Telegram Stars is a new Telegram in-app currency that allows bot developers to accept payments for digital goods and services within bots and mini-apps.

Telegram Stars are fully compliant with the latest Apple/Google requirements and can be easily purchased on mobile devices using the standard IAP (in-app purchase) method or in @PremiumBot.

❗️Shortly after introducing Stars, Telegram updated the TOS for bots and requested bot developers to use Stars exclusively for digital goods and services payments within the app.

There's still no official statement on whether selling access to private Telegram channels and groups qualifies as "digital products and services".

We're actively monitoring all official and unofficial sources and will update this article accordingly.

But we've got you covered in any case. Even if selling access to paid channels/groups will be officially qualified as a "digital service" in the future, with InviteMember, you can:

Simply enable Telegram Stars in your project Payment options and create subscription plans with prices in ⭐️.

You can also hide other payment options in it by enabling the Only Stars In Bot parameter. With this option ON, other payment options will only be visible on your membership page outside the Telegram app.

For payment methods other than Telegram Stars, we highly recommend using your hosted membership page to onboard new subscribers.

Your membership page on im.page domain is a standalone website (not a Telegram Bot or a Mini App), and Apple/Google guidelines are not applicable to them.

On your membership website, you can accept any supported payment method you like!

Of course you can!

We recommend the following setup:

As we mentioned before, it's still unclear if membership bots are affected by these changes at all.

But unless you're using your membership bot for physical products and services, there's a risk that Telegram (or Apple or Google) will decide at some point that your bot isn't compliant with their latest requirements.

In such cases, they will send you a warning requesting you to accept Stars only in your membership bot, and if you don't comply with their requirements, your bot might get disabled on iOS/Android devices. ​If you receive such a warning, please make sure to enable Telegram Stars in your membership bot and hide other payment options.

According to Telegram Bot Platform Developer Terms of Service, bot developers can receive "an equivalent of 0.013 USD worth of rewards for each Telegram Star".

For end-users, however, one Star will cost up to 50-100% more as there will also be 30% Apple/Google commission, 5-10% Telegram commission, plus VAT (may vary depending on the user's location).

Stars in your Telegram balance may not be available for rewards for up to 21 days after receiving them.

Telegram Stars will appear in your Telegram bot settings menu as bot balance.

It's very important to understand that these rewards will become available for withdrawal on Fragment in the form of TON cryptocurrency. Before accepting payments in Stars, please make sure you can legally receive such earnings in your country.

From the buyer's point of view, payments with Telegram Stars are super easy to do. You don't need to enter your card details, login to PayPal or send crypto from your wallet. Just a few taps and you're done.

For people who know about Stars, especially those who have positive Stars balance, it's a very convenient way to pay, and such people are likely to prefer Stars among other payment options.

The only thing is that Stars aren't widely adopted in the world yet (they just launched them in May 2024), and we're currently in a very early phase when most Telegram users have never heard of Stars and have never used them. For most people, pricing in Stars might be confusing (they won't even understand how much is 1000 ⭐️ for them).

We recommend accepting multiple payment methods to maximize your conversion rates.

In this case, we recommend using your hosted membership page on our nice and short im.page domain for onboarding new subscribers.

Such payments are happening in browsers outside the Telegram app, and shouldn't be affected by these changes at all.

We convert your prices in Stars to USD using the official exchange rate (1 ⭐️ = $0.013) and then charge our fees just like for other payment methods.