The Future of Group Sales Payments: Fast, Flexible, and Powered by Pay by Link

As guest expectations continue to evolve, attractions, institutions, and cultural organizations are seeking more flexible and secure ways to accept payments. While traditional payment methods have long relied on either in-person transactions or online purchases through a web store, many organizations have struggled to address the gap between these two options. Pay by Link is designed to fill that gap.

Pay by Link enables organizations to create an order within Galaxy™ 8.3 or higher and send a secure payment link directly to a guest via email. Guests can then complete their transaction at a time that is convenient for them, without needing to visit a ticket office, wait on hold, or provide credit card information over the phone.

This capability is particularly valuable for group sales, deposits, remote purchases, and guests who may be uncomfortable entering payment details online. Historically, these transactions often required staff to manually collect credit card information by telephone, a process that can be time-consuming, inconvenient, and perceived as less secure by guests.

“The Pay by Link feature has already helped streamline our payment process. As soon as the Gateway team had the feature ready, we were immediately able to start sending links and tracking payment status. Being able to email customers with a secure payment link has made the payment process much more convenient and has reduced the amount of time spent handling all of our payments over the phone or processing mailed checks,” a John Ball Zoo staff member said. “It’s a great time-saver for both our staff and our customers as it adds a modern, flexible payment option that fits the needs of our customer organizations. I’m encouraged by the direction this feature is headed and look forward to seeing it continue to evolve.”

The solution also supports the growing demand for remote work. Customer service and group sales teams can manage transactions from virtually anywhere without requiring payment terminal hardware. This flexibility helps organizations reduce equipment and maintenance costs while enabling employees to work more efficiently from home or in flexible office environments.

For those serving international visitors, Pay by Link provides an additional pathway for completing transactions. In some cases, fraud prevention systems may decline legitimate international payments during standard online checkout. With Pay by Link, staff can stage an order in Galaxy and send a secure payment request directly to the guest, helping overcome payment barriers while reducing language and communication challenges.

Organizations adopting Pay by Link consistently highlight two key benefits: convenience and security. Guests appreciate the ability to pay when and where they choose, while attractions and institutions benefit from an integrated payment experience that remains within their existing Galaxy workflow. Payment information is securely tokenized, allowing organizations to maintain payment methods on file without storing sensitive card data.

“For our education team, it really helps us streamline our payments. We welcome hundreds of schools, and prior to the payment link, they would have to call us to make the payment prior to their visits, which limited the time of day that they could make the payments to the time of day they were normally with their students,” Sammi Strasser, Admissions and Adventures Manager at John Ball Zoo, said. “Having the payment link has nearly eliminated the phone tag and allowed teachers the ease of paying on their schedule.”

Released in Spring 2026, Pay by Link has generated significant interest across both nonprofit and for-profit organizations of all sizes, from single-location attractions to large multi-site operations. Currently available through FreedomPay for U.S. domestic customers, the solution reflects the modern payment experiences guests increasingly expect.

“Rollout went extremely well once the Gateway team had the feature ready. We were able to start using it immediately,” Strasser explained. “Working with the Gateway team was incredibly smooth. They listened to our needs and were able to help create an option that allowed us to use the system immediately.”

By eliminating unnecessary friction in the payment process, Pay by Link helps organizations improve operational efficiency, enhance guest satisfaction, and create a more secure and flexible approach to collecting payments.

“We look forward to utilizing this feature with our service non-profit memberships and picnic rentals in the near future,” Strasser added. “Knowing that we have this option is opening the door to other creative ideas with our team as well for payment options.”