--- title: Pay By Link — Centime-hosted one-time links for buyers without portal access. description: paybylink paymentlink one-time-payment --- [Skip to content](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/support/pay-by-link-centime-hosted-one-time-payments-for-buyers-without-portal-access#main-content) English - United States Show submenu for translations [![Centim App Logo-1](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/hubfs/Centim%20App%20Logo-1.svg)](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/support?hsLang=en-us) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English - United States Show submenu for translations - [Contact us](https://www.centime.com/company/contact-us) [Contact us](https://www.centime.com/company/contact-us) How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Centime Knowledge Base](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/support?hsLang=en-us) 2. [Manage Receivables](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/support/manage-receivables?hsLang=en-us) 3. [Merchant Services](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/support/manage-receivables?hsLang=en-us#merchant-services) April 23, 2026 # Pay By Link — Centime-hosted one-time links for buyers without portal access. ## Centime's hosted Pay by Link allows you to collect payments from customers who do not use the Customer Portal by sending them a secure, one-time payment link for a specific invoice. Prerequisite: Merchant Services must be active on your account for Pay by Link to function and for buyer to either Pay via ACH or Credit Card. It is designed for: - Consumer (B2C) buyers rather than business AP teams - Ad hoc, one-time, or project-based payers with no ongoing relationship - Buyers in industries with lower digital sophistication who need a simpler, consumer-style payment experience - Anyone who would not typically be onboarded to the Customer Portal #### **How link generation works** . The generated link then appears once you click on 'Outstanding Balance'  next to the invoice in the Unpaid tab. Key behaviors: - One link is generated per invoice — not per customer - The link reflects the actual outstanding balance at the time of generation. - Links are one-time use only - Links can be manually generated in AR module, and also  Centime system will generate and attach them Invoice presentment and automations Reminders, Customer workflows if enabled at a buyer level explicitly. ### How to generate and share a payment link in the AR module 1\. In the Unpaid tab, click on the **Outstanding Balance** for the relevant invoice to open the invoice detail view. 2\. If the payment link is generated already for reminders, it will be displayed and ready to copy and share with your buyer. 3\. Else. click **"Generate Payment Link"** to create the link immediately. Once generated, copy and share it with your buyer. ![](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/hs-fs/hubfs/paymentlink-generated-png.png?width=670&height=360&name=paymentlink-generated-png.png) ### What the buyer sees on the payment page   When a buyer cis directed to the generated Pay by Link, they are routed to a Centime-hosted payment page showing: - Invoice details and key information - Early payment discount, if applicable - Available payment methods (ACH, card) based on the merchant's AR settings - Card surcharge, if applicable for the selected payment method - ACH discount incentive, if applicable - Payment amount field (editable or read-only — see partial payments below) The page is optimized for both web and mobile. Web : ![](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Apr-21-2026-07-36-02-2445-AM.png?width=670&height=525&name=image-png-Apr-21-2026-07-36-02-2445-AM.png)   Mobile: ![](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Apr-21-2026-07-56-26-6861-AM.png?width=500&height=867&name=image-png-Apr-21-2026-07-56-26-6861-AM.png) **Note: Buyers cannot save payment methods or view other invoices and payment history from the Pay by Link page. For those capabilities, they must use the Customer Portal.**     ### Partial payments Whether a buyer can pay partially using the payment link depends on the merchant's AR settings: | Partial payments setting | Buyer experience | | --- | --- | | Enabled (globally or at customer level) | Payment amount field is editable. Buyer can enter any amount up to the outstanding balance. The system prevents overpayment. | | Not enabled | Payment amount field is read-only and pre-filled with the full outstanding balance. Amount cannot be modified. | ### Buyer-level payment settings and email behavior Merchants can configure how each buyer can make payments via going to ***Customer Profile \> Payments \> Buyer Settings \> Online Payment Options.*** This setting directly controls which buttons appear in outbound invoice presentment, automation, workflow and reminder emails & statements sent to that buyer, and where those buttons route them when clicked. ![](https://knowledgebase.centime.com/hs-fs/hubfs/buyer_Settings_statements-png-1.png?width=670&height=663&name=buyer_Settings_statements-png-1.png)   There are four options: | Setting | "Access your portal" button | "Pay Now" button | | --- | --- | --- | | Customer portal & Pay by link | Routes to Customer Portal (full access) | Routes to Pay by Link payment page | | Customer portal only | Routes to Customer Portal (full access) | Routes to Customer Portal | | Pay by link only | Routes to Customer Portal (view-only) | Routes to Pay by Link payment page | | Disabled payments | Routes to Customer Portal (view-only) | Not shown | For accounts where Merchant Services is inactive, or where payments are disabled at the global level, the portal is always view-only and the Pay Now button is never shown. \*\*If you want buyers to have the flexibility to pay via either Pay by Link or the Customer Portal, select **Customer portal & Pay by link**. 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