What a Stripe Payment Link Is and When to Use One
A Stripe Payment Link is a URL you generate inside your Stripe account that lets customers pay you without you building a website or integrating code. You send the link via email, text, social media, or invoice—the customer clicks it, enters payment details, and the transaction completes. Stripe handles the payment processing and deposits the money into your connected bank account.
Payment links work best when you need to collect payment for a specific thing—an invoice, a service, a one-time product order—and you don't want to set up a full online store. You can create a new link in under two minutes. The link stays active until you disable it, so a customer can pay days or weeks later if they need to.
Stripe charges its standard processing fee (2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction for US cards, rates vary by country) when a payment comes through a link. There are no extra fees for creating or hosting the link itself.
Key Takeaways
- You create a payment link inside your Stripe Dashboard by entering an amount, description, and optional customer email, then copy and share the generated URL.
- Payment links accept credit cards, debit cards, and other payment methods Stripe supports in your region, and the customer never leaves the link to complete checkout.
- You can set a link to expire on a specific date, require a customer email address, or allow customers to enter their own amount if you leave the price blank.
- Stripe sends you an email notification when a payment arrives, and you can track all transactions in your Stripe Dashboard under the Payments section.
- Payment links do not require you to have a website, a merchant account with another processor, or any coding knowledge.
Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Payment Link
Log into your Stripe Dashboard at dashboard.stripe.com using your email and password. If you don't have a Stripe account yet, go to stripe.com, click "Start now," and complete the signup process—you'll need your business name, your personal name, your address, and a bank account for payouts. Verification usually takes a few minutes to a few hours.
Once you're logged in, look for the menu on the left side. Click Payment Links (it may also appear under a "Products" or "Payments" section depending on your dashboard version). Then click the blue Create or New payment link button.
A form will appear. Fill in these fields:
- Product name or description: What is the customer paying for? Example: "Consulting session" or "Invoice #2024-001".
- Amount: Enter the price in your local currency. Leave this blank only if you want customers to enter their own amount (pay-what-you-want).
- Quantity: Set to 1 unless you're selling multiple units of the same item.
Click Create link. Stripe generates a unique URL that looks like buy.stripe.com/test/[random characters]. Copy this link and send it to your customer however you prefer—email, text message, social media, or embed it in an invoice.
Customizing Your Payment Link Before You Share It
Before you send the link out, you can adjust several settings by clicking the link name in your Payment Links list, then clicking Settings or the gear icon.
Expiration date: Set a date after which the link stops working. This is useful if you're collecting payment for a time-sensitive invoice or event. If you don't set an expiration, the link remains active indefinitely.
Customer email: You can require the customer to enter their email address during checkout, or you can pre-fill it if you already know it. Pre-filling speeds up checkout but means the customer sees their email and can change it.
Billing and shipping address: Toggle these on if you need the customer's full address for tax, shipping, or record-keeping purposes. Most payment links don't require this.
Payment methods: Stripe automatically shows payment methods available in your region and account type. You cannot pick and choose individual methods through the link settings—that's controlled at the account level.
After payment: You can set a custom message or redirect URL that appears after the customer completes payment. For example, redirect them to a download page, a thank-you page on your website, or a Zoom meeting link.
What Happens When a Customer Clicks the Link
The customer lands on a Stripe-hosted checkout page branded with your business name and logo (if you've added one to your Stripe account). They see the item description, the price, and a payment form. They enter their card details, billing address (if you required it), and email, then click Pay.
If the payment succeeds, they see a confirmation message and are redirected to the URL you set (or a default Stripe thank-you page if you didn't set one). Stripe sends them a receipt email automatically.
If the payment fails—card declined, expired card, insufficient funds—Stripe shows an error message and the customer can try again with a different card or contact their bank. The link remains active for them to retry.
You receive an email notification from Stripe within seconds of a successful payment. The transaction also appears in your Stripe Dashboard under Payments, where you can see the customer's name, email, amount, date, and payment method.
Tracking Payments and Managing Refunds
Every payment through a link is recorded in your Stripe Dashboard. Go to Payments in the left menu to see a list of all transactions. Click any payment to view full details: the customer's contact information, the exact time the payment processed, the card used, and whether it succeeded or failed.
If you need to refund a customer, click the payment, then click the Refund button. You can refund the full amount or a partial amount. The refund goes back to the customer's card within 1 to 3 business days, depending on their bank. Stripe deducts the processing fee from the refund—if you charged $100 and refunded it, you get back $96.71 (after Stripe's fee), not $100.
You can also disable a payment link at any time by going to your Payment Links list, clicking the link, and selecting Disable. Disabled links no longer work—customers who click them see an error. You can re-enable a link later if needed.
Sharing Payment Links Safely and Tracking Who Pays
Payment links are public URLs, so anyone with the link can pay. This is fine if you're sending it to a specific person via email or text, but don't post it on a public website or social media unless you want anyone to be able to use it. If you accidentally share a link too widely, disable it and create a new one.
To track which customer paid, ask them to include a reference number or invoice number in their email when they send you the link, or pre-fill their email address in the link settings so you know who it's for. Stripe doesn't automatically tie a payment to an invoice number unless you add that information yourself in the description field.
If you're sending the same link to multiple customers, be aware that each payment goes through the same link—you won't know which customer paid which amount unless you ask them to include identifying information. For invoicing workflows where you need to track individual customers, consider using Stripe Invoices instead, which ties each payment to a specific invoice record.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Forgetting to set an expiration date: If you create a link for a time-sensitive payment (an event, a deadline, a limited offer), set an expiration date. Otherwise, the link stays active and a customer might pay weeks later when you've already moved on.
Not testing the link before sending it: After you create a link, click it yourself and go through the checkout process using a test card. Stripe provides test card numbers in your Dashboard under Developers > API Keys. This catches any settings issues before a real customer tries to pay.
Sharing the same link for multiple different amounts: If you need to collect different amounts from different customers, create a separate link for each amount or leave the amount blank and let customers enter their own. Reusing one link for different prices confuses customers and creates accounting headaches.
Not communicating the payment deadline: If you set an expiration date on the link, tell the customer when it expires. Don't assume they'll figure it out from the checkout page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I edit a payment link after I've sent it to a customer?
You can edit the settings (expiration date, redirect URL, required fields) but not the price or description. If you need to change the amount, create a new link and send that instead. The old link remains active unless you disable it.
What payment methods do payment links accept?
Payment links accept all payment methods Stripe supports in your country. In the US, this includes Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and other card networks. Some regions also support local payment methods like iDEAL (Netherlands), Bancontact (Belgium), or Alipay (China). You cannot restrict which methods appear—Stripe shows all available options to the customer.
Do I need a website to use payment links?
No. Payment links work entirely through Stripe's hosted checkout page. You don't need a website, a shopping cart, or any code. You just need a Stripe account and a way to send the link to your customer (email, text, etc.).
How long does it take for money to show up in my bank account?
Stripe deposits payouts to your connected bank account on a schedule you set in your Dashboard. The default is every two business days, but you can change it to daily or weekly. The actual deposit takes 1 to 2 business days after Stripe initiates the transfer, depending on your bank.
Can customers save their card to use the link again later?
No. Each payment link is a one-time transaction. The customer enters their card details fresh each time they pay. If you want customers to save their card for future payments, you would need to set up a subscription or use Stripe's customer portal, which requires more integration.