Firm staff who are asked “What is this Link option on my payment screen?” can use this article to explain where Stripe Link comes from, what a client experiences, and what the firm can control.
What Stripe Link is
Stripe Link is a wallet built and operated by Stripe. It lets a payer save cards and U.S. bank accounts and reuse them across supported Stripe checkouts—not only with Aiwyn. A client may therefore be offered Link because they created a wallet while paying another business.
Aiwyn does not store, access, or manage Link wallet data. The wallet, its saved payment methods, and the authentication used to unlock it are controlled by Stripe.
Where Link appears
Link appears within the Card payment option in:
- Client Portal checkout for invoice and non-invoice payments
- Quick Payment Links that use card checkout
- Engagement-based payment flows that use card checkout
- Client Portal View when a firm user takes a payment on a client's behalf
Link is enabled for firms by default. It can be turned off firm-wide by Aiwyn Support or the Aiwyn Implementation team; it is not a self-serve firm setting.
Link does not remove or replace Aiwyn's standard ACH option. However, a returning client may select either a saved card or a saved U.S. bank account from their Link wallet. A saved bank account selected through Link settles as ACH and is priced and reported as ACH.
What the client experiences
A client selects an invoice or starts a non-invoice payment, chooses Card, and sees the shortcut Secure, Fast Checkout With Link. The client enters an email address and phone number so Stripe can determine whether a Link wallet already exists.
The next steps depend on whether the client has used Link before:
- First-time user: The client enters a payment method and billing contact details, and Stripe creates the wallet.
- Returning user: Stripe sends a one-time verification code to the client's mobile device. After verification, the client chooses a saved card or U.S. bank account without re-entering the payment details.
Both paths return the client to the same Pay action in the payment portal. Repeat payers receive a shorter checkout; first-time users complete approximately the same amount of information as they would without Link.
The phone number and verification code are part of Stripe's authentication process, not settings configured by the firm.
How Link payments are processed
The payment follows the normal process for the underlying method selected from the Link wallet:
- A saved card is processed as a card payment.
- A saved U.S. bank account is processed as ACH.
- Client-facing processing fees are calculated the same way as they are for a directly entered payment of the same type.
- Link does not add a separate indicator to Aiwyn's payment records. A card payment made through Link looks the same as a directly entered card payment.
- Refunds and disputes follow the normal process for the underlying payment method, with no extra Link-specific step for the firm.
Why firm users cannot manage a client's wallet
Firm users cannot view, add, edit, or remove a client's Link-saved payment methods. They also cannot access Link authentication or wallet details. This is not a permission that a firm admin can enable—the wallet belongs to the client and is managed by Stripe.
This is separate from Aiwyn's saved payment methods, where methods saved by a client are hidden from firm staff and methods saved by firm staff are hidden from the client. In either case, when a client says a payment method is saved, firm staff cannot confirm, view, or remove it on the client's behalf.
See the client experience
Watch the Stripe Link payment walkthrough. The recording can be used by both clients and firm staff to understand the checkout flow.
Related
- How Aiwyn payments work
- Accepted payment methods
- International card payments
- Take a payment on a client's behalf
- Save a client's payment method