The topic of in-app payments within Telegram has long been a gray area: developers integrated familiar payment systems but constantly risked getting blocked by Apple and Google. In the summer of 2024, the rules of the game changed for good. Telegram introduced its internal currency — Telegram Stars (Stars). Many myths immediately arose around this tool: some call it the "crypto of the future," while others call it a predatory scheme by the messenger. Let's analyze this tool solely from the perspective of business, numbers, and processes.
What Telegram Stars actually is
Telegram Stars is not a cryptocurrency or a complex financial tool. These are virtual points that users purchase inside the Telegram app through standard App Store and Google Play payment systems (or via a special bot if the app was downloaded directly from the website). For the user, it looks like a one-click purchase using a card linked to their phone.
The messenger was forced to introduce this system to comply with the strict requirements of mobile giants. Apple and Google require that any digital goods and services within apps be sold exclusively through their internal payment mechanisms, from which they take their commission. Ignoring this rule led to the removal of Telegram-бот s and the messenger itself from app stores.
What must be sold exclusively for Stars
If your business is related to digital content, you are required to accept payments in Stars. Attempting to connect regular ruble acquiring for these purposes will lead to your bot being blocked by Telegram moderators or app stores. The following must be sold for "Stars":
- Access to private resources: subscriptions to private Telegram channels, closed chats with experts, interest clubs.
- Digital files: e-books, guides, checklists, ready-made document templates, presets, audio recordings, and video lessons.
- Information services in the bot: paid consultations, text or image generation by neural networks, access to databases. For example, if you sell access to analytical reports or monitoring services (similar to our product PriceTrack, which tracks prices in online stores), subscription payments can be set up via Stars.
- Virtual services and donations: tips for channel authors, purchasing in-game items in mini-apps, paid features in support bots.
Where Stars cannot be used (and regular acquiring is required)
It is important to understand the boundary: Telegram Stars are created exclusively for the virtual world. If a customer buys something from you that can be touched or received in reality, you must use standard payment gateways (Yandex Pay, T-Kassa, Sber, and others).
Using Stars to sell physical goods (clothing, food, flowers, auto parts) and real-world services (booking a haircut, reserving a table in a restaurant, paying for driving school tuition) is prohibited. In these scenarios, we at the BotCreator studio set up classic acquiring. The customer pays for the purchase by card or via SBP (Faster Payments System) directly inside Telegram Mini App, the money is instantly credited to your checking account, and the online cash register automatically sends a fiscal receipt to the buyer's email.
The economics of Stars: commissions, real income, and withdrawing funds
It is important for businesses to calculate unit economics in advance, as Stars commissions may seem unusually high compared to classic acquiring (which typically costs 1.5–3%).
When a user buys Stars, app stores (Apple and Google) take their commission — about 30%. Telegram itself claims that it subsidizes ad purchases made with Stars, making the commission practically zero when reinvesting. But if your goal is to withdraw clean money to your company's checking account, the scheme looks as follows:
- The customer buys Stars in Telegram and uses them to pay for your digital product in the bot.
- "Stars" accumulate on your bot's balance.
- 21 days after receipt, these Stars become available for withdrawal.
- Withdrawal of funds is carried out through the specialized Fragment platform. Currently, withdrawal is possible in TON cryptocurrency.
- The company converts the received cryptocurrency into фиатные деньги (rubles, dollars) through exchanges or exchange services for credit to the checking account.
Due to conversion and platform fees, the total losses on the way from the customer's wallet to your checking account can range from 30% to 40%. This must be factored into the cost of the digital product from the very beginning.
Legal compliance: taxes and receipts for customers
Working with Telegram Stars requires caution from a legal standpoint. Since Telegram is not directly integrated with the tax authorities of your country and does not issue fiscal receipts according to local laws (for example, under 54-FZ in Russia), the responsibility lies with the business.
When withdrawing funds through the Fragment platform, you are actually receiving income from the sale of digital assets or the provision of services to a foreign platform. To legalize this income, companies typically use offer agreements that specify the procedure for converting Stars, and income accounting is conducted upon the actual receipt of fiat money into the company's checking account. We recommend consulting with your accountant before launching large-scale sales to properly set up tax accounting.
How to start implementing Telegram Stars
Integrating Stars into business processes takes place in several steps:
- Scenario design: determine exactly what the user will pay for. This could be a one-time payment for downloading a file or a regular subscription to a private channel.
- Interface development: creating a user-friendly Telegram Mini App or bot where the user can initiate payment in one click.
- Automation setup: the bot must instantly grant access to the content or file immediately after a successful transaction, without administrator intervention.
The specialists at BotCreator studio will help you navigate this path without technical difficulties. We will develop a reliable bot or Mini App, set up прием платежей via Telegram Stars for digital products, or connect classic acquiring for selling physical goods.
Contact us to discuss your project and find the optimal solution for automating sales in Telegram: visit our website botservice.biz and submit a request for a free consultation.
