How to send a payment link by text message
A payment link is a web address that opens a secure checkout page for one specific amount. Here is how to create one, text it, and make sure your customer actually trusts it enough to tap.
Reviewed September 29, 2026 · Mandalo
What a payment link is
A payment link is a URL that takes your customer straight to a checkout page for a specific amount and description. They tap it on their phone, choose how to pay and they're done. There's no card reader, no app to install and, with the right tool, no account for the customer to create.
Step by step
- Create the request. In a payment-link tool like Mandalo, enter the amount, the customer's phone number or email and a short description of the job.
- Copy the link. For an email address, some tools (Mandalo included) can send it for you. For a phone number, copy the link yourself.
- Paste it into a text message with a short, friendly line that names you, the amount and the job.
- Watch for the paid status. The tool should show you the moment the payment goes through, so you don't have to ask "did you get it?".
Text wording you can copy
Hi [Name], it's [Your name] from [Business]. Thanks for having us out today! Here's your secure payment link for the $[amount] [job]: [link]. You can pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Let me know if you have any questions.
Hi [Name], confirming [job] on [day] for $[amount]. When we're finished I'll text you a secure payment link. You can pay right from your phone. See you then!
For more wording, including polite reminders for customers who haven't paid yet, see our payment reminder text examples.
How to make sure customers trust the link
- Warn them first. "I'll text you a payment link when I'm done" removes almost all the suspicion.
- Say who you are and what it's for in the same message. Bare links from unknown numbers look like scams.
- Use a real checkout page. A payment link that opens a branded, secure checkout (with your business name and the amount) looks legitimate. Screenshots of a QR code or a username don't.
- Never ask for card numbers over text. The customer should enter card details only on the checkout page.
Create your first payment link in Mandalo and text it to a customer. It takes under a minute, and there's no monthly fee.
Text or email?
Text is faster and gets opened more, especially for in-the-moment jobs. Email is better for bigger jobs where you want the customer to have a record they can find later. In Mandalo, entering an email lets the app send the link automatically; with a phone number you copy the link and send the text yourself, from your own number, so it comes from a name they already know.
Frequently asked questions
Does my customer need an account or an app?
Not with Mandalo. The customer opens the link and pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Nothing to sign up for or install.
Can I send a payment link from my own phone number?
Yes. Create the request, copy the link and paste it into a text from your own phone. That way the message comes from a number your customer already knows.
Is it safe to pay through a link in a text?
It's safe when the link opens a real secure checkout and you were expecting it. With Mandalo, card details are entered directly into Stripe's secure payment system and Mandalo never stores card numbers.
Send your first payment link today
No monthly fee. Mandalo charges $1.50 per successful payment, plus Stripe's standard processing fees.