A payout link lets you pay someone in crypto when you do not have their wallet address. All you need is their email address.
The problem it solves
Normally, to send a crypto payout you first need the recipient's wallet address and the network they want to be paid on. That means asking them, waiting, and often explaining what you need. If they get it wrong, the payment goes nowhere.
With a payout link, you skip that entirely. You set the amount, we hold the funds, and the recipient chooses for themselves which cryptocurrency and wallet they want to receive into. They do not need a CoinGate account.
What you set when creating one
- The amount and currency the recipient will see. It does not have to match the balance you pay from.
- The balance that funds it — crypto or fiat.
- A purpose, such as "Q1 affiliate payout" or "Invoice 4421". The recipient sees this, and it is what makes the link read as expected rather than as a scam.
- An expiry, from one to seven days.
- The recipient's email. You can let us send the link, or take the URL and send it yourself.
You will find the form in the dashboard under Payouts → Payout links.
As you enter the amount, the form shows what the recipient gets, the transfer fee and the total that comes off your balance.
What happens to your money
The amount and the fees come off your balance the moment you create the link, not when it is collected. This is a hold rather than a charge, and it is the most that link can ever cost you.
If the link expires uncollected, if you cancel it, or if the payout cannot be completed, the full amount returns to your balance — fees included. You only pay when a payout actually goes through.
The review screen before you confirm summarises everything, including a reminder that uncollected funds return to your balance after expiry.
Before you start
Three things need to be in place: crypto payouts are active on your account, you are an owner or an administrator, and the balance covers the amount plus fees. If your business uses multi-approval for payouts, a new link waits for sign-off before its URL becomes active.
Tracking and cancelling
Links move from pending to processing once the recipient confirms, and then to completed. Expired, canceled and failed all return your funds.
You can cancel a link while it is still pending. Once the recipient has confirmed and the payout is in flight, cancelling is no longer possible, the same as with any other crypto payout. Links cannot be edited — if something is wrong, cancel and create a new one.
Is a forwarded link a risk?
No. When the recipient opens the link, a one-time code is sent to the email address you entered, and it cannot be changed. The link is tied to that person.
More detail
Our blog covers this in more depth: an overview of payout links, a step-by-step walkthrough of creating one, and what the recipient sees when collecting.