When to use Payment Links
Use Payment Links for:- ad hoc payment requests that don’t originate from a checkout flow
- service invoices where you don’t need a full invoice workflow
- deposits or partial payments
- support-assisted payments where an agent sends a link mid-conversation
- merchant-generated payment requests outside your standard ordering flow
- payment collection triggered by email or SMS campaigns
Typical flow
1
Create a payment link
Create a payment link through Backoffice or the API, depending on whether the request is manual or automated.
2
Configure the link
Set the amount, merchant, description, expiration behavior, and allowed payment options.
3
Share the link
Send the payment link to the customer via email, SMS, chat, or any other channel.
4
Customer pays
The customer opens the hosted payment page from the link and completes payment.
5
Receive or query payment status
Your platform receives payment status via webhook events or queries it directly through the API.
6
Track completion, expiration, or failure
Your operations team monitors the outcome — paid, expired, or failed — and takes any follow-up action.
What to configure
A payment link should define:- Merchant or submerchant — the account to receive the funds
- Amount and currency — the payment amount and currency code
- Payment description — a customer-facing description of what the payment is for
- Customer reference — your platform’s reference for the payer or order
- Expiration behavior — how long the link stays active before it expires
- Allowed payment methods — which options the customer can use to pay
- Metadata — key-value pairs for reconciliation and reporting
- Return or confirmation messaging — what the customer sees after completing or abandoning payment
Backoffice vs API
Use Backoffice
Choose Backoffice when your operations team needs to manually create and send individual payment links — for example, to handle support requests or one-off invoicing scenarios.
Use the API
Choose the API when payment-link creation should be embedded into your product, triggered automatically from an order, or orchestrated from another workflow in your platform.
Support guidance
Equip your support team to answer customer questions about payment links. Support should be able to confirm:- whether the link has been paid
- whether the link has expired
- whether the customer attempted and failed payment
- which merchant and order the link belongs to
- whether a refund or a new payment link is needed
Payment Links vs Invoicing — Use Payment Links for lightweight, shareable payment requests that don’t require invoice identity or accounts-receivable tracking. Switch to Invoicing when the request needs an invoice number, a due date, itemization, or AR lifecycle management.