What is a tip link, and how do you use one?

What is a tip link?

A tip link is a short web address that belongs to you and opens your tip page. The page shows your name and your message, and the customer picks an amount and pays. That's the whole thing.

On tipme, your tip page gets its own link, for example payment.tipme-app.com/p/ followed by a short code. The same link also comes as a QR code. So one page covers customers in front of you and customers who already left.

Nothing gets installed. The page opens in the customer's phone browser and they tip as a guest, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The money sits in your tipme account until you withdraw it to your bank.

Why do tip links make sense in 2026?

Because fewer customers carry cash. The Federal Reserve's 2026 payments diary put cash at 14% of consumer payments in 2025, down from about a third in 2016. A customer who wants to tip and has no bills needs some other way to do it.

Phones are that other way. In the US, digital wallets made up 40% of online transaction value in 2025, according to Worldpay's 2026 Global Payments Report. Links have gone mainstream too: Cash App launched payment links in February 2026, and PayPal launched its own in September 2025, according to Payments Dive.

Put those together. A link dropped into a text is now a normal way to pay someone, and a tip is one more thing people pay for that way.

Where should you share your tip link?

Anywhere a customer might think about thanking you after the fact. Some spots that work:

• A text after the job. Send the link with a short thank-you before you leave, or right after.
• Your social bio. Instagram, TikTok or Linktree. Regulars who follow you can tip from there.
• Your email signature. Every message to a client carries it.
• Your Google Business Profile. Customers who look you up can find it there.
• As a QR code. Print it or show it on your phone for customers standing in front of you.

Keep one tip link and send it every time. Regulars start to expect it, and nobody has to ask how to tip you.

When should you send a link instead of a QR code?

Customer not in front of you? Send the link. Standing right there? Show the QR code. Both open the same tip page.

A dog walker who never meets the owner, a house cleaner whose client is at work, a mover finishing up after the customer drove off: these are link moments. A barber's chair, a valet stand or a bar counter are QR moments. Plenty of jobs need both, and you don't have to pick, since one page gives you both. For printed codes, see where to put your tip QR code.

How is a tip link different from Venmo, Cash App or Zelle?

Those apps started as ways for people to pay each other back. Rent. Dinner. A gift between friends. A tip link is built for a customer thanking you for a service, and that changes a few things you'll notice right away.

Then there are the rules. A tip from a customer is money from your work, so it's worth knowing where each app draws the line on work payments in a personal account, as of October 2026:

• Venmo says personal profiles can't take business payments unless the payer tags the payment as a purchase or the seller has a business profile. Its help center adds that it may not recover your losses from purchase activity it hasn't approved.
• PayPal may close a personal account whose activity is mainly business, unless you convert it to a business account.
• Cash App keeps personal balances for non-commercial use. The newer exception: verified sole proprietors can turn on "Earn in P2P" and take payments for goods and services in a personal account.
• Zelle works for business payments only if your bank offers Zelle for small business accounts.

A tip link skips that question, since taking tips from customers is the reason it exists. Still thinking about a personal app account? Read whether Venmo or Cash App work for tips.

What does a tip link cost?

On tipme, the link is free and there's no monthly fee. Each tip carries one flat processing fee, the same for every card and wallet, and you decide who covers it.

As of October 2026, if the customer covers it, about 4.1% + $0.31 is added at checkout and you receive the full tip. If you cover it, 4% + $0.30 comes out of what you receive. Current rates live on the fees page.

Here's one $20 tip run through those published rates, as of October 2026:

Read that honestly. When you cover the fee, tipme costs $0.62 more on this tip than a Venmo business profile. What the difference buys is a page anyone with a card can use, with no app and no account, plus records that keep your tips in one place.

Getting the money out is free. Standard withdrawals to a bank account take a few business days.

How do you set up a tip link on tipme?

Sign up as an individual. No LLC. No EIN.

1. Sign up with your name, email and US mobile number.
2. Verify your identity with your SSN or ITIN. Stripe runs the check.
3. Create a tip page. Give it a title, a short message and the tip amounts you want to suggest.
4. Copy the link, or download the QR code from your dashboard or the app.
5. Link a bank account so you can withdraw.

The link works the moment the page is live. Edit the page later and the link stays exactly the same, so a link you sent last month still works.

How do you get more tips through your link?

Send it before you leave. Tipping is easiest while the job is fresh, not two days later when the visit has already slipped the customer's mind.

• Give the page a clear title. Something like "Tips for dog walks" tells the customer what they're looking at in a second.
• Let customers cover the fee if your margins are tight. They see the full total before paying.
• Turn on customer details if you'd like a name and email with each tip, so you know who to thank.
• Use the same link every time. It becomes part of how you finish a job.

For wording that doesn't feel pushy, see how to ask for tips without tip fatigue.

Is a tip link safe for the customer?

Yes, if it's real. A tipme link opens a page on tipme's own domain, Stripe processes the payment, and card numbers are never visible to you or stored by tipme. The customer sees your name and the exact total before confirming.

The FTC says to inspect the web address before opening any link or code that turns up somewhere unexpected. Pass that on. Check the address, check the name, then tip. Our guide on whether QR code payments are safe shows what a fake looks like.

Frequently asked questions