Payment links: How to accept payments without a webshop

You have just made a deal with a customer, and now the payment needs to be sorted. Maybe it is an invoice, a deposit, or just a quick order that came in by email or phone. The customer wants to pay, you want the money, but there is no checkout for them to go through.

So you send an invoice. And wait. Just like people did in 1998.

This is where payment links come in. Instead of the customer having to figure it out themselves, you send them a link. They click and pay. It takes less than a minute.

With ePay Link, you create a payment request directly in our Back Office, or via API if you want it to happen automatically. You enter the amount, send the link, and can follow in real time whether the customer has opened it and completed the payment. If many customers need to pay in the same place, at a stall or an entrance for example, you create a single Multilink instead, which everyone can scan.

Simple. And it works.

Follow the status of your payment links

When your customer opens the link, they land directly in your payment window - they choose a payment method and pay straight away by card, MobilePay, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Why use payment links?

Not all payments fit into a webshop. It could be an invoice payment, a deposit for a trip, or you might be in the middle of some dialogue-based upselling. In those situations, it is frankly cumbersome to send the customer through a webshop, or, heaven forbid, send an old-fashioned invoice for payment.

This is where payment links can make the process simpler and more natural. The customer does not have to go searching for the right product or navigate through online banking. A few examples of when it makes sense:

• A travel agency sends a deposit link directly in the email thread, so the payment is in place before the booking is confirmed.
• A consultant finishes a meeting and sends the payment link the same day - the customer pays when it suits them.
• A supplier with regular customers sends a link with each order instead of waiting for bank transfers.

Once the customer has received a payment request, they have 60 days to pay by default. You can of course adjust this to fit your setup.

At the same time, you can show the payment request as a QR code if you are face to face with the customer, for example. They scan the QR code, choose their payment method and approve. No runaround!

This is particularly useful when you are on-site with the customer. Instead of fumbling around with a terminal, you simply show your QR code. The code belongs to that one payment, though. If the same code is going to be used by everyone who stops by your stand at the trade fair, a Multilink is what you need.

How to create a payment request

ePay Link is included in the Grow and Enterprise plans - you do not pay extra for it.

Payment requests can be created in two different ways:

Create it yourself (Back Office)

Go to Links in the left-hand menu, enter the amount, click 'Create payment request' and send the link to the customer. That is all there is to it. Perfect for a deal that has just landed, a quick order or an additional payment.

Enter the amount and create a link - it is that simple

Let the system do the work (API)

If you want to avoid creating payment requests manually every time, you can automate it via API. This does of course require that you set up the integration first, either yourself or with a developer.

Once that is in place, your invoicing, booking or CRM system can automatically create and send payment links to the customer. So instead of doing it manually every time, it runs in the background.

Automate link payments via API

See more in the documentation here: https://docs.epay.eu/api/create-payment-link

Multilink: one QR code that all your customers can pay with

A payment request is built for one payment. Once the customer has paid, the link is used up. That suits the invoice and the deposit, but not the stall at the Christmas market, where customers queue all Saturday.

A Multilink is one link and one QR code that you create once and use again and again. Every time someone opens the link or scans the code, a new payment starts based on the settings you have chosen. You can print the code and put it on the sign, the counter or the door, and it works until you deactivate it yourself.

You decide whether the amount is fixed or whether the customer enters it themselves. You also decide which payment methods the customer can choose between. The sign you know from the flea market usually takes MobilePay only. A Multilink can take card, MobilePay, Apple Pay and Google Pay on the same code, or just one of them if that is what you want.

A few examples:

• A potter at the Christmas market puts the code on the counter, and customers enter the amount for whatever they have in their hands.
• A theatre society sets a fixed ticket price and hangs the code by the door.
• A scout group is raising money for a new cabin, and people give whatever amount they like.
• A gym hangs the code at the front desk, and new members sign up and pay for the first month in one go.

How to create a Multilink

You will find Multilink under Links in the left-hand menu, the same place as the payment requests. Click 'Create multilink' and fill in the form:

• Amount and currency. The amount the customer is to pay. Can the customer choose the amount themselves, or do you have fixed amounts for them to choose between?
• Point of sale. Which of your points of sale the payments should belong to, if you have more than one.
• Instant capture (optional). Captures the payment the moment the customer pays, so you do not have to capture it afterwards. It makes sense when the customer gets the item in their hands straight away.
• Let the customer choose the amount. Switch it on if the customer is to enter the amount themselves.
• Enable age verification. See the section on age verification further down.
• Subscription. Creates a subscription once the customer has paid.

Create a Multilink: choose the amount, the point of sale, and whether the customer can enter the amount themselves

Once the Multilink has been created, you get the link and the QR code, which you can print or share. The payments end up in the transaction list just like all other payments. When the code is no longer needed, you deactivate the Multilink, and then nobody can start a new payment on it.

Multilinks can also be created via API. See the documentation here: https://docs.epay.eu/api/payment-links/create-multi-link

Payment request or Multilink?

A payment request is for one specific customer and one payment of the amount you set, is valid for 60 days by default, and is typically used for invoices, deposits and orders by email or phone. A Multilink can be used by anyone, as many times as you like, with a fixed amount or an amount the customer enters themselves, is valid until you deactivate it, and is typically used for stalls, tickets, fundraising and memberships.

Age verification on payment links

If you sell age-restricted goods, you can switch on age verification when you create the link. This applies to both payment requests and Multilinks.

It works the same way as in the checkout. If the customer chooses MobilePay, the check happens in the background. If the customer chooses card, they go via MitID (the Danish national eID), which takes a couple of seconds.

The check applies to the person completing the payment, so it does not replace your own check when the item is delivered or handed over. If the microbrewery has a Multilink on the bar at the beer festival, it is still the bartender who has to look at who is getting the beer.

Read more in our article on age verification

Ready to send your first payment link?

Create a free test account and try it yourself. You can create payment requests and Multilinks, send them to yourself and test the whole thing as many times as you like before going live.

Next time a deal lands in your inbox, you do not need to send an invoice and cross your fingers. Send a link instead.

Create a free test account here: Create account