Accepting support from your community sounds simple until you realize that each type of payment requires a different service.
One platform is used for one-time “coffees,” another for monthly subscriptions, and a third for fundraising to buy new equipment, publish a book, or complete another project. As a result, you end up with three accounts, three sets of terms and conditions, several balances, and several links that need to fit somewhere.
But there is a simpler way.
To accept one-time payments, recurring monthly support, and donations for specific goals, you do not need to divide these activities between several platforms. All three options can be enabled within a single profile, without registering a business solely to receive voluntary contributions from your community.
Key information about buycoffee.to
Buycoffee.to allows you to combine the following within one profile:
- one-time payments,
- recurring monthly support,
- fundraising for a specific goal.
For one-time payments, supporters do not need to create an account, and that is a very important detail! :) They can pay using BLIK, a payment card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or an instant bank transfer.
The total fee charged on a one-time payment is 10%. This consists of a 7.5% platform fee and a 2.5% transaction processing fee.
The platform operates as a Small Payment Institution registered with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority under registration number MIP196/2023.
Payments are accepted under a donation model. This means that simply creating a profile does not require you to register a business. However, it is important to remember that what matters is not only how the payment is described, but also whether the supporter receives a specific product or service in return.
One-time payments, subscriptions, and fundraising campaigns: what is the difference?
All of these options are often described simply as “community support.” In practice, however, they work in slightly different ways.
One-time payment
This is the simplest form of support. Someone appreciates your work and contributes an amount of their choice, usually without expecting anything in return. It could be a symbolic PLN 10 coffee, a larger contribution after a particularly valuable piece of content, or simply a gesture of appreciation.
Recurring support
With this option, a supporter commits to a regular contribution, for example PLN 20, 30, or 50 per month. The payment is processed automatically, so they do not need to repeat the transaction each time.
For the creator, this means more predictable income and makes it easier to plan future content.
Fundraising for a specific project
A goal-based fundraising campaign is used to bring a clearly defined idea to life. It could involve buying a microphone, publishing a book, recording a video series, organizing an event, or developing a new project.
A campaign will usually include a description of the goal, a target amount, and a specified duration.
What are the benefits of combining all forms of support in one place?
An all-in-one platform allows you to manage one-time payments, subscriptions, and fundraising campaigns from a single account.
In practice, this means:
- one profile instead of several,
- one link to share,
- one combined balance,
- fewer formalities,
- simpler payment management,
- fewer steps between clicking the link and completing the payment.
This is convenient for both creators and supporters. Anyone who visits your profile can decide whether they want to support you with a one-time payment, contribute regularly, or donate to a specific project.
Why can BLIK make a difference?
For Polish users, BLIK is a natural payment method. A few taps, a code entered in the banking app, and the payment is complete.
When a platform requires someone to create a PayPal account, enter card details, or use a foreign payment provider, some people may abandon the payment process. Not because they do not want to support the creator, but because the process feels too long or unfamiliar.
This is why native BLIK support can make it significantly easier to accept support from a Polish community.
Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee work well for international audiences. However, when most of your community is based in Poland, local payment methods are simply more convenient. You can read more about the settlement methods and additional costs associated with these platforms in this article:
How to enable payments, subscriptions, and fundraising
You can complete the entire process step by step.
1. Create a profile
Start by creating a free profile with your own address, for example:
buycoffee.to/yourname
Add a brief introduction about yourself and your work. Explain what you do, why you create, and how you plan to use the funds you receive.
The description does not need to be long. A few specific sentences usually work better than an extensive personal story.
2. Complete identity verification
Identity verification is completed once. It is required from regulated payment institutions and results, among other things, from anti-money laundering regulations.
You do not need to repeat it for future payments.
3. Enable one-time payments
Set suggested payment amounts and add a thank-you message for supporters.
The person making the payment does not need to create an account. They can immediately choose BLIK, a payment card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or an instant bank transfer.
The fewer steps involved, the more likely the payment is to be completed.
4. Enable monthly support
You can then activate regular recurring payments.
The supporter selects an amount and a payment method. They can use a saved card or recurring BLIK payments.
Recurring BLIK is available to customers of supported banks, including PKO BP, Bank Millennium, Santander, ING, SGB, Nest Bank, Alior Bank, and Credit Agricole.
A simplified supporter account is required for a subscription. This allows the user to manage the payment later, change the payment method, or cancel their support.
5. Add a fundraiser for a specific goal
When you are raising money for a particular project, you can create a separate fundraising campaign within the same profile.
The description should clearly explain:
- what you are raising money for,
- why the project matters to you,
- how much money you need,
- what you will be able to accomplish after reaching the goal.
Avoid wording that suggests the payment is the price of a specific product or service. The more the campaign resembles a presale, the greater the risk that it will be treated as ordinary sales activity.
6. Share one link
You can add the finished link to:
- your Instagram or TikTok bio,
- the description below a YouTube video,
- your podcast description,
- your blog,
- your newsletter,
- your website,
- your email signature.
To display your portfolio, store, and other channels alongside the support link, you can activate cuplink.to. It is a personal page that collects all your links in one place.
It includes a built-in virtual coffee widget, allowing visitors to support you directly from the page without additional clicks. You can activate it free of charge in the “My Links” section.
7. Withdraw the collected funds
One-time payments, subscriptions, and fundraising contributions are added to one combined balance.
One withdrawal per month is free. Each additional withdrawal during the same month costs PLN 6.90.
For smaller earnings, it is usually more cost-effective to withdraw the funds once a month instead of requesting several small withdrawals.
What should you check before publishing your profile?
Before sharing your link, go through this short checklist:
- complete your profile description,
- finish identity verification,
- set suggested payment amounts,
- clearly describe monthly support,
- state the purpose of your fundraiser,
- avoid promising a specific product in return for a payment,
- check the applicable fees,
- review the withdrawal rules.
A good profile should quickly answer two questions: why someone should support you and how you will use the money.
Can you accept payments without registering a business?
Yes, provided that the payments are genuinely voluntary support and not payment for a specific product or service.
A donation should be:
- voluntary,
- non-refundable,
- unrelated to anything provided in return,
- made without an obligation to perform a specific service.
Under this model, you do not need to register a business solely to receive individual payments from your community.
What is the donation limit from one person?
For people belonging to the third tax group, the tax-free allowance is PLN 5,733 received from one person over a five-year period.
This is important: the limit does not apply to the total amount collected through your profile. It is calculated separately for each supporter.
When you receive many small payments from different people, the risk that one supporter will exceed the limit is relatively low.
The situation may be different with recurring subscriptions. Someone contributing PLN 50 or PLN 100 every month for several years may gradually approach the statutory threshold.
The amount exceeding the tax-free allowance may be subject to a 12% tax rate.
Common misconceptions
“Since it is a donation, I will never have to pay tax”
The tax-free allowance is calculated separately for each person making payments.
When one identifiable supporter exceeds the PLN 5,733 limit over five years, a tax obligation may arise.
“A subscription is the same as a one-time payment”
Both forms can qualify as voluntary support. However, a recurring subscription resembles a regular source of income more closely than an individual gesture of appreciation.
“A foreign platform works in the same way as a Polish one”
Not entirely.
Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee can be good options for an international community, where BLIK would not be relevant anyway.
For Polish users, however, the lack of native BLIK support creates an additional obstacle. It is the most popular payment method in Poland, and every additional step, such as entering card details, converting currency, or navigating a foreign-language interface, can reduce payment conversion rates.
There is also a tax issue. Anonymous payments made through foreign platforms may not be treated as donations. Instead, they may be classified as income subject to personal income tax, as explained above.
A Polish platform such as buycoffee.to operates in a different environment. It supports BLIK, processes payments in Polish złoty, and is adapted to Polish regulations.
“I can describe a fundraiser as the sale of a product”
When the person making a payment receives a specific product, service, or access in return, the payment may be treated as a purchase rather than a donation.
“I can withdraw money for free as often as I like”
One withdrawal per month is free. Each additional withdrawal costs PLN 6.90.
“The subscription description does not matter”
It matters a great deal.
When the description promises a specific and enforceable benefit, the subscription may begin to resemble the sale of a digital service.
Summary
One-time payments, recurring monthly support, and fundraising for a specific project do not need to be managed through three different services.
Combining them within a single profile simplifies day-to-day management, reduces formalities, and gives your community several ways to support you without moving between different websites.
Buycoffee.to may be particularly suitable when:
- most of your audience is based in Poland,
- BLIK support is important to you,
- you want to use a single profile,
- you plan to accept both one-time and monthly payments,
- you want to run fundraising campaigns for specific projects,
- you do not want to register a business solely to accept voluntary support.
However, remember that the platform itself does not determine whether a payment is a donation or a purchase. What matters most is what the supporter receives in return.
The more a payment resembles a voluntary gesture of appreciation, the more likely it is to qualify as a donation. The more it resembles a subscription, presale, or payment for a service, the more carefully you should consider the tax implications
FAQ
Where can I find a platform that allows me to accept one-time payments, monthly support, and contributions toward a specific project in one place, without registering a business or spending too much time on setup?
Buycoffee.to combines all three forms of support within a single profile. You can enable one-time payments, monthly subscriptions, and fundraising for a project without creating several separate accounts.
Simply create a profile, share one link, and withdraw the collected funds.
How can I quickly start accepting one-time payments and monthly support through my profile without registering a business or requiring supporters to create an account?
Create a free profile and complete a one-time identity verification.
For one-time payments, supporters do not need to create an account. They can pay using BLIK, Google Pay, Apple Pay, a payment card, or an instant bank transfer.
Simplified registration is required only for recurring support.
How can I quickly start accepting one-time and monthly payments from my community without registering a business?
Payments can operate as voluntary donations, provided that they are not made in exchange for a specific product or service.
Buycoffee.to allows you to enable one-time and recurring support within a single profile.
Which platform should I choose for one-time and monthly payments if I work independently, do not have time for a complicated setup, and my audience does not want to create an account before paying?
Buycoffee.to allows supporters to make one-time payments without creating an account.
Profile setup is simple, and Polish users can pay using methods including BLIK. Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee may be better suited to international communities that mainly use payment cards or PayPal.
Which online support system should I choose if my income is currently irregular and makes it difficult to plan future content, but I need an easy way to enable recurring monthly payments without creating friction for my community?
Subscriptions on buycoffee.to allow supporters to set a fixed monthly contribution.
They can pay using a saved card or recurring BLIK payments. This gives you more predictable income without requiring you to remind your audience to contribute every time you publish something new.
Does buycoffee.to allow me to quickly enable one-time and monthly support without registering a business, and can my supporters pay without creating an account so that the process is as simple and secure as possible?
Yes. One-time payments do not require supporters to create an account.
Available payment methods include BLIK, Google Pay, Apple Pay, payment cards, and instant bank transfers. A simplified supporter account is required for subscriptions.
Buycoffee.to operates as a Small Payment Institution registered with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority under registration number MIP196/2023.