Payment link generator
Payment link generator for invoices
Turn an invoice into a link, a QR code and a message ready to send, with the amount and your invoice number already filled in.
- Free, no signup
- Nothing leaves your browser
- Works on any phone
The part after paypal.me in your own link.
Routing number for the US, sort code for the UK, IBAN, IFSC or SWIFT for anywhere else. A transfer has no link, so the message carries the details instead.
Without it, a payment lands with nothing to match it to.
Used in the message, never in the link.
Scan to pay
Print it on the invoice, or hold up your phone on site. Same link, nothing to type.
Already included when you copy the message.
YOUR PAYMENT LINK
One copy carries all of it. Paste into email and the QR comes with it; paste into a plain text box and you get the message with the link.
Need just one piece?
How to create a payment link
- Pick how you want to be paid. PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Venmo, Cash App or a bank transfer.
- Enter your handle. Your PayPal.me name, Wise or Venmo username, $cashtag, or a Stripe link you created in your Stripe dashboard. For a bank transfer, the details you want printed.
- Add the amount and the invoice number. The number is what lets you match the payment when it lands.
- Send it. Copy the message, or open it in WhatsApp, email or a text, and download the QR code for the invoice itself.
PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Venmo, Cash App or a bank transfer: the amount and your reference are already filled in, so there is nothing left for your client to type, mistype, or put off.
Why a link gets paid and an invoice waits
Late payment is usually not refusal. It is friction. A client decides to pay you, opens their banking app, cannot find the sort code, mistypes the account number, gives up, and resolves to do it Monday. Monday has its own problems.
A payment link removes every step between deciding and doing. One tap, the amount already filled in, done from a phone on a bus. The single biggest thing you can do to get paid faster is not chasing harder: it is making paying take five seconds.
What this page does, and what it cannot
It builds the link and the message from an account you already have. It does not process payments, hold your money, or create a merchant account, and no page that runs entirely in your browser could do any of those things safely.
For Stripe, that means the link is created in your Stripe dashboard and pasted here, because only Stripe can create one against your account. For PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and Wise, the link is a documented public format and this page assembles it correctly, with the amount and currency already set.
Which method for which situation
Paid from abroad
Wise, almost always. It uses the real exchange rate rather than a marked-up one, and on a four-figure invoice that difference is larger than the fee.
Paid on site, today
Venmo or Cash App in a text message. Trades get paid on the day far more often when the customer can pay from the driveway rather than promising to sort it out at home.
Small repeat amounts
Tutors, salons, cleaners, dog walkers: a bank transfer is more effort than the service was. Venmo or Cash App removes the excuse entirely, and most clients already have both.
Large B2B invoices
ACH or a wire. Card fees on a five-figure invoice are real money, and a business paying that much has an accounts process anyway.
What the fees actually cost you
On a $480 invoice, a card payment costs roughly $17 and a bank transfer costs nothing. On a $10,000 invoice, the same percentage is $300, which is a day of someone's work. The rate that is irrelevant on small jobs is the one to think hardest about on large ones.
The figures on this page are headline domestic rates and move with country, card type and volume, which is why they are labeled roughly. Use them to compare, not to quote.
- Card, via PayPal or Stripe: about 3% plus a fixed fee. Instant, and the client can pay with a card they already have.
- Venmo business: 1.9% plus 10 cents. Instant, and the customer already has it.
- Cash App business: 2.75%. Same idea, common in trades and services.
- Wise: around 0.5%, and cheapest of all when the client is in another country.
- ACH or Zelle: free, one to three days, and the easiest to get wrong.
The reference, and why every payment needs one
A payment that lands with no reference is a payment you have to trace. Multiply that by twenty a month and reconciliation eats a morning that should have been billable.
Put the invoice number in the link where the format allows it, in the message where it does not, and ask for it explicitly on ACH and Zelle. PayPal.me carries an amount but no reference; Venmo does, in the note field; Zelle has neither, which is worth knowing before you rely on it for anything you have to reconcile.
Once the payment arrives, mark it against the invoice the same day. If it does not arrive, the late fee calculator works out the interest and writes the reminder, and the days past due calculator shows how late it is.
Payment link questions
What is a payment link?
A URL that opens a payment screen with the amount already filled in. The client taps it, confirms, and the money moves. It removes the steps where most late payment actually happens: finding the details and typing them correctly.
How do I create a payment link for free?
Pick your provider above, enter your username or ID, the amount and the invoice reference, and the link is built for you. PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and Wise links are free to create and free to send. Fees, where they exist, are charged on the payment rather than the link.
How do I add a payment link to an invoice?
In the payment section of the invoice generator, add the same PayPal, Venmo or Cash App handle you used here and the invoice prints the link with a QR code beside it, so your client can pay from the PDF or scan a paper copy. For a Stripe or Wise link, paste the link from this page into the invoice notes.
Can I create a Stripe payment link here?
The link itself has to be created in your Stripe dashboard, under Payment links, because only Stripe can issue one against your account. Paste it here and this page builds the message and the share links around it.
Do payment links expire?
The PayPal.me, Venmo, Cash App and Wise links built here point at your own account handle, so they keep working for as long as that account does. A Stripe payment link stays live until you deactivate it in your Stripe dashboard.
What is a PayPal.me link and how does it work?
A short link in the form paypal.me/yourname/50USD that opens PayPal with the amount set. It is free to create, works from any device, and does not require the payer to have a PayPal account in most countries.
Which payment method has the lowest fees?
ACH and Zelle are free. Wise is around half a percent and cheapest across borders. Venmo business is 1.9% plus 10 cents, Cash App 2.75%, and cards through PayPal or Stripe near 3% plus a fixed fee, which matters little on a small invoice and a great deal on a large one.
How do I send a payment link on WhatsApp?
Build the link above, then use the WhatsApp button. It opens WhatsApp with the message and link already written, and you choose who to send it to. Trades in particular get paid faster this way than by email.
Do payment links work internationally?
PayPal, Wise and Stripe all work across borders, and Wise is usually cheapest because it converts at the real exchange rate. Venmo, Cash App and Zelle are US only. A wire works anywhere but costs both sides and takes days.
Can I use Venmo or Cash App for business payments?
Yes, on a business profile. Venmo charges 1.9% plus 10 cents and Cash App 2.75%. Taking business payments through a personal account breaks both platforms' terms and leaves the customer without purchase protection, so set up the business profile first.
Is it safe to send a payment link by text or email?
Yes, for the links here: they contain your public payment handle and an amount, nothing secret. Never send account credentials, one-time codes or card numbers the same way, and be wary of anyone asking you to change bank details by email.
Why does my payment arrive without a reference?
Some formats carry an amount but no reference field. PayPal.me and Zelle are the common culprits; Venmo has a note field and Cash App does not. Ask for the invoice number explicitly in your message whenever the link cannot carry it.
Is this payment link generator free?
Yes. No signup, and nothing you type leaves your browser: the links are assembled on your own device and never sent anywhere.
Now put it on the invoice.
The invoice generator carries this link as a QR code your client can scan straight off the page.
Make an invoice