Introduction

A payment link also referred to as a checkout link is a clickable link or scannable code that allows a customer to complete a purchase. Payment links are offered in the form of digital links, buy buttons, or QR codes, and are used across websites, social media platforms, apps, messaging tools, and in person.

When a customer uses a payment link, they’re typically taken to the merchant’s online checkout page to complete their transaction. Payment links can be used for both a single transaction, such as a customer invoice, and for multiple transactions, such as a buy button on a social media platform.

How Do Payment Links Work?

1. Creating Your Payment Page

To start using payment links, you need to subscribe to a payment processing service that provides this feature. Most services allow you to customize the payment page with your business’s branding, including logos and color schemes, so customers recognize it as an extension of your business. 

2. When the Customer Confirms the Transaction

Once a customer agrees to make a purchase or payment, you can generate a payment link. This versatile link can be used for various purposes—whether you’re selling products or services, collecting donations, or receiving payments for freelance work, it’s flexible and straightforward.

3. Sharing the Payment Link

Payment links can be shared automatically through email or SMS, or you can manually post them on social media, messaging apps, or your website. This flexibility lets you reach customers wherever they are, making it convenient for them to access the link and complete the payment.

4. Making the Payment

When the customer clicks the link or scans a QR code, they’re directed to a secure payment page. From there, they can choose from several payment options, including credit or debit cards, UPI, or digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. This simple process ensures a smooth and secure payment experience for your customers.

It’s always a good idea to select a payment provider that offers digital wallets. This saves your customers valuable time at the point of sale by not needing to enter their card details manually. Transfi, among other digital wallets, provides easy payment and collections methods via Bizpay. To find all digital finance solutions for your business, sign up with Transfi and avail the maximum benefits. 

What are the benefits of using payment links?

Payment links facilitate simple, direct payment and don’t require additional infrastructure, a website, or any code to set up and use. Any merchant can create a payment link that takes customers to a straightforward checkout page to complete a transaction.

Payment links are used to:

1. Take payments anywhere you sell products or services: Whether you send clients a payment link via text message or direct customers to your online checkout page from multiple social media platforms, payment links allow you to get paid however you do business.

2. Customize a purchase: Payment links come in different forms, so choose the ones that work best for the platforms on which you sell. Direct payment links work well for customer interactions and conversational commerce, while buy buttons and QR codes work well for online, social media, or in-person selling.

3. Offer customers multiple ways to pay: Once customers have accessed your payment link, you can accept credit or debit card payments or digital payment methods, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App Pay, or Afterpay.

4. Keep payments simple: Customers don’t need an account or a special app to use a merchant’s payment link. They can access your payment link from any device for direct payment.

Checkout Transfi for landing to the right medium which will comply with your business needs and provide you best transaction solutions via payment links.

Payment links: best practices

Payment links have many uses and can even replace an e-commerce website for many basic functions relating to sales and payments. They're also especially effective for marketing and driving sales:

1. Targeting distinct audience segments
   Payment links give you the ability to create multiple custom pages for the same product, perfect for emphasising distinct value props for different segments of your customer audience.

2. Testing out different messaging directions
   Wonder which marketing copy, product names and descriptions will best resonate with your customers and increase conversions? Payment links are a streamlined way to test out different messaging strategies to see which ones hit the mark. 

SMS marketing: Drop a link directly into a text message to your customers, allowing them to take action without navigating a long checkout flow or clicking through to a website. Fewer steps means fewer opportunities for customer drop-off.

3. Generating urgency around product drops
   Nothing says "run, don't walk" like a direct link that bypasses the website and facilitates immediate ordering. This is a particularly good option for limited-edition releases, in-demand items that typically sell out quickly and time-constrained offers.

• Making the most of sales and seasonal discounts Custom payment links are a great way to add a little extra power to campaigns and sales. Because payment links are so low-lift to create and mobilise, it's easy to include them throughout the year.
  

4. Fundraising and collecting donations
   It's always beneficial to give people a way to take action and complete a transaction with a minimal number of steps. Payment links offer a fundamentally streamlined customer experience, which proves especially valuable in situations like fundraising and donation collection – where any amount of friction might undermine conversion.

Transfi helps in instant payment link generation that happen within seconds which saves time and energy involved in running longer transactions.

Conclusion

When it’s become so easy to set up a business and start marketing goods and services online, it only makes sense that accepting online payments should be as well. No matter whether you’re an eCommerce seller, a non-profit, a service provider, or something in between, payment links offer a low-maintenance solution that makes real-time payments easy for both you and your customers. As the economies are growing and the need of the day is to streamline things online, bringing online finance management into play shouldn’t be compromised if the business has to grow and penetrate into the market well.

Transfi provides solutions like Bizpay, collections and payouts to look into international transactions with minimal cost of setting up and no following charges, make operations easier by choosing transfi for all your business needs when it comes to any scale of transactions. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

1. What is a payment link?

A payment link also referred to as a checkout link is a clickable link or scannable code that allows a customer to complete a purchase. Payment links are offered in the form of digital links, buy buttons, or QR codes, and are used across websites, social media platforms, apps, messaging tools, and in person.

2. How to accept a payment through a payment link?

• Generate Your Payment Link. via API or Dashboard.
• Enter Customer Contact Details. Share links via SMS, Whatsapp, Email and more.
• Accept Payments. Receive notifications in real time.

3. What are the benefits of using payment links?

• Take payments anywhere you sell products or services
• Customize a purchase
• Offer customers multiple ways to pay
• Keeps payments simple

4. What are the best practices while using payment links?

Following things can be done for making the best use of payment links;

• Targeting distinct audience segments
• Testing out different messaging directions
• Generating urgency around product drops
• Fundraising and collecting donations

5. Why is Transfi one of the best tools for using payment links?

Transfi helps in instant payment link generation that happens within seconds which saves time and energy involved in running longer transactions. It has a multicurrency and digital assets approach for a variety of payment options and its intuitive interface helps users with ease of carrying out payments and collections.