiliate marketing agencies a wide range of options for payouts to satisfy every need. Whether it is a payment directly to a bank account, a local digital wallet, a prepaid Visa or Mastercard, or gift card for a popular ecommerce site or grocery chain, the right embedded instant payout solutions can handle it all.
3. Accurate payouts
Influencers and affiliate partners may have numerous commission streams, with different levels of compensation depending on factors such as the number of sponsored posts, product sales and referrals. They must be confident that the agencies and networks representing them are paying them accurately, regardless of currency differences and cross-border payment challenges. Embedded instant payout platforms give organizations the ability to accurately send high volumes of variable-value payments at mass scale to any corner of the world.
.png?width=700&height=490&name=Web%20Images%20for%20Hubspot%20(5).png)
Key Takeaways
It's imperative that influencer agencies and affiliate marketing companies tackle payout issues that complicate their operations and pose a critical obstacle to growth.
Here are the key takeaways from our guide that will help your organization leverage embedded instant payouts to drive internal efficiencies, foster growth and boost partner satisfaction.
1. Streamline compensation management
To function effectively as a business, affiliate and influencer management platforms must embrace built-in payment capabilities at infrastructure level. When instant payouts are embedded into their finance and operations tech stack, agencies can eliminate manual processing, reduce fraud, improve compliance outcomes, and handle growing volumes of global payments with greater efficiency.
2. Pay influencers and affiliates instantly, in the method of their choice
Digital natives don’t want to wait for weeks to receive their compensation or be locked into a payment method that doesn’t fit their financial management preferences. They must be paid in a way that suits them. Embedded mass payout solutions that support the full spectrum of instant payment methods are the only realistic solution.
3. Meet the needs of the network, no matter where in the world
Influencer and affiliate networks are global and complex. Managing multiple payment providers and making manual currency conversion calculations creates inefficiencies and sends costs soaring. Embedded instant payout solutions give organizations the ability to automate instant payouts for influencers and affiliates around the world in the currency of their choice – without unnecessary complications or incurring high FX fees.
4. Build foundations for solid growth
A streamlined, flexible and functional payout system is fundamental to any influencer agency or affiliate marketing network that wants to grow its global network. Embedded instant payout systems with global capabilities are designed for scale and will not only meet the needs of a business as it grows but will also make expanding into new geographies much more predictable and straightforward.
Runa’s Future-Proof Approach to Embedded Instant Payouts
To meet the ever-changing needs of your network of influencers or affiliates, you need a provider that's got its finger on the pulse of payment innovation. As your organization grows and as payout options increase in number, a payment partner that can ensure seamless and instant distribution of payouts to every corner of the world is vital.
Runa makes it fast and easy to send and manage payouts at mass scale, globally. It’s also simple to implement – built as a developer-centric platform, Runa can be embedded into your existing tech stack with just one API.
Payouts are real-time and instant. Recipients receive their balance and can spend immediately, and they can receive their commissions on a prepaid Visa or Mastercard, into an e-wallet, direct to their bank account, or on a gift card. There's no minimum or maximum amount you can send, whether a $20 commission or a $1 million payment.
Partnering with Runa means there's no need to manage multiple different payment providers; one single integration gives your organization access to over 4,000 payout options, covering 160 currencies and more than 190 countries.
Runa is at the forefront of embedded instant payouts enabling platforms, agencies and all within this ecosystem to manage creator payouts easily, cutting costs and increasing efficiency with instant, secure international payments.
We offer flexible FX options to suit your agency's needs through real-time currency conversion with transparent mid-market rates, and zero hidden fees. You can convert and control currencies directly in your balances or stick to one base currency and the Runa platform converts seamlessly in the background.
Making mass payments is simple with our fully automated platform, which can be tailored to your needs. If you want to find out more about how Runa can help your influencer network or affiliate marketing agency drive efficiency and boost partner satisfaction, get in touch with one of our experts today.