Telegram has grown beyond just being a platform for casual chats or discovering interesting channels—it's now a powerful tool for businesses to build communities, support customers, and even drive sales. With seamless payment integration, Telegram allows businesses to accept payments via cards, cryptocurrency, and fiat currency transactions. Whether you're a small entrepreneur or a well-established brand, Telegram offers flexible payment options to suit your needs. In this post, we'll guide you through everything you need to know about accepting payments on Telegram, ensuring you're set up for success at every step.

Benefits for Telegram Merchants

Accepting payments in Telegram offers several advantages:

- Ease of Use: Minimal setup processes make it straightforward for merchants to start accepting payments.
- Increased Conversion : Creating a one-click checkout from within the Telegram app means customers don’t have to click into your website and go through multiple additional screens
-  Versatility: Support for both card and crypto payments offers flexibility to customers

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Distinguishing Between Payments for Digital and Physical Goods in Telegram

When it comes to accepting payments in Telegram, as a first step, it is crucial for merchants to understand the differences between handling transactions for digital and physical goods. This distinction impacts how businesses set up their payment systems, manage transactions, and ensure compliance with relevant policies. Here's a breakdown to help you navigate this process effectively.

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Payments for Digital Goods in Telegram

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What Are Digital Goods?

Digital goods generally refer to non-tangible products or services that can be delivered electronically. These include e-books, software, online courses, subscriptions, digital art, and more.

Telegram Star Payments for Digital Goods

The process of setting up payments for digital goods utilizes Telegram’s Payment API and it uses Telegram’s recently introduced in-app currency, Telegram Stars. 

Once the transaction is complete, the delivery of digital goods is instantaneous. Use your Telegram bot to trigger automatic delivery via download links, access codes, or other digital means. You can also set up subscription-based payments via Telegram Stars, which let users join exclusive channels in exchange for a monthly payment.

Using Telegram’s official payment method for selling digital goods, ensures compliance with relevant digital goods regulations and takes note of any associated transaction fees. When end-users buy Stars via the Telegram App, Telegram already takes into account fees to be paid to Apple & Google as well as VAT in the user’s jurisdiction. 

In accordance with Telegram’s T&Cs, you can only use Telegram Stars as a payment method for selling and delivering digital goods and services within Telegram. 

Circumventing the fees and official payment method may result in a ban.

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Setting up Payments for Digital Goods

1. To get started with accepting payments in Stars, you will need to set up a Bot via @BotFather
2. You will then need to set up your payment invoices using Telegram’s Payment API
3. The API response will notify you whether a payment has gone through successfully, after which you can deliver the goods to the user

Consult the official documentation for more detailed guidelines on how to implement Telegram Stars payment for selling your digital goods.

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Payments for Physical Goods in Telegram

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What Are Physical Goods?

Physical goods are tangible items like clothing, electronics, books, and more, which require shipping and delivery to the customer’s address. 

 When selling these physical products, you have the flexibility to accept payments in either cryptocurrency or fiat currency, allowing customers to check out using their credit or debit cards. It's important to note that while these payment options cater specifically to physical goods, digital goods require you to utilize Telegram Stars, as discussed earlier in this article.

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Accepting Fiat Currency and Card Payments in Telegram

Accepting card payments in Telegram is a convenient way for businesses to offer their customers a seamless checkout experience. Here's how you can get started:

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1. Select and sign up with a payment processor

It’s important to note that Telegram is not a payment processor, this means that you will have to sign up and typically go through a due diligence process (KYC / KYB) with one of the payment providers that integrate with Telegram. A payment processor is a regulated financial service provider that manages and oversees the transactions between buyers and sellers. It facilitates the smooth transfer of funds from the customer's bank or credit card to the merchant's account, ensuring secure and efficient transaction processing. 

Below is a list of payment providers that are partnered with Telegram:

• Smart Glocal
• Unlimint
• Tranzzo
• Paykassma
• YooMoney
• Sberbank
• PSB
• Bank 131
• Payme
• CLICK
• LiqPay
• LeoGaming
• Cascad
• Portmone
• Paymega
• ECOMMPAY
• PayMaster
• Global Pay UZ
• iPay88
• PayBox.money
• Freedom Pay
• bill_line
• Chapa

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Some factors to consider when selecting a payment processor are:

• Fees: Every processor has a unique fee structure, which can include transaction fees, monthly fees, or additional charges for certain types of payments (e.g., international or high-risk transactions). Understanding the full cost is crucial to avoid unexpected expenses eating into your profit margins.
• Geographies: Payment processors differ in their regional support. Some may have restrictions on where businesses can be incorporated or where payments can be accepted. It's essential to verify if a processor supports your business location and your target customer regions, especially if you operate globally.
• Set-up & Integrations: Seamless integration with your existing systems, such as accounting, inventory management or shipping, can greatly streamline operations. Before choosing, review the processor’s integration documentation to understand how easy the setup is and whether it offers compatibility with your current tools and platforms. 

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2. Create a Telegram Bot: 

Once you’ve set up a merchant account with a payment provider, you can set up a Telegram Bot through the /BotFather. This will generate the credentials required for bot integration. BotFather is a no-code tool that allows you to create a Telegram bot via simple prompts. 

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3. Integrate Your Payment Provider: 

Once you’ve created your bot, BotFather will provide you with a bot token, you can copy and paste that token into your payment provider’s portal or follow the steps as outlined by the payment provider.

Your integration should now be all set up and you can start selling goods right from within Telegram, without the user having to leave the chat. 

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Accepting Crypto Payments in Telegram

Telegram allows merchants to receive crypto payments through a secure and streamlined process. There are several external payment processors that can help with accepting crypto payments.

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Telegram Wallet Pay

We will first discuss Telegram’s official payment method for crypto: Telegram’s Wallet Pay.

Here’s what you need to do to set up Wallet Pay.

• Head to the Wallet Pay website and click the login button. Set up your account.
• Fill out some basic information about your business, which will be used for know-your-business (KYB) purposes.
• Create your store within the Wallet Pay platform
• Generate your API Key and paste it into the platform
• Create your first order: you can now start accepting payments from users using Telegram’s wallet.

You can find all details about Telegram Wallet Pay in the official documentation. 

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External Payment Processors

In addition to Wallet Pay, there are also external payment processors that enable you to receive crypto currency payments in Telegram, such as Cryptomus and Cryptocloud. The advantage of using external providers is that depending on the provider they may offer a wider range of currencies and support for more geographical regions. Moreover, most external providers also enable you to accept payments on your website, which means that you only need one payment provider to manage all your payments, instead of multiple providers, streamlining your operations.

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Providing Customer Support in Telegram

Once you start selling goods or services in Telegram, it makes sense to also offer customer support natively within Telegram to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline communication. By using platforms like Mava, which seamlessly integrates with Telegram, businesses can provide comprehensive customer support without requiring users to switch between different apps or platforms. This integration ensures real-time responses, fostering a more engaging customer experience and building stronger customer relationships, which are crucial for boosting retention and loyalty.

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Conclusion

Accepting payments in Telegram allows businesses to tap into a new realm of digital commerce. Whether you’re leaning towards card payments, crypto payments or fiat transactions, the flexibility, security, and ease-of-use offered by Telegram make it an ideal platform for modern merchants.

Ready to get started? Follow these easy steps and transform your Telegram Bot into a powerful payment gateway today!

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