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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 Afterpay 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 3.5% + $0.15 per transaction.

Send Payment Links

To send payment links from Virtual Terminal:

  1. From your Virtual Terminal Overview page, select Take a Payment.

  2. Add the items and the customer.

  3. From the Payment Method section of Payment Details, select Send Payment Link.

  4. Select your customer's country code.

  5. Enter the customer's phone number and click Send Link.

  6. 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.  

Afterpay and Virtual Terminal

Overview

With Virtual Terminal, you can send online payment links to your customers to accept payments via Afterpay. Your customers can spread payments between $1 and $2,000 over four interest-free installments.

Learn more about Afterpay and Square.

Afterpay pricing

Enabling Afterpay with Square is free—there are no monthly fees or startup costs. The Afterpay processing fee is 6% + 30¢ per Afterpay order.

  • Square sellers using Afterpay 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 installments or if your customer makes a late payment.
  • Afterpay rates are fixed and do not vary by subscription type, hardware, or custom pricing.

Enable or disable Afterpay

You can go to Payment Methods to enable or disable Afterpay at any time. To get started:

  1. From your Virtual Terminal Overview page, go to Settings > Checkout.
  2. Under Payment Methods, ensure Send Payment Link is toggled on.
  3. Click Manage Settings.
  4. If the Afterpay status is Inactive, click ••• > Edit settings.
  5. Toggle on the Online option and select Save when finished.

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.

Afterpay eligibility

To see if you’re eligible for Afterpay, review details for Square Online eligibility and In-Person eligibility.

FAQ

Do I have to wait for my customer to complete the transaction?

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.

Which payment methods are available to my customer?

  • Payment Cards: Your customer can securely pay via a debit or credit card with the Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, or UnionPay logo.
  • Digital Wallets: Your customer can also pay using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.
  • Afterpay: Using Virtual Terminal, you can also send an online checkout link which your customer can pay using Afterpay.

How does tipping on payment links work?

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:

  1. Select Settings > Checkout.
  2. Toggle on Collect Tips, then adjust your tip settings.
  3. Select Save once you’re finished.

For more on tipping, visit Get Started with Square Online Checkout Links.

Can I send payment links to an international mobile number?

Yes. Select the customer’s country code and confirm the mobile number with the customer before sending.