Guide
How to pay with cryptocurrency
Paying a business in crypto is sending the exact amount of one asset, on the one network the invoice names, to the address it shows — then waiting for the network to confirm it. This page walks an Unheld invoice from the payer’s side: what each part of the page means, how to pay from a wallet, and what happens when something is short, over or late.
What the invoice shows
Four things decide a crypto payment: the amount, the asset, the network and the address. An Unheld pay page shows all four — the amount in the asset the merchant chose, the network the payment must travel on, and the address to send to, as text and as a QR code — with a countdown to when the invoice expires. On the XRP Ledger an invoice may also show a destination tag beside the address; when it does, both must be sent.
The address is derived from the merchant’s own wallet: Unheld watches it and never holds what lands on it. Nothing on the page needs to be typed into a wallet by hand except what the page gives you to copy.
Pay from a wallet
With a browser wallet installed, “Pay with wallet” hands it a transaction that is already filled in — right network, right recipient, right amount — and you only approve it. Without one, the page offers the standard payment link your phone’s wallet app opens pre-filled, and a link to install a wallet. Either way nothing is retyped, which is the point: a mistyped address is money gone.
Paying by hand works too: copy the address, send the exact amount on the named network from any wallet, and leave the page open. The address and the QR stay up while anything is owed.
Send the exact amount, on the named network
The amount is what the merchant is owed in that asset; the network fee is yours, paid by your wallet on top of it. Choose the network the invoice names — an Ethereum-style address exists on every EVM network, and a transfer sent on a different one lands somewhere the invoice is not looking. If the merchant allows it, the page offers a control to switch the invoice to another asset or network before you pay; use that rather than sending something the invoice did not ask for.
After you send: detected, confirming, paid
The page shows the payment as detected once Unheld has seen it, confirming while the network builds blocks on top of it, and paid once the network has confirmed it to the depth the invoice requires. The confirmations pages say how long that usually takes per network. On Bitcoin a transaction seen in the mempool is listed as pending before any block includes it, for information only.
Short, over or late
Short: the page shows the amount paid so far and what is still to pay, counted from confirmed money only, and keeps the address up so you can send the rest. Over: the merchant receives the whole amount; what to do with the excess is between you and them. Once the invoice is covered the address, the QR and the wallet button are replaced by a warning not to send again.
Late: an invoice that has expired can still be settled by a payment that confirms within a grace window after expiry; the merchant then sees it as paid late. A payment that arrives after that window is held for review rather than credited, and the merchant is the person to tell.
How to send crypto to someone who has no invoice
The same four things apply — amount, asset, network, address — but with no page checking them. Ask the person for the address and the network together, never one without the other; send a small amount first if the address is new to you; and keep the transaction id your wallet gives you, which is how you both can check the transfer on a block explorer.
Questions about paying with crypto
How do I pay with crypto at a business that uses Unheld?
Open the pay page, press “Pay with wallet” to approve a pre-filled transaction in a wallet you have installed, or copy the address and send the exact amount on the network the invoice names from any wallet. Keep the page open until it shows paid.
Can I pay with bitcoin, USDT or another coin than the one shown?
Only if the page offers a switch to it. The invoice is priced in one asset on one network; a transfer in a different asset, or on a different network, is not credited to it and is held for the merchant to review.
Who pays the network fee?
You do, from your wallet, on top of the invoice amount. It goes to the network, not to the merchant and not to Unheld. The fee pages on this site show the live fee on each network.
What if I pay in USDT and send a little too little?
The page shows what is still to pay and keeps the address up. Send the remainder on the same network and the invoice completes; it does not fail for being paid in two parts.
What if the invoice expires while my payment is confirming?
A payment that confirms within the grace window after expiry still settles the invoice, marked paid late. After the window it is held for review; tell the merchant, with the transaction id.