The company opened its first store in 1987.[6] Ria has since grown to become the third largest money transfer service in the world.[7]

In 2006, Ria was acquired by Euronet Worldwide, Inc., becoming part of its money transfer segment together with XE.[8]

Ria began working with post offices in 2010 and on July 31, 2014, partnered with Postbank, which is owned by the Kenyan Government.[6] This allowed customers to send money through any of the bank's 99 branches, or receive it directly into their accounts.[9]

In 2014, the company launched Walmart-2-Walmart Powered by Ria, a Walmart money transfer service within the US.[10] The service allows customers to transfer money to and from more than 4,600[11] stores at competitive prices.[12]

In 2015, Ria acquired Malaysia based money transfer provider IME.[13]

In 2016, the company expanded its relationship with Walmart to Latin America and partnered with Walmart Chile to offer money transfer services through selected Líder brand supermarkets.[14] In 2019, Ria and Walmart partnered with Paypal’s Xoom to introduce domestic money transfer services. Xoom expanded to 60 countries in the deal with Ria.[15]

As of 2020, Ria’s money transfer services are available at over 470,000 locations in 159 countries, online, and through their app.[1]

Ria continues to expand into Latin America with the support of a joint venture between parent company Euronet and Spain's Prosegur Cash.[16]

The Central Bank of Nigeria listed Ria as one of their approved international money transfer operators for diaspora remittances in March 2021.[17] First Bank of Nigeria also works with Ria to bring remittances into the country.[18]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank released a report detailing the importance of Remittances to provide a critical lifeline for vulnerable populations.[19][20]

Ria has international presence as a key company for sending remittances in Belarus[21] and as one of the companies that pays the most for sending remittances from the US to Mexico.[22]