You finish a project, send the invoice, and wait. The client opens it, looks for the bank details, opens their banking app, enters an IBAN they have to cross-check three times, and submits a wire transfer that will arrive — if nothing goes wrong — in two to four business days. That process has not changed meaningfully in twenty years, and most people on both sides of it accept the friction as the cost of getting paid.
A payment link is a different starting point. The invoice has a link. The client clicks it, a payment flow opens on their device, they confirm and send. The money moves on the Spondula network and arrives in the recipient's wallet in seconds. The IBAN, the wire transfer, the two-to-four-day wait — none of that is part of the transaction.
What a payment link is
A payment link is a shareable URL that opens a Spondula payment flow when clicked. It encodes the recipient's Shandle and, optionally, a fixed amount. The person clicking the link does not need to know the recipient's account details, does not need to open a separate banking app, and does not need to navigate away from whatever they are doing to complete a complex international wire.
They click. They confirm the amount. They send. The payment completes on the Spondula network.
The link can be included in an email, embedded in a PDF invoice, shared via messaging, posted on a project management platform, or added to a social profile. It works anywhere a URL works — which means anywhere.
How it works on Spondula
A Spondula business account generates payment links from the wallet interface. Each link is tied to the account holder's Shandle and can carry a fixed amount or a variable amount. A freelancer invoicing a client for a specific project creates a link for that exact amount; a service business offering multiple tiers creates a link for each. The links are reusable or single-use, depending on the use case.
When the client clicks the link and completes the payment, the amount arrives in the recipient's wallet as a network token — USD-S, GBP-S, EUR-S — instantly. No batch processing, no banking cut-off time, no end-of-week reconciliation. The payment is in the wallet the moment the client sends it.
Because the payment moves on the Spondula network rather than through a correspondent-bank chain, the origin of the payment does not add a variable to the settlement time. A client in Berlin paying a link sent by a designer in Lagos takes the same time as a client in London paying a link sent by a designer in Manchester. The network does not have a domestic mode and an international mode.
Who payment links work best for
Payment links suit any business or individual who gets paid remotely and wants a simpler alternative to traditional wire transfers or card-payment gateways.
- Freelancers and independent consultants. Include the link in every invoice. Clients who use Spondula pay instantly; the link replaces the account-details section of the invoice for those clients.
- Service businesses. Coaches, tutors, designers, developers, translators — anyone who invoices for completed work and wants payment to arrive before the next project starts.
- Online sellers without a checkout page. A business that sells through social media, direct message, or email can share a payment link in the same thread where the sale happens, rather than directing the customer to a third-party checkout.
- Event organisers and community groups. Collecting fees for a workshop, a group trip, a club membership — a link shared in a group message is a faster collection mechanism than a bank transfer request sent to twenty people.
Payment links, QR codes, and bank transfers — when to use which
The three payment methods cover different situations. A bank transfer is the fallback — it works when neither party is on the same network, at the cost of speed and fees. A QR code is the in-person version — the customer and the merchant are in the same room, the customer scans and pays at the point of transaction. A payment link is the remote version — sender and recipient are not in the same location, and the payment flows through a shareable URL rather than a scanned code.
A business that operates both in-person and online may use QR codes at a physical location and payment links for remote transactions. Both work through the same Spondula wallet; the money arrives in the same place regardless of which method the customer used.
A payment link that works across borders, settles in seconds, and lives in an email is a different kind of invoice infrastructure — one built for the way remote business actually works.
— Spondula, built for businesses that operate across borders
Getting paid should not take longer than doing the work. A payment link is the version of an invoice that agrees.
Spondula is pre-launch and building its business tier. If you run a freelance practice or a service business that gets paid remotely across borders, the Business waitlist is the starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Does the client need a Spondula wallet to use a payment link?
Yes — to pay through a Spondula payment link, the client needs a Spondula wallet. As the network grows, the proportion of clients who can pay directly through a link increases. During the pre-launch period, payment links work for clients who are on the network.
Can I include a payment link in a standard invoice PDF?
Yes. A payment link is a standard URL and can be included in any document or message that supports hyperlinks — a PDF invoice, an email, a project management comment, a messaging app. Anywhere you would currently put bank account details, you can put a payment link instead.
What happens if the client pays the wrong amount?
A fixed-amount payment link prevents this by encoding the exact amount into the link — the client confirms a pre-set figure rather than entering their own. For variable-amount links, the sender enters the amount and both parties see a confirmation screen before the payment completes.
How do I create a payment link?
Payment links are generated from within the Spondula business wallet interface. Spondula is pre-launch; business accounts are being onboarded through the launch partner programme ahead of the full product launch.
Is a payment link different from an S-handle?
An Shandle is your permanent identifier on the network — it resolves to your account and can receive payments any time. A payment link is a specific, shareable URL that opens a structured payment flow, optionally with a fixed amount pre-set. Both point to the same wallet; a link is more directed than a handle, and more useful when you need a client to pay a specific amount without needing to know your handle themselves.
Spondula is a global payments network. It is not a bank, exchange, investment platform, or broker. Availability, pricing, and Operator coverage vary by country. Bitcoin rewards depend on real network activity and are not guaranteed. See our terms and conditions for full details.
