Key Takeaways
In short
- Link by Stripe is a digital wallet that saves payment details so people can pay online very quickly and safely at many different shops.
- Link is updating its terms of service and privacy policy, with new versions planned to take effect on 16 January 2026, to match new payment options and new uses in artificial-intelligence shopping tools.
- Instant Checkout in ChatGPT lets people find products in a chat and buy them right there, using payment methods such as cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link.
- People keep control: they can choose which payment methods to add, whether to use AI shopping at all, and whether to remove stored details or close a Link account.
Story & Details
A wallet that travels with you online
Link by Stripe is a digital wallet that lives inside online checkouts. It lets a person store card details, bank details in some regions, and contact information once, then reuse them with a few clicks wherever Link appears. Link is built on Stripe’s payment systems, which power payments at hundreds of thousands of online businesses.[1][2][7]
On a typical website, Link shows up as a button next to other payment options. When it is used, the payment step becomes much faster. There is no need to type long card numbers or addresses again. This is helpful for people who shop often at the same store, and also for those who move between many different sites. The same wallet follows them from place to place.[1][2]
In the Netherlands (Europe) and across much of Europe (Europe), Link for many users is provided by Stripe Payments Europe, Limited, a Stripe company based in Ireland (Europe). That public company is responsible for the service in the region and appears in Link’s own legal pages.[3][4]
A quiet update for January 2026
Link is in the middle of a legal update. The Consumer Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy both say they will be updated on 16 January 2026. The preview of the privacy text already carries that date as “last updated”.[3][4]
Support pages explain in plain language what is happening. Link says it has made a few updates to its terms of service and privacy policy to reflect its newest features and services. The notice points out that these updates will go into effect on 16 January 2026 and that no action is required from users. It also explains that a person receives this notice because there is a Link account linked to their saved payment details and that Link helps them pay quickly and securely at many businesses.[5]
The current date is early December 2025, so that January change still lies in the near future. The update does not turn Link into a new product. Instead, it writes down more clearly what already happens when people use Link in more places and in more ways.
New ways to pay, including crypto
One part of the refresh relates to new payment methods. Link already supports cards and some bank-based options. The updated information also talks about partners such as buy now, pay later services and some crypto wallets, which may appear as extra choices depending on where a person lives and which stores they use.[2][7]
When a person connects one of these options, Link must share some data with the partner behind it. A buy now, pay later provider often needs name, contact details, and details about the purchase to decide whether to approve the payment and on what terms. A crypto wallet may need to send information to a blockchain network, where the transaction can become a public record that is very hard to remove later.[4][6][7]
Stripe’s privacy policy and Link’s own privacy pages describe how this sharing works. They explain that partners receive only the data needed to run their service, that Stripe uses contracts and technical safeguards, and that data is also shaped by national and regional laws. At the same time, each payment partner has its own privacy rules, so people who add a new method have good reason to read those rules too.[4][6]
Shopping inside ChatGPT
Instant Checkout in ChatGPT shows how Link fits into a new kind of shopping. OpenAI introduces it as a way to “buy it in ChatGPT”: people type a natural-language shopping request, see real products in the chat, and, when a product supports it, tap a “Buy” button to complete the purchase without leaving the conversation.[8][12]
Behind this experience is the Agentic Commerce Protocol. It is an open standard created by OpenAI and Stripe. The protocol tells ChatGPT, the online store, and the payment provider how to talk to one another. It carries order details to the merchant and payment details to a payment company such as Stripe, while the person stays in the chat window.[8][9][10]
For payment, Instant Checkout uses familiar methods. People can pay with a card on file, another card, or express payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link. In this setting, Link plays the same role it plays on a normal website: it is the wallet that holds saved payment details and lets Stripe finish the payment quickly.[8][9][10]
The rollout starts with users in the United States (North America). News reports explain that, for now, Instant Checkout lets U.S. ChatGPT users buy from U.S. Etsy sellers, with more than one million Shopify merchants expected to join later. Big consumer brands that use Shopify’s platform are among those likely to appear. The early version supports single-item purchases, with multiple-item carts and more regions planned over time.[11][12]
This pattern is often called agentic commerce: a person chats with an AI assistant, sees suggestions, and then can go straight to buying, instead of clicking through many pages. The AI helps with search and comparison, but the human still reviews the order and presses the final confirmation.[8][12][18]
Data, control, and simple tools
As Link moves into more places, its handling of personal data becomes even more important. The Link privacy policy, together with Stripe’s main privacy policy, explains which personal data is collected and why. When Link is used to pay an online business, Stripe may share data such as name, email address, postal address, payment method details, and transaction information with that business, so the payment can be processed and records can be kept.[4][6]
The policies also explain when data can move between regions, for example when a payment involves both the European Union in Europe (Europe) and the United States (North America), and which legal tools are used for those transfers. At the same time, they admit that some information must be kept for a period of time for fraud prevention, accounting, or legal duties, and that data on a public blockchain cannot simply be erased.[4][6]
People are not left without options. Link’s help pages describe how to remove card details, delete information saved with Link, or close a Link account. When an account is closed, Link no longer appears as a stored wallet for that person at checkout, even though some limited data may remain inside Stripe’s systems for safety and legal reasons.[2][5]
A tiny Dutch phrase detour
New payment habits often arrive alongside new words. Someone who moves from Portugal (Europe) to the Netherlands (Europe) and starts to bank, shop, and work there will quickly meet small Dutch phrases in apps and websites.
Three of the most common short phrases look like this:
- goedemorgen
- goedenavond
- dank je wel
They often appear near buttons, banners, or short messages in bank apps and payment screens. In a world where Link and Instant Checkout connect stores across many countries, these tiny phrases show how each person still meets technology in a local language and culture, even while paying through global systems.
Conclusions
A soft look at the near future
Link by Stripe and Instant Checkout in ChatGPT sit at the point where payments, shopping, and artificial intelligence meet. One tool saves payment details and makes checkouts faster across many sites. The other brings real products into an AI chat and lets people buy them without leaving the conversation.
The legal update set for 16 January 2026 is part of making that picture clear. It spells out what happens when people add new payment methods, let AI tools help them shop, and ask to remove or close stored data. The core idea stays simple: people choose when and how to use these tools, and they keep the ability to step back.
The coming years are likely to bring more merchants, more payment partners, and more countries into this pattern. As that happens, plain language, careful privacy work, and a few friendly phrases on the screen may matter as much to trust as any line of code.
Selected References
Sources
[1] Link – “Check out faster with Link”, main product overview: https://link.com/en-nl
[2] Stripe – “Link by Stripe” product page, describing Link as a digital wallet that saves payment details for faster checkout: https://stripe.com/payments/link
[3] Link – Consumer Terms of Service, noting that the terms will be updated on 16 January 2026: https://link.com/terms
[4] Link – Privacy Policy (preview), marked “Last updated: 16 January 2026”: https://link.com/privacy/preview
[5] Link Support – “Why did I receive an email about Link’s policy updates?”: https://support.link.com/questions/why-did-i-receive-an-email-about-links-policy-updates
[6] Stripe – Privacy Policy, including sections on Link, data sharing with merchants, and international transfers: https://stripe.com/privacy
[7] Stripe Docs – “Faster checkout with Link”: https://docs.stripe.com/payments/link
[8] OpenAI – “Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol”: https://openai.com/index/buy-it-in-chatgpt/
[9] OpenAI Developer Docs – “Get started with Agentic Commerce Protocol”, describing how Instant Checkout works with merchants and payment providers: https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/get-started
[10] Stripe Newsroom – “Stripe powers Instant Checkout in ChatGPT and releases the Agentic Commerce Protocol”: https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-openai-instant-checkout
[11] Reuters – “OpenAI partners with Etsy, Shopify on ChatGPT payment checkout”: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/openai-partners-with-etsy-shopify-chatgpt-checkout-2025-09-29/
[12] Search Engine Land – “OpenAI turns ChatGPT into a shopping tool with Instant Checkout”: https://searchengineland.com/openai-chatgpt-instant-checkout-462727
[13] YouTube (OpenAI) – “Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6qcZdtIv54
[14] DAC Group – “Agentic commerce and Instant Checkout: How to prepare for the future of buying in ChatGPT”: https://www.dacgroup.com/insights/blog/search-optimization/agentic-commerce-and-instant-checkout-how-to-prepare-for-the-future-of-buying-in-chatgpt/
[15] Acadia – “ChatGPT Shopping Search & Instant Checkout: What’s Live, What Matters, and What to Do”: https://acadia.io/chatgpt-shopping-instant-checkout-guide
Appendix
Agentic commerce
Agentic commerce is a style of online shopping in which an AI assistant helps a person find, compare, and choose products inside a chat or similar interface, while the person still gives clear approval before any payment is made.
Agentic Commerce Protocol
Agentic Commerce Protocol is an open technical standard from OpenAI and Stripe that defines how ChatGPT, online stores, and payment providers share order and payment information so that purchases can be completed safely inside a chat.
Buy now, pay later
Buy now, pay later is a type of payment method that lets a person receive a product today and spread the cost over several smaller payments in the future, often with special conditions set by the provider.
Chat-based shopping
Chat-based shopping is shopping that takes place inside a text or voice conversation with a digital assistant or chatbot, where searching, choosing, and paying all happen in one chat window.
Digital wallet
Digital wallet is an online service that stores payment methods and related details so that people can pay quickly and securely without typing the same information each time.
Instant Checkout in ChatGPT
Instant Checkout in ChatGPT is a feature that lets people buy products directly inside ChatGPT, using payment methods such as cards, express wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Link by Stripe, without leaving the conversation.
Link by Stripe
Link by Stripe is a digital wallet from Stripe that lets people save payment and contact details once and reuse them at many online businesses for a fast, secure checkout.
Mini Dutch phrases
Mini Dutch phrases are very short Dutch expressions, such as “goedemorgen”, “goedenavond”, and “dank je wel”, that appear in everyday life and on screens and give small, friendly touches of local language around tasks like paying or signing in.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 