Telegram Stars Payment Links: Create One in 60 Seconds Without Coding

What is a Telegram Stars payment link?

A payment link (also called an invoice link) is a special Telegram URL that, when opened, shows the user a native payment sheet with a product title, description, picture and a price in Stars. The user confirms with one tap, Telegram debits their Stars and the seller is credited. Behind the scenes the link is produced by the Bot API method createInvoiceLink with currency="XTR".

Unlike an invoice sent as a message to one user, a link is reusable and shareable. The same link can be posted in a channel, placed in a website button, sent in a DM or printed as a QR code, and every click produces an independent payment.

How to create a Telegram Stars payment link without code

1. Log in with Telegram on Telegram Stars Payment Platform. Account creation is free.
2. Open Invoices and click New invoice.
3. Fill in the title (what the customer sees as the product name), a description of what they get, and the amount in Stars.
4. Click Create. The link is generated through the platform's bot and shown immediately.
5. Copy the link, or create a redirect with a memorable slug for tracking (see below).

Short redirect links and click tracking

Raw Telegram invoice links are long and opaque. Telegram Stars Payment Platform lets you create a short redirect such as telegram-stars.io/r/premium-course that forwards to your payment link. Redirects give you:

• Click counts per link, so you can compare a channel post against an Instagram bio or an email campaign.
• Editable destinations: point the slug to a new invoice (new price, new product) without re-sharing the URL.
• Readable URLs that look trustworthy in a bio or a printed QR code.

What the buyer sees

Tapping the link opens Telegram (or stays in it) and displays the payment sheet with your title, description and the Stars price. If the user has enough Stars, a single confirmation completes the payment. If they do not, Telegram offers to buy a Stars pack on the spot and then completes the purchase. There is no form to fill in, no card number to type, and the whole flow works on iOS, Android, desktop and web.

What the seller sees

• A real-time balance in the dashboard, split between total, maturing and available.
• A ledger entry per payment with the amount, date, link used and payer reference.
• A maturity date for each payment (21 days after receipt), after which it becomes withdrawable.
• A withdrawal form to pay out to any TON wallet from 100 Stars.

Use cases for payment links

More ideas in How to sell digital products on Telegram with Stars.

Tips for higher conversion

• Keep the title under 32 characters so it is fully visible in the payment sheet.
• Use the description to state exactly what happens after payment ("You will be added to the private group within 1 minute").
• Match prices to common Stars packs: 50, 100, 250, 500, 1,000.
• Post the link with a clear call to action and repeat it in the pinned message.
• Create one link per campaign and compare click-to-payment ratios.

Payment links vs sending invoices from a bot

If you run your own bot, you can send invoices directly in a chat with sendInvoice. That is ideal for conversational flows (the user asks for something, the bot answers with a price). Links are better for broadcasting: one URL, unlimited buyers, no need for the buyer to have interacted with your bot first. Many sellers use both.

Security and trust

Payment links never expose card data; payments are settled by Telegram. Buyers can see the name of the bot issuing the invoice, so use a recognisable bot name and avatar. Refunds are possible at any time from the seller side, and Telegram's 21-day hold protects buyers from fraudulent sellers. Learn more in Refunds and payout rules.