Payment Link

A payment link is a unique web address, created by a seller through a payment provider, that takes whoever opens it to a secure page for paying a specified amount. The seller shares the link by email, text message, chat app or social media, or shows it as a QR code. The buyer taps it, chooses a payment method, pays, and both parties receive confirmation. No website, shopping cart or card terminal is required.

Payment links are offered by most payment service providers and by many banks and wallet apps. They suit small businesses, freelancers and anyone selling through conversation instead of a web shop, and larger companies use them for invoices, call-centre sales and overdue balances. Technically, a payment link is a quick way to create a hosted checkout session without programming.

The seller creates the link in the provider's dashboard or mobile app, or through the provider's API, entering an amount, a currency and a description, and optionally an expiry date and the customer's details. The provider generates the address and hosts the payment page behind it.

When the buyer opens the link, the page shows the seller's name, what is being paid for and the available methods: cards, a digital wallet stored on the phone, bank transfer or local methods. Card payments made this way are card-not-present transactions, and the provider applies authentication such as EMV 3-D Secure where required. Once the payment succeeds, the buyer sees a confirmation, the seller is notified in the dashboard, by email or by webhook notification, and the money is settled to the seller with its other sales.

• Single-use links. Created for one customer and one amount, and deactivated after payment. Used for invoices, deposits and custom orders.
• Reusable links. A fixed address for a product, ticket or donation that any number of people can pay through. Sellers place them in social media profiles or print them as a QR code on posters and menus.
• Open-amount links. The payer enters the amount, as for tips, donations or paying off part of a balance.
• Subscription links. The first payment sets up a recurring charge under subscription billing.

Links are frequently embedded in an electronic invoice as a pay-now button, so that the customer does not have to copy bank details.

Social commerce is the best-known use. A seller agrees a sale in a messaging conversation and sends a link to close it. Service businesses such as tutors, tradespeople and clinics send links for deposits or after the job. Call centres replace reading card numbers over the phone, which exposes staff and recordings to card data, with a link sent to the caller's phone while the agent stays on the line. Travel agents and hotels use links to collect payment for bookings made by phone or email.

Collections teams send links with reminders so that a late payer can settle immediately. In shops, staff send a link when the terminal is unavailable or when an item must be ordered for delivery. Charities and event organisers use reusable links in campaigns.

The seller needs only an account with a provider, not a website or integration, so a business can start taking remote payments within minutes. Because the page is hosted by the provider, card details never touch the seller's systems, which keeps the seller's obligations under the PCI DSS to a minimum. Buyers get a familiar checkout with their preferred method, and each link carries a reference, so incoming payments are matched to orders automatically instead of by reading bank statements.

The format is easy to imitate. Criminals send messages that pose as delivery firms, tax offices, banks or marketplace buyers and contain links to fake payment pages that harvest card details or to genuine pages that pay the fraudster. People are trained by legitimate use to click such links, which makes the scam effective. Buyers are advised to check the sender and the page's domain, and sellers to send links only through channels the customer expects.

For sellers, the usual remote-payment risks apply. A card payment made through a link can be disputed, and the seller bears the chargeback if a stolen card was used and authentication did not shift liability. Providers screen new accounts and monitor link activity, because fraudsters also sign up as sellers and use links to cash out stolen cards or to collect payments for goods that do not exist. Conversion can be weak when a link arrives unexpectedly or goes to a spam folder, and links without an expiry date may be paid late or twice.

A payment link is one form of payment request. Bank-based equivalents exist in several countries: a request to pay message is delivered into the payer's banking app and, once approved, results in an account-to-account transfer instead of a card payment. Instant payment systems that support QR codes and aliases, such as those in India and Brazil, provide similar functions directly between bank accounts. Compared with these, a provider-hosted link has the advantage of accepting many payment methods through one address.