Ways to Pay: Payment by Links

Create a link to sell anywhere, any time.

What are payment links?

Sometimes also referred to as a checkout link – a payment link is a clickable link for customers to complete a purchase. A payment link can be sent in the form of a QR code, clickable button or in the simple form of a URL to customers. The links are used to take customers directly to a unique checkout page to complete a purchase for a speedy, convenient and seamless checkout. Payment links are popularly used via emails, social media, and even messaging platforms.

When clicked on, a payment link takes the customer to a checkout page to complete their transaction, and is generally used for a single transaction, but can also be used for multiple transactions. 

What do they do for businesses?

Payment links are a simple way to engage with customers and offer a quick method to accept payments, whether through a website, messaging platform, social media, texts or emails. Offering businesses a hassle-free and efficient way to accept payments through one click, payment links remove complexities and accelerate transactions. For customers who may not complete a transaction or wish to pay later, the flexible payment option can be delivered across multiple channels such as emails, communication platforms, and social media. 

Their popularity stems from the simple infrastructure around payment links, as they don’t require any additional websites, coding, platforms or infrastructures for merchants to launch. They’re easy to set up and easy to distribute to customers, taking them to a checkout page which offers quick and simple completion of a transaction. 

Why are they so popular? 

Payment links are not only quick and simple, but they don’t require a website to be in existence when using payment links which is a great alternative for start-ups and young brands. Additionally, the flexibility of a payment link makes them diverse and appealing to merchants of all scales and products/goods, consequently removing friction from the customer purchasing journey and allowing them to pay at their convenience.

Removing pains and bringing business gains

Businesses tell us about the sticky points of transactions, difficulty in balancing numerous high costs, high cart abandonment rates and limited acquiring capabilities. With scaling potential hindered by a lack of payment methods and linear payment processes, it’s easy to lose customers along the way despite their interest in goods and services. Removing barriers and points of friction in the payment process, brands can optimise customer experience at a global scale, with the right payment methods offered through payment links. 

Payment links are great for numerous circumstances,  including:

• Brands still building their business website
• As a way to engage and interact with customers
• For brands who want to connect with customers beyond a website
• To bring scalability to checkout options
• For businesses that sell through multiple channels
• If your customer audiences are segmented.

Payment links bring flexibility to your payments, giving a tailorable solution to merchants who wish to offer direct payment options to customers. Whether it’s a single payment or multiple transactions; and in Euros or Dinar – a payment link can be tailored to suit individual needs, offering a uniquely personalised payment experience. And so brands can boost their reputability and increase transaction conversion rates (with users not having to set up accounts or re-add items to their baskets). 

Why are payment links beneficial?

Social media commerce

Social media commerce is set to hit $1.298 billion by the end of 2023 and is expected to reach nearly $3 trillion by 2026. The numbers may appear high, however, with the average daily time spent on social media hitting over 2 hours, with the average user visiting 7.5 different social platforms. Businesses have rapidly stepped into apps to advertise their products in efforts to reach the 28% of surveyed users who say their main reason for using social media is to find inspiration or buy items. However, for the users who wish to make a purchase, a redirection from the social media app to a company website creates unnecessary steps and wastes valuable time in which transactions could be completed. And so, merchants can create quick and easy sales processes through payment links that don’t require consumers to leave the platform that they are already on. 

Reduced cart abandonment

Recent data showed that 11% of consumers abandon carts because there is a lack of payment methods, which is why with a payment link merchants are able to create a simple payment link with the sum total and relevant payment methods in a tidy button or link. The Baymard Institute showed 25% of users abandoning their carts because a website wanted them to create an account, and 18% abandoning carts because of lengthy and complicated checkout processes. And so one of the benefits of payment links is their ability to act as a segway from a website and offer customers a convenient and fast way to complete a transaction.

Minimising infrastructure costs and streamlining payments 

It’s no secret that buyers now expect sales to be fast, convenient, personalised and efficient. The growing use of various methods of commerce means that merchants need to be able to engage with their customers through numerous channels and offer the right purchasing experience. With payment links, brands can offer customers a fast checkout experience irrespective of their website checkout and acquiring capabilities. Checkouts can be even faster with a payment link which can be shared in a matter of seconds across websites, communication platforms, and emails – offering customers a simple interface that supports multiple payment methods, in numerous currencies.

Why Unlimit?

There’s no setup, just links! With Unlimit’s payment by link feature, you can create customisable links through our API and configure payment methods of your choice – from cards to 1000+ alternative payment methods and a plethora of currencies. Giving merchants holistic control to monitor and create links, our intuitive dashboard will help to keep track and analyse payments in one simple and efficient place. 

As an end-to-end payment solution provider, we have used sophisticated technology and our expert knowledge to bring easy-to-use, efficient and convenient links for merchants to satiate demand, increase outreach and optimise payments.