What a Stripe payment link is and why you'd use one

A Stripe payment link is a URL you can share with customers to collect payment without building a checkout page or sending an invoice. When someone clicks the link, they land on a Stripe-hosted page where they enter their payment details. You can send it by text, email, social media, or anywhere else a URL fits.

The main reason to use one: you need to take payment from someone but don't have a website, or you want a faster way than invoicing. A small business owner might use a payment link to collect a deposit before starting a project. A freelancer might send one instead of an invoice. A nonprofit might put one on a printed flyer.

Stripe creates the link for you in your account dashboard. You don't need to code anything or set up a separate tool.

Key Takeaways

  • Payment links are created in your Stripe Dashboard under the "Payment links" section, and Stripe generates the URL automatically.
  • You set the amount, product name, and description when you create the link, and you can make it reusable for multiple customers or one-time only.
  • The link itself is already short enough to share, but you can shorten it further using a URL shortener like Bit.ly if you need it for print or text.
  • Customers who click the link see a Stripe-hosted checkout page and can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or other methods you've turned on.
  • You receive payment in your Stripe account the same way you would from any other transaction, and the customer gets a receipt automatically.

How to create a payment link in your Stripe Dashboard

Log into your Stripe Dashboard at dashboard.stripe.com. On the left sidebar, find and click "Payment links" — it's usually near the top, sometimes grouped under "Payments" or "Products."

Click the button to create a new payment link. Stripe will ask you for a few pieces of information. Enter the product name (what you're charging for), the amount in your currency, and a description if you want one. The description appears on the checkout page, so use it to explain what the customer is paying for.

You can also choose whether the link works once or multiple times. A one-time link is useful if you're sending it to a specific person for a specific invoice. A reusable link lets you share the same URL with many customers — each person pays once, and the link stays active. After you fill in these details, Stripe generates the link and shows it to you on the screen.

Copying and sharing your payment link

Once Stripe creates the link, you'll see the full URL displayed. It looks something like https://buy.stripe.com/test/abc123xyz (the exact characters depend on your account). Click the copy button next to it, or select and copy the text yourself.

Paste the link anywhere you need it: an email, a text message, a social media post, or a document. When someone clicks it, they land on a checkout page hosted by Stripe. They don't need a Stripe account — they just enter their card details and complete the payment.

If the link is too long for where you want to use it (like a printed flyer or a text message), you can shorten it using a free URL shortener. Bit.ly, TinyURL, and similar services take your long Stripe link and create a shorter version. This is optional — the original link works fine, but a short link looks cleaner in some contexts.

What happens when a customer clicks the link

The customer sees a Stripe checkout page with the product name, amount, and description you entered. They choose their payment method — card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or whatever options you've turned on in your Stripe settings. They enter their details and click to pay.

If the payment goes through, they see a confirmation page and receive a receipt by email. You see the payment appear in your Stripe Dashboard under "Payments" or "Transactions," depending on your account type. The money settles into your bank account on your normal payout schedule — usually within one to two business days.

If the payment fails, the customer sees an error message and can try again. You don't receive a notification of failed attempts unless you've set up webhooks or other integrations.

Customizing your payment link

When you create a payment link, you can add a few customizations. You can upload a product image, which appears on the checkout page. You can set a quantity limit — for example, if you're selling tickets, you might limit the link to 50 purchases total. You can also add custom fields to collect information from the customer, like their name or event preference.

Some Stripe plans let you customize the look of the checkout page — colors, fonts, and logos. Check your Stripe plan to see what's available. You cannot change the domain name (it will always be stripe.com), but you can use a URL shortener to hide that if your branding matters.

Tracking payments from your payment link

Every payment made through your link shows up in your Stripe Dashboard. Go to "Payments" and you'll see each transaction listed with the amount, date, and customer email. You can filter by date range or search for a specific payment.

If you created the link as reusable, you can see how many times it's been used and how much total revenue it's generated. This is useful if you're running a promotion or testing whether a payment link works better than another method.

You can also export your payment data for accounting or record-keeping. Stripe lets you read transaction reports in CSV format, which you can open in Excel or send to your accountant.

When a payment link might not be the right choice

Payment links work well for straightforward, one-off payments or small-scale use. If you're running a business with many products, a full website with a shopping cart is usually better. If you need to collect complex information before payment, or if you want to offer subscriptions, you'll need a more advanced setup.

Payment links also don't work for in-person payments — if you need to take payment at a physical location, you'd use Stripe's point-of-sale tools or a card reader instead. And if you need to send invoices with payment terms (like "due in 30 days"), Stripe Invoicing is a better fit than a payment link.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the amount after I create a payment link?

No, the amount is fixed when you create the link. If you need a different amount, create a new link. For reusable links, you can deactivate the old one and create a new one with the updated price.

What if a customer loses the payment link?

If the link is reusable, you can send it again — it never expires. If it's a one-time link and the customer didn't complete payment, you can create a new one. There's no way to "resend" the original one-time link, but creating a replacement takes less than a minute.

Do I pay a fee when someone pays through a payment link?

Yes, Stripe charges its standard processing fee for every payment, whether it comes through a link, your website, or another method. The fee is usually 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction for card payments, but it varies by country and payment method. Check your Stripe pricing page for your exact rate.

Can customers save their card details for future payments?

Not through a standard payment link. Each customer enters their details fresh each time. If you want customers to save their card for repeat purchases, you'd need to set up a subscription or a more advanced integration.

Is a payment link find?

Yes. The checkout page is hosted by Stripe and uses the same security as any Stripe payment. You never see or store the customer's card details — Stripe handles that. The link itself is just a URL; sharing it is as safe as sharing any other link.