Merchants have many options for requesting payments from customers for a product or service. One is having an online store and other methods such as bank transfers, cheques, digital wallets, and cash. With most payment transactions across the MENA still taking place offline, there are plenty of opportunities for payment methods to take a market share.
What is a payment link?
A Payment Link is a secure way for merchants to request payment from customers remotely. In other words, a “Payment Request” link is sent to customers via email, text message, or WhatsApp, for example. The link directs customers to a landing page for payment displaying the required amount, merchant information, and payment options such as credit card and Apple Pay. Customers then complete the payment and complete the process.
Who is the payment link used by?
The payment links are typically used by different businesses for multiple use cases:
- Merchants provide delivery services for goods and products without an e-commerce store or with partial non-online services. Such merchants use payment links to request payment from their customers before delivery and collect it before dispatch.
- Social media stores: Facebook and Instagram stores are becoming more popular, and using payment links is an ideal way for such merchants to send payment requests while securely chatting with customers.
- Freelancers: regardless of the customer acquisition channel, freelancers use payment links to collect from their customers quickly and efficiently compared to using cheques or bank transfers, especially since the work is usually remote and often digital
- B2B merchants: Service companies, for example, dealing with other companies, typically prefer to send payment links attached to their invoices to avoid delays in bank transfers and the inconvenience of cheques.
Advantages of using payment links
Payment links are not new, but their use has been accelerated by the preference of customers to avoid cash and trust online payment methods.
- This is a convenient and easy way to collect payment from customers, as the customer can make the payment through the smartphone without needing any installed mobile applications
- The received links offer multiple payment options, such as credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Knet, Mada, and others.
- The option for saving customer data for repeat customers, where certain fields can be prefilled to speed up the payment
- Merchants can usually issue links very easily, entering simple customer information to send a payment request
Paymennt.com’s payment app allows merchants to send payment links to customers securely and efficiently and guarantees payment before delivery of services or products. According to their preferences, merchants can use the Paymennt app to send payment links via email, text message, or WhatsApp, with the paid amounts being settled directly to their bank accounts.
Discover more about payment links by reading our comprehensive guidebook.
