How to Accept Telegram Stars in Your Bot (No Code)
In TeleCrow you turn on Telegram Stars in three taps from your bot list: open the bot, tap Turn on on the "Let buyers pay in Telegram" card, then tap Turn on Stars in the setup sheet. No code, payment provider or webhook setup is needed. This guide walks through each step, the problems the sheet can flag and how to fix them, a 1-Star test, and the duties Telegram expects from every Stars seller.
Before you start: which bots can take Stars
Telegram Stars works for two TeleCrow bot types:
- Digital product shop bots: buyers pay in Stars for files, codes and other digital items, which the bot delivers in the chat right after payment.
- Paid channel and group bots: members pay in Stars for access plans. Monthly plans can renew by themselves; see Star subscriptions for a paid channel.
Other bot types (giveaway, welcome, support, autofunnel, personal AI) don't sell anything, so they don't show the Stars card. You also need:
- a bot whose token you created yourself in @BotFather on your own Telegram account. Stars go to the account that owns the bot in @BotFather, not to TeleCrow;
- prices set in US dollars. The bot converts them to Stars at your rate ($1 = 50 Stars by default);
- Two-Step Verification in Telegram, but only later, when you want to withdraw.
Turning Stars on doesn't remove anything. Buyers keep the "Pay from balance" option they have today, and Stars is added next to it.
Turn on Telegram Stars in three taps
- Open your bot's page in the TeleCrow dashboard. You will see a card that says Let buyers pay in Telegram with a Turn on button. Tap it.
- Read the setup sheet. It is titled Turn on Telegram Stars and has three short lines: what a $10 item pays you, when you can cash out, and what you confirm. You confirm three things: you got the bot's token from @BotFather on your own Telegram, you'll need Two-Step Verification to withdraw, and you'll reply to refund requests. A Terms link expands a short summary and links to Telegram's Stars terms.
- Tap Turn on Stars. TeleCrow checks your bot with Telegram. When it's done you'll see "Stars is on. Buyers now see ⭐ Pay with Stars."
If your bot is stopped, the sheet says so and starts it for you first. If your plan already runs as many bots as it allows, the sheet tells you which bot would stop before it does anything.
If the setup sheet shows a problem
Before going live, TeleCrow checks that Telegram can deliver payments to your bot. If something is wrong, the sheet shows the problem and the fix in the same place, so you don't have to search for it.
| What the sheet says | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your bot is stopped. We'll start it first. | A stopped bot can't receive payments. | Tap the button. TeleCrow starts the bot and then turns on Stars. |
| Telegram can't reach your bot | The bot's connection to Telegram dropped. | Tap Restart bot and turn on Stars. |
| This bot's token stopped working | The token was revoked or replaced in @BotFather. | In @BotFather open /mybots › your bot › API Token, copy the token and paste it into the sheet. |
| This bot's token may have leaked | Someone else may be using the token. | Revoke the token in @BotFather and paste the new one. The old token stops working at once. |
| You added this bot twice | Two bots in your TeleCrow account use the same Telegram bot. | Keep one and delete the copy you don't use, then press Turn on Stars again. No new token needed. |
| Another TeleCrow account uses this bot | The same token is in someone else's account. Stars would go to whoever owns the bot in @BotFather. | If the bot is yours, revoke its token in @BotFather and paste the new one. If you can't open it in @BotFather, it isn't yours. |
| Turn off Topics for this bot | "Topics in private chats" is on for the bot in @BotFather. While it is on, Telegram's developer terms (section 6.2.6) add a non-refundable 15% fee to every Stars purchase in the bot. | Turn it off in @BotFather, then tap I turned it off. Check again. |
| Your bot is still starting up / Telegram did not answer | A temporary delay. | Wait a minute and press Turn on Stars again. Nothing was changed. |
What your buyers see
Once Stars is live, the buy screen in your bot asks "How do you want to pay?" and shows two buttons:
- ⭐ Pay 500 Stars (for a $10 item at the default rate). The buyer pays inside Telegram; if they have no Stars, Telegram offers to sell them some. The item arrives in the chat right after payment, followed by a receipt with an order number and the line "Problem with your order? Send /paysupport".
- 💰 Pay $10 from balance. This is TeleCrow's in-bot balance, topped up with crypto. It works as before.
The Stars price shown to buyers is your dollar price times your rate, rounded to whole Stars. You can also set an exact Stars price by hand on any item. To see what that means in money, read Telegram Stars to USD.
Test it with 1 Star
Don't wait for a real customer to find out whether payments work. In the bot's Telegram Stars panel, tap Test with 1 Star. TeleCrow creates a payment link and a QR code.
- Open the link on a second Telegram account, not the one that owns the bot.
- Pay 1 Star. That account needs at least 1 Star.
- Back in the dashboard, the panel shows "The payment reached your bot and the refund went through." The Star goes back to the test account right away.
If nothing shows up, check that you paid from the second account, then try again. The link is valid for a limited time, which the panel shows.
Your duties as a Stars seller: /paysupport and refunds
Telegram's developer terms require every bot that takes Stars to respond to the /paysupport command and handle payment problems. Telegram also lets bots refund Stars in full. A TeleCrow bot handles the mechanics for you:
- /paysupport is answered automatically. The buyer picks the order and a reason: it did not arrive, not as described, paid by mistake, or something else. You get the request by email and under Refund requests in your dashboard.
- Failed deliveries are refunded automatically. If the bot can't deliver what was paid for, the Stars go back to the buyer and the buyer is told.
- Unanswered requests are refunded. If you don't answer a refund request within 72 hours, the buyer gets the Stars back automatically. You can turn this off in Stars settings; then you must answer every request yourself, within 3 days.
- /terms and /support work too. /terms shows short shop terms. /support shows your contact line, which you can write in Stars settings (up to 500 characters).
To answer a request, open it, then choose Refund (Telegram takes the full payment back from your bot's Stars balance) or Decline if the buyer got what they paid for. The buyer is told either way. Telegram advises against selling things that can't be taken back after a refund, so think about that before you sell keys or one-time codes for Stars.
Turning Stars off
Open the bot's Telegram Stars panel and tap Turn off Stars. After you confirm:
- buyers can't pay in Stars until you turn it on again. Pay from balance keeps working;
- monthly Stars subscriptions stop renewing, and members keep access until their paid month ends;
- your Stars balance stays in your bot, and you can still refund sales and answer refund requests.
You can turn Stars back on from the same panel at any time.
Ready to try it? Create a free TeleCrow account, set up a shop bot or a paid channel bot, and turn on Stars from its page. Why sellers choose Stars is covered on Sell with Telegram Stars; how the payment itself works is on Telegram Stars payments.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up Stars payments on Telegram without code?
Create a shop or paid-channel bot in TeleCrow, open its page, tap the "Let buyers pay in Telegram" card and then "Turn on Stars". TeleCrow handles the invoices, delivery, refunds and /paysupport for you.
How do I get paid in Telegram Stars?
Each sale goes into your bot's Stars balance, which belongs to the Telegram account that created the bot. After a hold of up to 21 days, you can withdraw from 1,000 Stars to a TON wallet through Fragment, at $0.013 per Star.
What is /paysupport on Telegram?
It is a command Telegram requires every bot that sells for Stars to answer, so buyers can get help with a payment. In a TeleCrow bot it lists the buyer's Stars orders, asks what went wrong and sends the request to you.
Is a Telegram Stars payment bot free?
TeleCrow's Free plan includes one live bot with up to 50 new users a day and a small TeleCrow ad inside the bot. TeleCrow takes no commission on sales. Telegram's own share of Stars payments applies on every plan.