# Payment links

Create a link for a set amount, send it to anyone by email, text or chat, and get paid by card, bank or wallet. No website needed.

Source: https://vezmo.com/docs/get-paid/payment-links

## Overview

A payment link is a secure checkout page for one amount. You create it in the dashboard, copy it, and send it however
you like. Your customer opens it, pays without creating an account, and the payment lands in your VezmoPay
transactions with its fees and what reaches your balance.

Use a payment link when you want to get paid quickly without building anything: an upfront payment, a one-off
job, an order taken over chat. For billing a client with line items and a due date, use an invoice instead.

(Video: Creating a payment link for $350 in the Vezmo dashboard: the Create payment link form is filled in and the new link appears at the top of the list as Active.)

## How it works

1. You create a link with a title and an amount. It is **Active** straight away.
2. You send the link. Anyone who has it can open the checkout.
3. Your customer pays by any payment method you have turned on, in their own currency where available.
4. The payment appears in **VezmoPay › Transactions**, and a one-time link shows as **Paid** (a bank payment marks it
   Paid once it clears). A paid link can't take a second payment. Subscription links stay open for new subscribers.

A link has one of four statuses in your list:

| Status | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Active | Open for payment. |
| Paid | Paid in full. It can't be edited or switched off, and it can't be paid again. |
| Inactive | Switched off. It refuses new payments until you activate it again. A link switched off because its agreement was voided can't be reopened. |
| Expired | Its **Expire At** day has ended. It refuses new payments until you move the date later or remove it. |

**Before you can take payments:**
Your link can be created before VezmoPay is active, but customers can't pay it yet. Until VezmoPay is active, anyone
who opens the link sees that no payment method is available. [Get started](/docs/get-started) explains the steps.

## Create a payment link

1. **Open Payment Links**
In the dashboard, go to **Payments › Payment Links**, then select **+ Payment Link** at the top of the page.

2. **Fill in the link**
Give it a **Payment Title** your customer will recognise (up to 120 characters) and an **Amount**. The currency
starts as your business's currency; choose another from the list next to the amount if you need to.

(Screenshot: The Create payment link form with Payment Title, Sell a subscription, Description, Amount in USD, Expire At, and the Generate Link button.)

3. **Add the optional details**
- **Search Existing Client** attaches the link to a client, so their name and email are filled in at checkout.
- **Description** appears under the title on the checkout page. Use plain text: anything other than letters, numbers,
  spaces, full stops, commas and hyphens is removed.
- **Sell a subscription** (shown when you have an active recurring product) turns the link into a reusable subscribe
  link: anyone who opens it becomes a subscriber.
- **Expire At** sets the last day the link can be paid. It stops taking payments at the end of that day, in your
  time zone. Leave it empty and the link stays open until you deactivate it.

4. **Generate and share**
Select **Generate Link**. The new link appears at the top of your list. Select the copy icon in its row (on a phone,
**Copy Link** in its menu) and paste the link into an email, a text or a chat.

### Amount limits

- More than 0, with at most two decimal places.
- Up to the equivalent of US$1,000,000.
- At least your business's minimum for that currency. If an amount is too low, the form tells you the minimum.

Fees are the same as any other VezmoPay payment and depend on how your customer pays. See
[VezmoPay pricing](https://vezmo.com/pricing/vezmopay).

## Manage your links

**Payments › Payment Links** lists every link with its name, description, amount, expiry date and status. The two
cards at the top show **Total Earnings** from paid links and **Active Paylinks**: the links a customer can pay right
now, so not paid, switched off or expired. The **Expired** filter shows the links whose Expire At has passed.

(Screenshot: Manage Paylinks: Total Earnings and Active Paylinks cards above a table of links with their amounts and Active, Paid or Inactive statuses.)

Open the menu (⋮) on a row to:

- **Edit** the title, description, amount, currency, expiry date or client. You can't change the price of a link that
  is paid or has a bank payment still clearing, and a subscription link's currency can't change. Changing the amount
  or currency closes any checkout a customer has open at the old price; if someone is paying at that moment, try
  again once they've finished. To reopen an expired link, give it a later Expire At or clear the date.
- **Deactivate** a link so it refuses new payments, or **Activate** it again.

Paid links can't be edited or deactivated. There is no delete: deactivate a link you no longer want.

## What your customer sees

The link opens a Vezmo checkout page with your business's name, the title, description and amount. Your customer
enters their email (their receipt goes there) and name, chooses how to pay, and adds their billing address.

(Screenshot: The hosted checkout for a $720 payment link: contact information, card and bank payment options, billing address and the order summary.)

(Screenshot: The same checkout on a phone: the amount at the top, then contact information and payment method.)

- **Ways to pay:** cards, plus every method you have turned on that works for the currency, such as Apple Pay, Google
  Pay and bank payments.
- **Their own currency:** customers abroad can see and pay the price in their own currency where available.
- **Promo codes:** customers can enter one of the codes you made under **Promo Codes**.
- **Receipt:** after paying, they see a confirmation on screen and get a receipt by email.

## What happens when

### My customer pays

The payment appears in **VezmoPay › Transactions** with the source **Hosted checkout**, and a one-time link changes
to **Paid** (for a bank payment, once it clears). You get an email that you received a payment. If you use webhooks, your endpoint receives
`payment.success`. See [See a payment's details](/docs/get-paid/payment-details).
### The payment fails

Your customer sees that the payment couldn't be completed and that no money was taken. The link stays **Active**, so
they can try again. The failed attempt shows in your transactions as **Failed**.
### Someone opens a link I deactivated

They can't pay it. The checkout shows your business name, the amount and what it was for, and says the link is no
longer active and that no payment was taken. Activate the link again to reopen it. A customer who was already paying when you
switched it off still completes their payment, and it shows in your transactions.
### The Expire At date passes

At the end of that day the link stops taking payments and shows as **Expired** in your list. Anyone who opens it sees
your business name and that the link has expired, and no payment is taken. A customer who started paying before then
still completes their payment. To take payments again, edit the link and choose a later date or clear it.
### I want a customer to pay again

A one-time link takes one payment, and anyone who opens it after that sees that it has already been paid. Create a
new link for the next payment, or use a subscription link for regular payments.
### I need to give money back

Refund the payment from its details page. See [Refund a payment](/docs/get-paid/payment-details#refund-a-payment).

## Related

- [See a payment's details](/docs/get-paid/payment-details)
- [Taxes and tax forms](/docs/get-paid/taxes)
- [VezmoPay pricing](https://vezmo.com/pricing/vezmopay)
- [Payment links in the API](https://user.vezmo.com/docs/v1): create links from your own code with a test or live key.