Send a Payment Link with Virtual Terminal
Send payment links directly to your customers via text message using Square's Virtual Terminal from your laptop or desktop computer. You can collect contactless payments from customers in real-time when they aren’t physically at your payments. Payment links are a secure payment method customers can use to pay right from their mobile device using their debit or credit card—including mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay—or via Afterpay where available.
Pricing
There are no monthly fees for sending payment links via text message from your Virtual Terminal. You’ll only pay Square’s standard Virtual Terminal processing fee of 2.2% (incl. GST) per transaction.
Afterpay and Virtual Terminal
With Virtual Terminal, you can send online payment links to your customers to accept payments via Afterpay. Your customers can spread payments between $1.00 and $2,000 over interest-free installments.
To help you start using Afterpay with Virtual Terminal, from now through July 30, 2022, you’ll pay 2.2% (incl. GST) per transaction. After our promotions, Afterpay processing fees will be 6% + 30¢ (excl. GST) across Square Online and In-Person.
Note: Afterpay rates are fixed and do not vary by subscription type, hardware, or custom pricing.
You can go to Payment Methods to enable or disable Afterpay at any time. To get started:
- Go to Virtual Terminal from your online Square Dashboard.
- Click Settings > Checkout.
- Under Payment Methods, ensure Send Payment Link is toggled on.
- Click Manage Settings.
- If the status is Inactive, next to Afterpay click ••• then click Edit settings.
- Ensure Online is toggled on.
You can now send payment links to customers and accept Afterpay as a payment option.
Note: The setting for online payments with Afterpay is global and applies across all Square products that can also take Afterpay payments online. This includes other online platforms such as Square Online and Square Online Checkout. There isn’t a way to disable Afterpay only for Virtual Terminal at this time.
To see if you are eligible for Afterpay, visit our Square Online eligibility and In-Person eligibility.
Send Payment Links
From your Virtual Terminal, select Virtual Terminal > Take a Payment.
Add the items and the customer.
From the Payment Method section of Payment Details, select Send Payment Link.
Select your customer's country code.
Enter the customer's phone number and click Send Link.
Wait for confirmation that the customer completed the payment.
Note: Selecting the back button while the payment is pending will cancel the payment link. Wait until you receive the payment before closing the window.
Your customer will receive a text message with a payment link. The link will take your customers directly to an online checkout page to pay on their mobile devices.
FAQ
Yes. Payment links are for taking contactless payments in real-time, like while you’re on the phone with the customer. The link will expire if you close the window or if the customer doesn’t pay as soon as the link has been opened.
If you want to send a payment link your customer can use to pay at a later time, you can also send them a Checkout Link or an Invoice.
- Payment Cards: Your customer can securely pay via a debit or credit card with the Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, or eftpos logo.
- Digital Wallets: Apple Pay and Google Pay. Note: Samsung Pay acceptance is not yet available.
- Afterpay: Using Virtual Terminal, you can also send an online checkout link which your customer can pay using Afterpay.
You can’t manually add a tip on behalf of the customer when creating a new payment link via Virtual Terminal. If desired, the customer will have the option to add a tip while completing the transaction from their device.
The customer can tip 5%, 10%, 20%, or a custom amount of their choice.
To enable tipping via Virtual Terminal:
- Select Settings > Checkout.
- Toggle on Collect Tips, then adjust your tip settings.
- Select Save once you’re finished.
For more on tipping, visit Get Started with Square Online Checkout Links.