In this article
A payment link is a URL that takes your customer straight to paying a specific invoice. They click it, choose the payment method, and it's paid. Bank transfers require more manual work, and the difference shows up in the numbers: 72.7% of Apple Pay payments arrive on or before the due date, against 57.9% for bank transfer.
The link isn't a convenience. It's the difference between a 30 second and a 5 minute task.
The short version
- A payment link takes the customer to paying one invoice, with the amount and reference already filled in.
- Wallet and card payments arrive on time far more often than bank transfers (Adfin platform data).
- No need to type out the sort code, account number or reference means nothing to mistype, so reconciliation stays clean.
- Put the link in the message, as well as in an attachment. A PDF usually can't be paid from a phone.
- For recurring work a mandate is better still, because it removes the decision instead of shortening it.
The short answer
Send a link that pays one invoice, offers more than one method, and carries the reference already. Then the only thing left for your customer to do is approve the payment.
How a payment link works
A link is tied to a specific invoice, so the amount and the reference travel with it. Your customer opens it, picks how they want to pay, and the payment is matched back to that invoice automatically.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| You send the link | On the invoice, in the email, or in a message. The amount and reference are already attached |
| They open it | On whatever device they're holding. No login to your system, no account to create |
| They choose a method | Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, open banking, bank transfer or direct debit |
| They approve | A face, a fingerprint or a bank app confirmation |
| It reconciles | The payment carries the invoice reference, so it matches without anyone doing it by hand |
Adfin links offer direct debit, card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, open banking and bank transfer, at 1% + 20p per successful payment, capped at £4 on direct debit and bank payments.
Why a link gets paid faster than bank details
The reason is a simple one: every step you remove is a step your customer no longer has to complete.
Bank details ask your customer to open their banking app, set up a payee, type a sort code, type an account number, type a reference, and check it. A link asks them to approve a payment where the details are already filled in.
The gap is measurable. Across Adfin, on-time payment by method:
| Payment method | Paid on or before the due date |
|---|---|
| Apple Pay | 72.7% |
| Google Pay | 70.3% |
| Card | 65.1% |
| Bank payment (open banking) | 62.0% |
| Bank transfer | 57.9% |
Adfin platform data, customer-initiated payments over 26 months.
Seventeen percent separates the top of that table from the bottom, and the pattern seems to follow effort: the methods that need a face or a fingerprint are paid on time most often, and the one that needs typing is paid on time least often.
There's a second benefit that shows up later. A typed reference can be mistyped, truncated or left off, and then somebody has to work out which invoice the money belongs to. A link carries the reference with it.
How to use them well
Put the link in the message itself, as well as in the attachment. An attachment has to be opened first, and often can't be paid from a phone at all.
Give your customer more than one method. People pay with the method they prefer, and that isn't the same for every client.
Send one link per invoice. A link that pays "your balance" invites part payments and turns reconciliation into somebody's afternoon.
Keep the link live in your reminders, so a follow-up never sends your customer hunting for the original email.
And where you're dealing with a business customer, it's worth considering passing the card fee on. Adfin can add the card processing fee and collect it, on for everyone or per customer, so offering card doesn't have to cost you margin.
Statement links: one link for several invoices
The same principle scales up. Where your customer has several invoices outstanding, sending three separate links asks them to make three decisions and complete three payments, so you've given them three chances to do two and forget the third.
A statement link is one link covering everything that customer owes you. They open it, see the outstanding invoices in one place along with what they've already paid, tick the ones they want to settle, and pay those in a single payment.
Being able to settle in one payment matters more than the tidy summary. Adfin statements send an email with a View and Pay button, and from the online statement the customer can "select which invoices and payments they'd like to pay and pay those in bulk using a single payment". Statements can go out on a schedule, monthly or weekly, or on demand, and you can have them triggered by rules such as a payment being a set number of days overdue or a balance going above a set amount.
A statement can work better than another reminder. Where a customer has stopped responding to chasing on individual invoices, it moves the conversation from one invoice to the whole relationship, and that's often the more useful conversation for you to be having. It also removes an excuse that comes up regularly, that your customer can't tell which invoices are outstanding and which they have already paid.
It works less well where a single invoice is in dispute. A statement bundles the disputed item in with the rest and hands your customer a reason to pay none of it, so deal with the query first and send the statement afterwards.
One practical note on partial payment. Letting your customer pick which invoices to settle sounds like an invitation to pay some and ignore the others, and sometimes it is. But a customer who pays four invoices out of five has told you exactly which one has a problem, and that's a good deal more than silence tells you.
What to watch for
A link is still a decision, and somebody has to choose to pay. For recurring work, a direct debit mandate takes that decision away instead of shortening it, and the difference is large: where the money collects itself, 98.0% of invoices get paid, and where you have to ask for it, 90.8% (Adfin platform data, requests created in the seven months to the end of January 2026).
Your largest invoices are also the least likely to be on a mandate. Direct debit collects 68% of paid invoices under £100 and 28% of those over £2,500 (Adfin platform data), so your big ones tend to arrive by link or transfer, where somebody still has to choose to pay. A link can't shorten an internal sign-off, so confirm approval before the due date.
Branding matters more than it sounds like it should. A payment page that doesn't look like you invites a call to check it's genuine, so Adfin links carry your branding and go out from your own domain.
Common questions
What is a payment link? A URL tied to one invoice that takes your customer straight to paying it, with the amount and reference already attached. They choose a method and approve, and the payment reconciles automatically.
Do payment links actually get paid faster? The methods a link makes easy are paid on time far more often than bank transfer: 72.7% for Apple Pay against 57.9% for bank transfer. The link removes the typing, which is where the delay and the errors come from.
Can a customer pay several invoices with one link? Yes, with a statement rather than an invoice link. An Adfin statement shows everything outstanding and lets your customer select which invoices to settle and pay them in bulk in a single payment.
Are payment links secure? The payment is handled by regulated payment providers and not by you, and your customer never sends you their card or bank details directly. Adfin's payment services are delivered by FCA-regulated partners.
Can I put a payment link on a PDF invoice? Yes, and it's worth putting it in the message body as well. A link inside an attachment needs the attachment opened first, which adds a step for your customer.
Is a payment link better than direct debit? For one-off work, yes, because there's nothing to set up. For recurring work a mandate is better, because it collects on the due date without your customer deciding anything.
Can I charge the card fee to the customer? For business customers you can pass the card processing fee on. Adfin adds it and collects it, and you can turn it on per customer or for everyone.
Sources
- Adfin Help Centre — use statements to nudge customers to settle unpaid invoices (accurate as of August 2026)
This article explains how credit control works and is not legal or financial advice. Last updated August 2026.
