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Paying a payment request

Someone sends you a Privacy Pools payment link. Opening it shows the amount and the asset, and two ways to pay. They're quite different, and the right one depends on whether you already use the pool.

Pay via Wallet​

This pays straight from your connected wallet. It's an ordinary deposit into the pool, made for the person who asked, so you don't need a pool balance and you don't need to have registered with Privacy Pools. If this is your first contact with the pool, this is your option.

You pay gas for the deposit, as for any transaction. There's no relayer fee. Your wallet address is visible onchain as the depositor, the same as with any deposit. What the recipient sees is a payment arriving against their request. They don't learn anything about your wallet from the pool side.

Not available on Sui, and not available in an account-key session, because both need a wallet to send from.

Pay via Private Transfer​

This pays from your shielded balance inside the pool. Nothing leaves the pool, and the transfer is submitted through a relayer, so your address stays off the transaction. The relayer fee applies.

You need a shielded balance in the right asset on the right chain, and your account has to be registered. If it isn't, the app registers it first, which is two wallet transactions before the payment. That's a real cost on a first payment, and it's why Pay via Wallet exists.

Which to pick​

  • First time here, or no pool balance: Pay via Wallet.
  • Already holding a shielded balance: Pay via Private Transfer. It's the private option.
  • Signed in with an account key, or on Sui: Pay via Private Transfer is the only one offered.

What the recipient sees​

Either way, the request closes once the payment is found, and the money lands in their shielded balance. If they haven't registered yet, it shows as Claim on their side until they do. That's their step, not yours. See Claiming money you've received.

After paying​

The app shows a receipt link for the payment. Keep it. It's your proof that this request was paid, without revealing anything else about your account. Opening the payment link again later shows "Payment sent" instead of a fresh request, so you can't pay the same request twice by accident.

If a request link looks wrong or says it's invalid, don't pay it. Ask the person for a fresh one.