• Australian mobile landing page startup Linktree has enabled direct payments on its platform through a new partnership with Square.
• The move positions the company among a growing cohort of platforms developing an easier path to monetisation for its users.
• To increase uptake, Linktree has launched a global competition that will award $US250,000 to creators, entrepreneurs and businesses.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Australian mobile landing page builder Linktree now has payment capabilities on the platform, thanks to a new partnership with Square.

Following a $US45 million Series B raise in March, the startup will now let users process payments directly on the platform.

And to boost participation, Linktree has launched Passion Fund in collaboration with Square, a global creative fund worth $US250,000 that will invest in creators, entrepreneurs and business owners.

The competition will be judged by a panel including chief marketing officer at Square, Lauren Weinberg, Linktree’s CEO and co-founder, Alex Zaccaria, along with “Queer Eye” presenter Karamo, influencer Grace Beverley, and US-based VC firm founder Li Jin.

The partnership with Square provides a payment gateway for Linktree’s more than 13 million users to streamline the “path to purchase” for followers.

Alex Zaccaria, Linktree’s CEO and co-founder, told Business Insider Australia he’s excited the company is able to provide its new commerce functionality for free.

“We don’t take any of the revenue,” Zaccaria said.

“It puts more money back in the pockets of creators, which we’re really excited about.”

Zaccaria said enabling direct payments was the logical next step for the platform, which was always about “finding your audience and directing them where you need them to go”.

“Now with commerce links we can allow more creators to monetise their business,” he said.

The announcement comes as others seek to enter the ‘link in bio’ space.

Earlier this week Techcrunch reported that US-based startup Beacons raised a $6 million seed round to expand its platform.

Similarly to its competitor, Beacons provides anyone who uses social media a single, mobile-optimised link hub to display to their followers.

Founded in 2020, the startup claims its point of difference is “deeply customisable” pages, however unlike Linktree, which can now process direct payments, it directs followers away from the platform toward potential income streams like donations and affiliate links.

It also means the startup is now playing in the same space as Instagram, with its direct shopping platform, and OnlyFans, whose entire model is built around direct and immediate payments by viewers to creators on its platform.

Payments partnerships the next step for social platorms

Lauren Weinberg, global head of marketing at Square, told Business Insider Australia the partnership aligned with both companies’ “shared principle to help everyone participate and thrive in the economy”.

Linktree’s success has come from the fact it created “its own market segment”, Weinberg said, by enabling its users to “curate an online presence and directly engage with their audience”.

She said the partnership takes this to the next level by helping its users set up direct, seamless payments through the platform.

Additionally, Weinberg said Square sees social commerce as an increasingly important supplement to e-commerce and traditional commerce.

Zaccaria agreed, saying the user base of Square is “really similar” to that of his platform.

He said the company was already seeing examples of its users monetising on the platform.

“We’re seeing a songwriter say ‘give me $10 to write a song about you, give me $50 for me to write a full song about you’. We’re having poets write poems for people and take requests about poems.”

The Linktree-Square deal can now “enable these really creative ideas”, Zaccaria said.

“It enables commerce for those using it as their side hustle… to be able to make a few extra bucks on the side and to be able to add revenue to making a living from their passion,” he said.

“And then there are those who are actually utilising Linktree for their entire business.”

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