What are Payment Links?

Payment links are a helpful tool for companies looking to create a better user experience for their customers.

Payment links are simple – they allow you to create a unique link and send it to your customer to collect payments online. No expensive hardware required. The best part? Funds hit your bank account fast, letting you reinvest in your business instead of wasting time tracking down late customer payments.

You can add payment links that let you easily invoice clients, take phone orders, collect installment payments, handle subscriptions…you name it.

Whether your business is service-based, ecommerce, brick and mortar or a blend of everything, payment links have got you covered.

What are Payment Links? A Simple Explanation

Payment links make accepting payments direct customers a total breeze. Let’s break it down into a few simple steps so you can see just how easy they are:

First, you’ll generate a unique payment link – this is a specially coded URL. You can easily create customized links for different purchase amounts, customer invoices, subscriptions, or anything else you need to get paid for. 

Next, you’ll send this link directly to your customer via email, text, social media post, or whichever digital channel you prefer. 

When your customer is ready to pay, they simply click the link to the checkout flow or page you provided! This next checkout page and flow will direct them to a secure payment page to enter their credit card or debit card details and complete the transaction.

That’s it! You’ve just an online store and accepted a payment online without needing any website, complex software or point of sale system. The funds will be transferred to your bank account ASAP.

Payment links offer the ultimate convenience for businesses to receive payments digitally. Save yourself the hassle of managing clunky POS hardware and terminals. With easy-to-use payment links, you can take orders and get paid quickly whether in-person, online, over the phone or any way you operate.

How Payment Links Work: A Step-by-Step Guide

Accepting payments online doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Payment links allow businesses to easily generate and share payment URLs with customers to securely collect money in just a few quick steps. In this section, we’ll walk through the four basic steps of how payment links work – from link creation to payment confirmation. 

Understanding the backend to create a payment link and process also allows businesses to fully leverage the simplicity and flexibility of payment links for receiving funds faster. Let’s take a look at how these innovative links are revolutionizing digital payments.

Let’s walk through exactly how simple payment links work from start to finish:

Step 1: Creating Payment Links  

Choose an payment link provider like Rescue Payments to handle all the backend work. Then, just log into your dashboard and create a customized payment link in seconds. Specify the payment amount, customer details, and then create a full payment request link description.

Step 2: Sharing the Link

Now send that payment link directly to your customer via email, SMS, social media, or embed it into an invoice/billing document. 

Step 3: Customer Payment 

Your customer clicks the link, which redirects them to online checkout page with a secure payment page to enter their credit card or debit card, payment details amount, billing address, etc. to complete the transaction.

Step 4: Instant Notification & Processing

As soon as the payment goes through, you’ll receive a confirmation notification. The funds are immediately processed and transferred into your designated bank account. 

That’s it! With just a simple to create a payment link, you’ve securely collected payment without any hassle or hardware. Now you can focus your time on more important business tasks, while still getting paid on time. Payment links make accepting payments of any size or frequency an absolute breeze.

Why Use Payment Links? Benefits for Your Business

Payment links offer a host of advantages that save time, boost sales, and streamline operations for businesses of all sizes. From sole proprietors to enterprise organizations, businesses are embracing the convenience, security, and simplicity of using payment links everywhere. Read on to learn more about the top reasons to use payment links.

Why Use Payment Links? Benefits for Your Business

Payment links provide a multitude of benefits that make accepting online payments easier and more efficient for businesses. Let’s explore the top reasons to use payment links:

• Convenience

  Payment links allow you to take payments anywhere, anytime – no need for dedicated countertop hardware or terminals. Whether working remotely, on-site with customers, or on the go, you can securely accept payments with just a link. This flexibility enables you with payment links safe process payments in-person, online, over the phone, and via any digital channel.

• Increased Sales

  The frictionless payment and customer experience because of payment links has been shown to increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction. With just a few clicks or simple click to pay, customers can complete purchases easier than ever before and pay you. No lengthy online checkout forms or account signups required to pay you. Getting paid faster results in higher revenues.

• Improved Cash Flow 

  Payment links allow near instant access to funds through real-time payment settlement. As soon as transactions are approved, payments are deposited into your connected bank account. No more waiting days or weeks for merchant accounts to clear payments. The faster payments improve overall business liquidity.

• Enhanced Security

  Payment links utilize secure HTTPS protocols and PCI-compliant encrypted payment gateways to safely collect sensitive financial information. Customers can trust the security of payment links just as they would any e-commerce transaction. Data is tokenized and not stored, providing protection.

• Cost Savings

  Avoid the monthly software, payment gateway, and hardware fees associated with traditional merchant accounts and POS systems. Payment links provide an affordable, predictable pricing model that often costs less than traditional processing.

• Seamless User Experience

  The full payment button and link checkout flows are optimized for both desktop and mobile to provide the customer experience and a seamless, consistent customer payment experience. Customers can conveniently pay through their preferred device.

• Detailed Reporting 

  Payment link providers offer user-friendly dashboards to monitor real-time your same payment link payment status, notifications, transaction history, reconciliations, and other key data. Stay on top of your cash flow and payments.

• Scalability

  Easily create an unlimited number of various payment pages and links to accommodate spikes in volume, new products, or business growth. The flexible platform scales up or down as your payment needs change over time.

  With all of these advantages, it’s easy to see why payment links are quickly becoming the preferred online payment method for businesses worldwide.

Creative Ways to Use Payment Links

Payment links are an extremely versatile online payment tool that can adapt to a wide range of business needs. From in-person and online transactions, to recurring subscriptions, payment links enable efficient digital payments across multiple channels. Read on for creative examples of how businesses of all types are using the convenience of using payment links to get paid.

In-person payments

For brick-and-mortar shops, vendors at craft fairs, home service providers, and other local businesses, payment links allow you to accept on-the-spot payments without a POS system or clunky terminal. Easily collect payment for items or services through a quick payment link via mobile device.

Recurring payments 

For subscription companies, SaaS platforms, social media, streaming services, gyms, boxes, or any other membership-based business, payment links make recurring billing a breeze. Simply create serialized, sharing payment links, for ongoing charges like monthly or annual subscriptions.

Telephone or email orders

Retailers can share customized payment links with customers to easily collect their payment details for orders placed over the phone or online. Rather than collecting sensitive card data verbally or through email, a secure payment link also keeps the transaction protected.

Donations

Nonprofits, religious organizations, schools, political campaigns, and charities can include direct payment links within fundraising emails or pay links within social media posts to spur more donations. Turn followers into donors with just a click.

Digital goods

Authors, musicians, artists, developers, and creators selling online courses, videos, images, software licenses, templates, or other digital products can securely deliver digital goods upon payment link purchase.

Online events

Easily collect ticket payments, donations, or other charges for virtual events like webinars, conferences, online classes, and more. Links make event payments seamless.

Marketplaces

Facilitate payments between buyers and independent sellers providing goods/services in shared marketplaces. Custom create payment links that let sellers get paid directly.

Outstanding balances

Share payment links via email or SMS to allow customers to conveniently pay open invoices, bar or restaurant tabs, or other outstanding balances. Get paid what you’re owed faster.

Installment plans

Offer customized installment plans and break large payments into smaller scheduled payments over time by creating serialized payment links. Great for tuition, loans, or high-ticket items.

Get creative with the many ways your business can leverage the flexibility of payment links for faster, simpler payments across various channels for all your customer experiences!

Payment Links and Canadian Businesses: What You Need to Know

For Canadian companies looking to accept online payments, it’s essential to find a provider that understands the unique regulations and requirements for operating in Canada. 

Working with compliant payment providers

To remain compliant with Canadian regulations, partner with an experienced payment provider like Rescue Payments that is familiar with the market’s unique requirements. Avoid providers based elsewhere that may unknowingly encourage non-compliant practices.

How Rescue Payments keeps your business compliant

Key features for Canadian businesses

Rescue Payments offers a range of features tailored to benefit Canadian companies:

• Competitive credit card processing rates comparable to traditional merchant accounts

• Fast next-day settlement of funds into your Canadian bank account 

• Accept payments in Canadian (CAD) or U.S. dollars (USD)

• Bilingual English and French customer service and documentation

• No long-term contracts or monthly account fees

Whether you are a small business, startup, enterprise corporation, or non-profit, Rescue Payments simplifies digital payments for organizations across Canada while keeping you compliant. Don’t get stuck with solutions not optimized for the Canadian market. Choose a payment provider that has your unique needs and regulations in mind.

Rescue Payments: Your All-in-One Solution for Payment Links

For a truly all-in-one payment processor and payment link provider solution, turn to the experts at Rescue Payments. Their user-friendly platform enables businesses to easily create, customize, and manage payment links.

Seamlessly integrate payment links into any business workflow

Rescue Payments allows you to easily incorporate payment links into your existing workflows for invoices, billing, sales, donations, events, and more. Their solution integrates with the tools professional services you already use.

Rescue Payments comes packed with features to make the payment process and links simple:

• Easy setup and custom branding: Create and design responsive payment links that match your brand in just minutes.

• Secure PCI compliant payment processing: Your customer data is protected through tokenization and encryption.

• Fast next-day payouts: Funds are deposited directly into your bank account quickly.

• Detailed payment reporting and reconciliation: Monitor your payments with real-time alerts and transparent analytics. 

• Top-rated customer support team: Friendly Canadian-based experts are available to help 24/7.

Spend more time growing your business and less time wrestling with payments. Leverage the advantages of seamless links.

Ready to Simplify Your Payments? Get Started with Rescue Payments

Payment links are revolutionizing the way businesses accept online payments by providing a fast, flexible, and frictionless payment experience. If you’re ready to streamline your payment collection and payment process, it’s time to get started with Rescue Payments.

Their user-friendly all-in-one payments platform makes it easy to create, customize, and manage secure payment links tailored to your business needs. Join the thousands of businesses that trust Rescue Payments to handle payments, so you can focus on your customers.

Don’t waste another minute wrestling with outdated payment link solutions. Visit the Rescue Payments today to learn more about our payment link capabilities. It’s quick and easy to get started collecting online payments the smarter way.