Turn Off Pay Online Links on Stripe Invoices (PDF & Email)
If you’re collecting payments by cash or check, you may notice that some families are still able to pay online.
This happens because Stripe may automatically include a “Pay online” link on invoice emails and PDFs—even if you intended the payment to be made offline. When that link is used, the payment is processed online and Stripe fees will apply.
This is not very common, but it does happen—and can result in unexpected processing fees.
This guide shows you how to remove that payment link so families follow your cash/check instructions instead.
What parents may see
Even when an invoice is meant to be paid offline, parents may still see a “Pay online” link like this:
If clicked, this takes them to a Stripe checkout page, which is why some payments still go through online.
How to turn off invoice payment links
Use the setting below to remove the clickable payment option.
Step-by-step
- Go to your Stripe Dashboard
- Click Settings
- Navigate to Billing → Invoices
- Find the section called Payment page
- Uncheck:
- ✅ Include a link to a payment page in the invoice email
Here’s what that setting looks like in Stripe:
Important:
-
This only applies to new invoices going forward
(previously sent invoices will still have the payment link)
- If a payment is made:
- Online → marked as Paid (Stripe fees apply)
- Cash/check → marked by you as “Paid manually”