Payment links
Collect a payment with one shareable link
When you need a deposit, a retainer or a quick top-up, create a link with the amount and share it anywhere. The customer pays on a hosted page through your own account, and MetroPay never holds your money.
The problem
Not every payment deserves an invoice first
A deposit before a shoot, a retainer at the start of the month, a small extra agreed in a chat. Writing a full invoice for each one is slow, and asking for a bank transfer means waiting and checking. A link does the asking for you.
Step by step
How it works, in three steps
Name the amount
A description, an amount, optionally a customer, an invoice to apply it to, and an expiry date.
Share the link
Paste it into an email, a message or a proposal. It opens a hosted page with your branding.
See it paid
The link turns paid, and if it was tied to an invoice the balance updates with it.
Create
A link in a minute, tied to an invoice or standing alone
A payment link can reference a customer and an invoice, so the payment applies itself, or stand on its own for an amount you simply need to collect. An optional expiry date closes it at the end of that day in your workspace's timezone.
- Amount, description, optional customer and invoice
- Optional expiry, never in the past, closing at end of day where you are
- Statuses: active, paid, expired or disabled
Pay
The same hosted page customers already trust
The link opens a branded page with card and mobile payment through your own Stripe or SSLCommerz account, plus your bank transfer details if you show them. It is the same page an invoice links to, so a returning customer knows exactly where they are.
- Card and mobile wallet payment through your own account
- Bank transfer details shown exactly as entered in Settings
- Runs on your own domain if you have set one up for your workspace
In practice
A practical example
Northline Studio agrees a spring campaign with Harbor & Pine Co. and wants a $500.00 deposit before booking the crew. Priya creates a link called "Deposit, spring campaign" that expires at the end of the month and pastes it into the confirmation email. The customer pays from their phone the same evening, and the link shows as paid on Northline's list.
Northline Studio is a fictional business; none of these figures are real.
Outcomes
What you get
- Collect deposits and retainers without a full invoice
- Share the link anywhere a customer can tap it
- Payments settle in your own Stripe or SSLCommerz account
- Tie a link to an invoice and the balance updates itself
- Expiry dates stop old links from being paid twice by mistake
What it does not do
- MetroPay never holds your money; the link charges through your own provider account
- It does not create subscriptions or recurring charges; use recurring invoices for that
- It does not replace an invoice for tax purposes; tie the link to an invoice when you need one
Questions about payment links
Create your first invoice in minutes
Free to use today, with no card on file and no trial clock. Add a customer, send the first invoice, and the rest of the workspace is there when you need it.