Add a Mollie payment link to your website
Mollie payment links cost nothing to create and work as an ordinary URL, which makes them an easy way to take a payment without building a shop. One setting decides whether the link belongs on a website at all.
Quick answer
In your Mollie dashboard, open Payment links from the menu bar and click Create. Set an amount, write a description, and choose whether to set an expiry date. Mollie gives you a URL and a QR code, and the URL works as a button on any website builder. The setting that matters for a website is the expiry: a link with an expiry date stops working on that date, so a dated link behind a permanent Pay now button will quietly start failing. Leave it open-ended for anything that lives on your site, and use dated links only for one-off requests you send directly.
Open-ended or dated, and where each belongs
| Open-ended link | Link with an expiry date | |
|---|---|---|
| Put it on your website | Yes | No, it will break |
| Send it to one customer | Fine | Better, it lapses on its own |
| Good for | Deposits, fixed-price services | A single invoice or quote |
| After the date passes | Keeps working | Stops working entirely |
Step-by-step
- 1
Create the link
In the Mollie menu bar, click Payment links, then Create in the top right. Add the amount you want to request and a description. Creating a payment request is free — you pay only the standard transaction cost when a customer actually pays, so there is no penalty for making several and keeping the ones that work.
- 2
Leave the expiry blank for anything on your website
Get this one wrong and nothing else on the page helps. An expiry date is useful for a single invoice, because the link lapses on its own instead of sitting live indefinitely. It is wrong for a website button, because the button keeps looking fine while the link behind it has stopped working. Open-ended for published links, dated for sent ones.
- 3
Put the URL behind a button
The link is a plain URL, so it works in any website builder without a plugin or an embed. Label the button with what is being paid for and the amount if it is fixed — Pay your 50 euro deposit converts better than a bare Pay now, because the customer knows what will happen before they click.
- 4
Use the QR code where a link cannot go
Mollie also generates a QR code for the same payment. That is the version for printed material, a card on the counter, or a quote you hand over in person, and it points at the same checkout as the button on your site.
- 5
Pay once through it yourself
Run a small payment through the live link and refund it. It confirms the amount, the description and the branding, and there's no other way to see the page as a customer sees it.
Tips & best practices
- If a website payment button ever stops working for no apparent reason, check the expiry date on the link first. That is nearly always the cause.
- Mollie is strongest for European payment methods, so if a meaningful share of your customers pay by iDEAL or Bancontact it is likely a better fit than a card-first provider.
- Keep one open-ended deposit link and reuse it rather than creating a new link per enquiry. Fewer links means fewer places for a stale one to hide.
Common questions
Does it cost anything to create a payment link?
+−
No. Creating a payment request is free. You pay the standard transaction cost only when a customer completes a payment.
Can I reuse one link for multiple customers?
+−
Yes, provided the amount is the same for each of them. So an open-ended link suits a deposit or a fixed-price service.
Why has my payment link stopped working?
+−
If you set an expiry date when you created it, the link and its QR code stop working once that date passes. Create a replacement without an expiry for anything published on your site.
Do I need a developer to add this to my site?
+−
No. The link is an ordinary URL, so it goes behind a button in any website builder. Mollie also has an API for developers, but nothing about a simple payment button requires it.