What are Payment Links? A Guide for Business Owners

Payment links let you collect money from anyone, anywhere by sending them a unique web-based payment page for checkout. 

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Payment links (aka “pay by link”) are one of the most straightforward ways to collect money digitally.

The online payments tool makes receiving funds easy for customers, and affordable for merchants. 

The result is a direct connection between business and customer that makes collecting payments seamless and simple.

Read this post to learn exactly what payment links are, why they’re important, and the best link payment option for your business. 

Highlights

• Payment links let you request payment from anyone, anytime, anywhere.
• On average, businesses collect funds within 2.5 minutes after sending a payment link.
• Pay by bank links (using ACH transfers) are up to 72% more affordable for merchants than card-based links.

What are payment links? 

A payment link is a custom URL that’s generated by a merchant and sent electronically (usually by text or email) to request payment from a customer. 

When the customer clicks the link, they’re directed to a secure payment gateway, or checkout page, where they enter payment details and complete the transaction. 

Payment links can be used for a single customer’s one-time payment, customized to allow for recurring ACH payments, or automated to send on a regular schedule or following a specific action. 

Types of payment link providers

Before we get too far, it’s important to call out the key differences between payment link providers. 

The type(s) of payment method included in a link vary depending on the provider, but one solution is far more affordable and direct.

Let’s look at two types of payment links:

1. Traditional payment links

Most payment link providers fall into this category. They function as any payment link does — enabling businesses to send customers a link for payment — but they focus on card payments (debit card / credit card) as well as wallets like Google Pay, or Apple Pay at checkout. 

These card-based payment links come with high fees. And can take days to process. 

For example, Square, Stripe, and Shopify all charge fees greater than 2.5% + $0.50 for each card transaction.

That’s $3 lost for every $100 earned. And that cost is even more impactful for large sum transactions; costing you $63 on a single $2500 transaction.

2. Account-to-account (A2A) payment links

A2A payment links use financial technology to establish a direct connection with customer bank accounts to transfer funds. 

The process is very simple: 

1. Configure a link by entering the total amount due, then send it. 

2. Customer clicks the link which goes to a secure portal where they login to their online banking. 

3. Once their account is linked, the customer completes the payment and funds are transferred immediately. 

When a customer connects their bank once, all future payments can be sent with a single click — no manual data entry required.

When compared with card-based payment links, the key benefits of A2A payment links are: 

Faster, more direct payments and settlements

Direct bank-to-bank transfers eliminate the need for intermediaries like card networks and payment processors, speeding up the payment process. 

Lower processing cost

Account-to-account payment links use Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers instead of card networks to move funds. 

This means when a customer pays via A2A link, you avoid interchange fees and reduce payment processing costs up to 72%.  

‍US merchants already paid $101 billion in Visa and MasterCard credit card processing fees, including $72 billion in interchange fees just last year. This is easily avoided with direct A2A solutions.

Better control

Open banking payments ensure transparent data control between financial institutions, merchants, and third-parties. Merchants can access real-time bank account data directly from consumers’ banks, which enhances the authentication process and reduces the risk of fraud. 

Businesses are also able to easily verify account information, such as account balance, which ensures funds are available before completing a transaction. 

At the same time, merchants can set up effective processes to limit fraudulent transactions, alongside typical processor risk mitigation practices like bank-level authentication and multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Open banking solutions like Aeropay leverage a smart fraud engine that is selective about what transactions get let through, while still maintaining a high acceptance rate. 

Durable payment information 

Traditional cards expire every three years on average. And many consumers lose or replace them even sooner.

On the other hand, US adults use the same primary checking account for more than 17 years on average.

Guaranteed (risk free) payments

A2A payments providers like Aeropay allow businesses to enable guaranteed ACH for payments, effectively shouldering the risk of chargebacks or declines, and guaranteeing funds will be delivered.

Guaranteed ACH means your payments are delivered on time, every time — with no risk of returned or unprocessed payments. 

Who uses payment links? 

There are seemingly infinite use cases for pay links. But the most effective payment link business models include:

Retailers

Brick and mortar shops can easily generate and send payment links to their customers. They can also configure QR codes in-store for payment. 

This is an effective way to enable pay-by-bank for in-store shopping — lowering the barrier to entry for associated processing fees in a convenient workflow. 

Professional services

Accountants, lawyers, consultants, housekeeping, maintenance and other professionals can simplify their service-based transactions with payment links. By generating and sending a one-time (or recurring) payment link, clients can easily complete a transaction. 

Additionally, you can guarantee payment for your services with Aeropay’s guaranteed ACH protection.

Wellness

Gyms, yoga studios, massage therapists, or personal trainers use payment links to simplify payment collection. Instead of relying on the cumbersome hardware that comes with physically processing payments, customers just click a link to pay. 

Events

Organized events like conferences, fundraisers, workshops, or classes use payment links to simplify registration and payment collection. Attendees can click a link to register and pay in one seamless process.

Ecommerce

E-commerce businesses, particularly those that offer subscription services, benefit from payment links by offering customers a way to pay without the need for an account or complex checkout processes. Recurring payment links can also be used for subscriptions, automating payments at regular intervals.

Landlords

Payment links simplify rent collection by allowing landlords and property managers to request payments directly from tenants without relying on checks or complicated third-party platforms. A single link can be sent each month, or recurring payment links can automate the process for tenants.

Benefits of payment links

Payment links let you accept ACH payments wherever you sell. It’s a simple, secure, and affordable solution. 

Here are the specific benefits that businesses using pay by link see:  

No overhead costs

Payment links don’t require hardware to collect payment from your customers, reducing overhead and eliminating the need for point of sale (POS) tools like card readers and registers. All you need is a computer or mobile device to send and process payments and payouts. 

Customizable payment experiences

Build a flexible payment experience by sending requests for payment based on customer preferences. Share payment links via text, email, social media, or QR code. 

You can also customize the design of your link pages to include custom branding, tip functionality, recurring debits, one-click checkouts and more. 

Faster payments

By implementing and embedding payment links for checkouts, businesses increase speed to payment. Aeropay data found the average payment link is paid within 2.5 minutes after being sent.

Customer-friendly

Your customers crave simplicity and security when it comes to sending payments. Links are straightforward and digital so any customer can send you funds, from anywhere. 

Ways to send payment links

A payment link is incredibly flexible, so you can use them in whatever way best suits your business. 

The most common ways to capture funds with payment links are: 

Text message payments 

Text payment requests deliver a unique URL directly to your customer’s phone via SMS. The request includes the link to view payment details and check out as well as a short, custom message. 

Useful for: Fulfilling online orders or requesting payment for a service.

Email payments

An email payment link contains order details, custom messaging, and a call to action (CTA) to check out. These URLs are delivered securely from one email to another. 

Useful for: B2B invoicing, events, or collecting payment without a phone number. 

Social media payments

Social media payment links allow business owners to collect payment directly from Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, or Facebook. Either post the link directly to your page to start accepting payments, add a button to your profile, or reach a new audience using targeted ads with embedded links for payment. 

Useful for: Small businesses, influencers, fundraisers, and more. 

QR code payments

Collect in-person payments by generating a QR code that customers can scan to open the payment link. Enable instant access to payment collection from any customer's mobile device. 

Useful for: Farmer’s markets, retailers, restaurants, and more. 

Recurring payment links

Businesses have the option to create payment links that allow customer consent for automated debits to their account. This is especially useful for offerings that require regular (often monthly) payments. 

Useful for: Memberships, subscriptions, and rent payments. 

Programmatic payment links

Programmatic payment links allow businesses to automate and scale their payment processes using APIs.

By integrating with a service provider like Aeropay, you can dynamically embed and generate payment links for a variety of use cases — like marketing campaigns, sales automation, online transactions, or streamlined payment collection.

This process eliminates the need for manually creating individual links, making it ideal for operations at scale.

Useful for: Automatically sending a payment link after a customer action like placing an online food order.

How to set up payment links for your business

The reason payment links are popular is they’re very easy to configure and implement. 

Here’s how to set up and send a payment link: 

1. Create a link

Using a product like Aero Payment Links, input the payment amount due for your service, product, donation or subscription. Keep the experience cohesive by adding brand colors and a logo to your links. 

Additional link customizations to consider: 

• Payment amount: Choose a fixed amount or open-ended payment. 
• Link duration: Decide if the link should expire. 
• Recurring payment: Option to allow for the amount to be paid on a regular cadence. 
• Add a tip: Option to include tip functionality. 

2. Send a link

Add the phone number or email address of your link recipient. Alternatively, you can copy/paste, embed, or generate a QR code to distribute your payment link.  

3. Get paid

Receive a notification of payment and access your funds instantly from your business bank account. Money is transferred over ACH rails — keeping costs low and expediting transfer speed. 

Payment link pricing

Payment links are typically a free product to use (although some providers charge monthly fees), but any associated merchant costs come from processing fees. These fees generally depend on your chosen method of payment collection. 

Here’s a breakdown of average fees per transaction by method of payment when a customer pays by link:

The reality is, many payment link providers charge high processing fees. The best way to lower those costs are by choosing a provider that specializes in account-to-account payments (like Aeropay).

Ready? Add payment links today

Discover the most affordable, effective payment links available. 

Aeropay’s account-to-account payment links allow your customers to pay by bank — saving you 72% on processing fees (compared with cards). 

Start customizing, configuring, and collecting with payment links today. 

‍Contact sales to learn more and get started.