Payment link: how to sell with a link or a QR code

What a payment link is

A payment link is a URL that opens a checkout page run by Stripe, PayPal or Square. You set the product, price and options once in the dashboard, then paste the link anywhere a buyer can tap it: an Instagram DM, a WhatsApp chat, a text message, an email, your link in bio, or a sign on your market table as a QR code.

The buyer enters card or wallet details on the payment company's page, not in a chat with you. The sale then shows up in your dashboard next to your other payments.

Stripe describes its version as a way to sell online without a website. The trade-off is that a link opens a checkout for what you set on that link only. There is no storefront for buyers to browse and no search.

Stripe, PayPal and Square payment links side by side

All three let you create a link from the dashboard, share it as a QR code and take cards and wallets. They differ in the per-sale fee, in how they handle shipping and tax, and in what the buyer sees at checkout.

PayPal publishes two rates for payment links. Its merchant fee table lists 3.49% + $0.49 (0.49 USD) for buyers who pay with PayPal, while its Payment Links product page shows 3.49% + $0.10 per transaction. This page uses the fee table, which is the higher of the two; check the fee shown in your account before you set prices.

How to create a payment link

The steps are close to the same on all three. The example is a seller of hand-dyed scarves who takes orders in Instagram DMs.

1. Open a business account

   Sign up for Stripe, a PayPal business account or Square, and add the bank account you want payouts sent to.

2. Create the link

   In Stripe, go to Payment Links and add a product and price. In PayPal, set up the checkout page and click "build it". In Square, choose Collect a payment, Sell an item, or Sell an event or class.

3. Turn on shipping and tax if you ship

   In Stripe, require a billing and a shipping address and add a shipping rate. In PayPal, set shipping options, rates, and taxes. In Square, add a custom field for the delivery address.

4. Set limits for small batches

   If you have five scarves, Stripe lets you limit the number of times a payment link is paid for, so the link stops working when stock runs out. On Square and PayPal, deactivate the link yourself when you sell out. Square warns: This action cannot be undone.

5. Share the link or the QR code

   Paste the link in the DM, add it to your bio, or print the QR code. Pay a test order yourself first so you see what the buyer sees.

The fee on one payment link sale

The same $40 sale paid through each company's payment link, using each one's published rate. None of the three charges a monthly fee for the basic link.

QR code payments and how to get a PayPal QR code

Every payment link can become a QR code. The buyer points a phone camera at it and lands on the same checkout page, so a printed sign on a market table works without a card reader.

PayPal also has a separate business QR code, made in the PayPal business account. The buyer scans it, and PayPal tells sellers to ask the buyer to enter the total amount owed. It costs 2.29% plus $0.09 per transaction and it does not expire, so one printed sign works at every event. PayPal's User Agreement says that if you take QR payments in a physical store, you must use a QR code intended for goods and services transactions.

Stripe's payment link QR code doesn't expire either. Square lets you share a link copying the link, or via QR code, buy button, email campaign, social media. A link QR code fixes the price, which suits a set product. PayPal's amount-entry QR code suits a stall with many prices, at the cost of the buyer typing the total.

Why buyers must pay as goods and services

Some sellers ask buyers to send money as friends and family on PayPal to skip the fee. PayPal's User Agreement tells sellers to Not ask your buyer to send you money as a personal transaction. If you do, PayPal may remove your PayPal account's ability to accept payments from friends or family members.

PayPal business accounts are not eligible to receive "personal transactions" at all. The buyer also has no reason to avoid goods and services: PayPal says buyers will not be charged any transaction fee when they pay for goods or services that way. A payment link charges the buyer through checkout at the payment link rate, so there is no friends and family option to pick.

When a buyer sends goods and services money to your account directly, without a link, PayPal charges 2.99%.

Collecting a shipping address and sales tax

If you post the item, set the link to require a shipping address. Without one you end up asking for the address in the DM, which is slow and easy to get wrong. Stripe can require a billing and a shipping address and add one or more shipping rates. PayPal lets you set shipping options, rates, and taxes. Square's link setup offers up to two custom fields, which you can use to ask for an address.

Stripe Payment Links work with Stripe Tax, which charges 0.5% per transaction on its Basic option. Its fees apply only after you've added at least one location where you're registered. On PayPal you set the tax on the checkout page yourself.

Whether you must collect sales tax depends on your state, what you sell and where the buyer is. Rules vary by state and city. This page is general information, not tax advice: check your state's revenue department before you sell.

When a payment link for business is enough without a store

A payment link is enough when buyers already come to you through a conversation or an event and you sell a few products. It stops being enough when you have many products, when buyers want to browse, or when you need inventory across many items.

• A link is enough: you sell one to ten products, take orders in DMs or texts, sell at markets with a QR sign, or take deposits for custom work.
• A link is enough: you want to test whether people will pay before you build anything.
• You need a store: you have dozens of products with sizes or colors, buyers want a cart with several items, or you want people to find you through search.
• You need a store: you want order history, discount codes and stock counts in one place across all products.

Where Nation fits

Questions about payment links