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 with you. 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 Clearpay where available.
Pricing
There’s no monthly fee for sending payment links via text message from your Virtual Terminal. You’ll only pay Square’s standard Virtual Terminal processing fee of 2.5% per transaction.
Send Payment Links
To send payment links from Virtual Terminal:
From your Virtual Terminal Overview page, select 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 a 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.
Clearpay and Virtual Terminal
With Virtual Terminal, you can send online payment links to your customers to accept payments via Clearpay. Your customers can spread payments between £1 and £1,000 over four interest-free instalments.
Learn more about Clearpay and Square.
Enabling Clearpay with Square is free – there are no monthly fees or startup costs. The Clearpay processing fee is 6% + 30p per Clearpay order.
- Square sellers using Clearpay get paid the full amount at the time of purchase, minus a processing fee on the total order.
- You only pay when you make a sale – there are no processing fees charged on the remaining instalments or if your customer makes a late payment.
- Clearpay rates are fixed and do not vary by subscription type, hardware or custom pricing.
You can go to Payment Methods to enable or disable Clearpay at any time. To get started:
- From your Virtual Terminal Overview page, go to Settings > Checkout.
- Under Payment Methods, ensure that Send Payment Link is toggled on.
- Click Manage Settings.
- If the Clearpay status is Inactive, click ••• > Edit settings.
- Toggle on the Online option and select Save when finished.
You can now send payment links to customers and accept Clearpay as a payment option.
Note: The setting for online payments with Clearpay is global and applies across all Square products that can also take Clearpay payments online. This includes other online platforms such as Square Online and Square Online Checkout. There isn’t a way to disable Clearpay only for Virtual Terminal at this time.
To see if you’re eligible for Clearpay, review details for Square Online eligibility and In-Person eligibility.
FAQs
Yes. Payment links are for taking payments in real time, like while you’re on the phone with the customer. 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.
Tip settings are located in your Virtual Terminal. Select Settings > Checkout to adjust your tip settings. For more on tipping, visit Get Started with Square Online Checkout Links.