Selling on WhatsApp and getting paid without a payment terminal
Photos, orders, payment, delivery: how to sell on WhatsApp from your shop and get paid by link, QR or bank transfer, with no payment terminal.
WhatsApp, the counter that never closes
Your customers already message you: to find out whether the bread has arrived, to reserve meat for the weekend, to order groceries for an elderly mother or to ask the price of something they saw in your shop. Every message is a potential sale. What's often missing isn't demand, it's method: orders get lost between two conversations, payment is settled "on delivery" without anyone really knowing when, and change runs short at the worst moment.
Selling on WhatsApp requires neither a website nor a terminal. What it takes above all is organization: a number dedicated to the shop, up-to-date photos, a standard message to confirm each order, and a payment method the customer can use without leaving the conversation.
Organizing the sale: from message to confirmed order
- A number for the shop, separate from your personal number: your customers know where to write, and you keep your evenings. The WhatsApp Business app lets you display a catalog and prepare quick replies, among other things.
- Up-to-date photos and prices: post new arrivals and seasonal products in your status or catalog, with the price shown.
- A confirmation message, every time: the order details, the total, the payment method and the delivery or pickup time.
- A list of the day's orders, on paper or on your phone: one line per customer, and a box ticked once it's paid.
- Announced hours: "orders before noon, delivery in the afternoon" spares you messages at midnight.
Getting paid without a terminal: the options
The payment link in the conversation
It's the most natural option on WhatsApp. In the chari.ma app, you generate a payment link and paste it into the confirmation message. The customer clicks and pays from their phone, with nothing to install: by card, or from their chari.ma account if they have one. You track every payment you receive directly in the app. All the ways to collect are described on the Collect a payment page.
The QR code at delivery
For a customer who prefers to pay when the order arrives, your QR code does the job: they scan it on the doorstep and the payment lands in your account. Your delivery person has no change to carry or give back.
A bank transfer to your RIB
Business customers (a coffee shop, an office, an association) often prefer a bank transfer. Your chari.ma account has its own RIB and IBAN: you share them in the conversation and the customer sends the transfer from their bank.
What about cash on delivery?
It's still common, and it has its drawbacks: the delivery person carries money, change runs short, and an order refused at the door is a lost order. If your customers are attached to cash, two solutions exist that spare you handling banknotes: a customer who has the chari.ma app tops up their account at an agency and pays you by link; one who doesn't can pay in cash at an agency, before delivery, thanks to a single-use ChariPay payment link.
Step by step: a WhatsApp order paid before delivery
- The customer writes their order. You check availability and reply with the details and the total.
- You create a payment link for the exact amount, with a description that includes their name and their order.
- You send the link in the conversation, along with the planned delivery time.
- You prepare the order as soon as the payment shows up in your history.
- You deliver, and you tick the order as paid and delivered on your list for the day.
This flow changes one habit: you prepare once it's paid, not before. For your regulars, you can relax the rule; for new customers, stick to it. It's what protects you from phantom orders and "I wasn't home".
What you write matters as much as the link
A payment link on its own, without a word, is unsettling. A clear message reassures the customer and gets you paid faster. Keep three templates ready to copy:
- Confirmation: "Hello, your order is ready to go: [details]. Total: [amount]. You can pay here: [link]. Delivery planned for this afternoon."
- Gentle reminder: "Hello, just a quick reminder about yesterday's order. The payment link is still valid: [link]. Thank you!"
- Thank-you: "Payment received, thank you. Your order is on its way right now."
Avoid sending your full details to someone you don't know when a link is enough, and never ask a customer for a code they received by SMS: no legitimate payment needs one.
When WhatsApp becomes a real store: ChariPay
Past a certain number of orders, the conversation is no longer enough: you need to track each link, know which ones have expired, follow up at the right time, and sometimes offer an online catalog. That's where ChariPay comes in. ChariPay is a Moroccan payment platform, a PSP operated by Chari Money, a payment institution licensed by Bank Al-Maghrib, designed for online payment in Morocco.
A ChariPay payment link is shared as a link, a QR code, a printable PDF poster, by email or WhatsApp; it is single-use or reusable, with an expiry of your choice, and each link shows a clear status: active, paid, canceled, expired. No website yet? You can publish your products on a hosted storefront and track your orders — awaiting payment, paid, shipped, delivered — from your portal.
For your customers who only pay in cash, ChariPay lets them pay in cash at an agency, with a reference: on the page of a single-use payment link with no expiry, the customer chooses cash, receives a reference, pays it at an agency of the Chari network, and you are notified as soon as the network confirms the deposit. A reusable link, a poster or a counter QR, on the other hand, collect by card.
Costly mistakes
- Delivering on the strength of a payment screenshot: always check in your history.
- Reusing the same link for all of the day's orders: you no longer know who paid for what.
- Leaving orders "to pay later" without writing them down: they turn into credit nobody decided on. Our guide to moving from the credit notebook to digital tracking helps you take back control.
- Mixing personal and shop messages on the same number.
- Forgetting the services your customers already ask you for: mobile top-ups and bill payments also work from the app, with cashback or a commission based on your volume.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a payment terminal to sell on WhatsApp?
No. Your phone is enough: you send a payment link in the conversation, show your QR code on delivery or share your RIB. The chari.ma app brings these three methods together, with no terminal to buy or rent. The customer, for their part, pays from their own phone.
Does the customer have to install an app to pay?
No. With the chari.ma app's payment link, they pay from their phone with nothing to install, by card, or from their chari.ma account if they already have one. With a ChariPay payment link, they pay on a page hosted by ChariPay, by card or, if the link is single-use, in cash at an agency.
How do I avoid unpaid orders?
Set a simple rule and announce it: for a new customer, the order goes out once the payment shows up in your history. Send one link per order, for the exact amount, with a clear description. For your regulars, you can deliver first, but write down every amount owed, or it becomes forgotten credit.
Can my customers pay in cash without me handling it?
Yes. A customer who has the chari.ma app tops up their account at a cash agency, then pays you by link or by QR. For a customer who doesn't have the app, a single-use ChariPay payment link lets them choose cash, receive a reference and pay it at an agency of the Chari network before delivery.
Can I use WhatsApp Business?
Yes, and it's often a good idea: a number dedicated to the shop, a catalog and quick replies save you time. Payment stays the same: a payment link pasted into the conversation, which the customer opens with a single tap. Just keep your personal messages on another number.
When should I move to ChariPay?
When tracking things by hand gets difficult: lots of links to follow, customers who want to pay in cash without having the app, an online storefront to open or a payment account in your company's name to set up. For a few orders by message, the chari.ma app is more than enough.
Next step
Start small: a dedicated number, a standard confirmation message and the chari.ma app to get paid. Download the app, then see the Merchants page for terms tied to your volume. For other remote-selling situations (down payments, deliveries, customers paying for a loved one), read our guide to getting paid remotely when you run a neighborhood shop.