How to Set Up Donations on Twitch

Setting up your donations on Twitch isn’t as simple as enabling a “pay now” button. Some people prefer to set up donations with Streamlabs, others want to know how to set up PayPal donations on Twitch. These are just some of the myriad of third-party options for payment that are available for Twitch users. This article explains setting up a donations button on Twitch and several of the payment options available for users, including how to get donations on Twitch without PayPal.

We’ll also cover the impact of the Brave browser and the ease of using Brave Rewards to send and receive donations directly.

How to set up donations on Twitch - the basics

Cryptocurrencies

A popular method of payment is cryptocurrencies, simply because using them to send funds is simple and cheap, compared to other transactions. Twitch users can share their wallet’s address with viewers, allowing them to then send cryptocurrencies directly. The most common issue with sending cryptocurrencies is getting the correct type of wallet. For instance, Bitcoin cannot be sent to an Ethereum wallet, so labeling each address correctly is a must.

• Open up your wallet app.
• Click the RECEIVE button.
• Tap and copy the wallet’s address, which is a long list of random numbers and letters.
• Go to your channel, click EDIT PANELS, hit the + button, fill in the description fields, and add your address to the description.
• The description section is also a good place to specify the cryptocurrency you accept and an explanation of why users should donate to you.

Brave

The Brave browser simplifies the problems usually faced with cryptocurrency donations. Brave Rewards allows users to donate directly from wallet to wallet. Brave users can tip Twitch streamers directly. BAT is a utility token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain, making for a highly secure and private system. There’s no need to set up a separate process - just remind your viewers to download and use the Brave browser.

Twitch Bits

The official Twitch donation system, Twitch Bits, or cheers, are purchased directly from Amazon payments with real cash. Cheers are Twitch’s version of cryptocurrencies and each bit pays for special audio and visual alerts. Cheers are also displayed in the special badges in a chat; the more Bits used, the higher the badge.

• On your channel dashboard, select Partner Settings.
• Select Bits and Cheering.
• Viewers can now pay by typing cheer and the number of bits they wish to send you. Typing CHEER10 into a livestream’s chat tips them 10 bits.

Paypal

Without a doubt, Paypal is the easiest way to accept payment on Twitch. Despite that, it’s a method that does bring some drawbacks: there’s an increased risk of fraud, and PayPal adds an extra step in the payment process. To set up PayPal for donations, follow these steps:

• Set up an email or post a link in a channel chat.
• Go to your channel, click EDIT PANELS, hit the + button, fill in the description fields, and add your PAYPAL.ME link to the description.
• Fill in the description section with any further reasons why users should donate to you.

Third-party Twitch donations

A variety of third-party services exist to collect donations for Twitch users. Sites like Muxy, StreamLabs, Stream Elements, and Gaming for Good all create a donation page on their specific server which viewers can visit and donate.

• On your third party service page dashboard, click DONATION SETTINGS.
• Click the Paypal icon, or whatever payment option you prefer.
• In Settings, select your currency and a minimum donation amount. Using $5 as a minimum prevents lots of small donations.
• Hit SAVE SETTINGS
• Copy the donations address and save it to your Twitch channel page.

Donations - Helpful Info

Donations are a helpful way to make a small revenue on Twitch, although larger accounts generally use Twitch Subscriptions which pay substantially more for Twitch partners or affiliates.

Donations on Twitch are taxable and should be claimed on a tax return.

One of the downsides to using Paypal is chargebacks, where scammers pay using Paypal and then file a complaint with Paypal that they never received anything in return. Paypal usually sides with the buyer and withdraws the sum from the account. For many users, chargebacks alone are a reason to avoid using Paypal, despite the popularity and ease of the service.

Verbalizing your donation link in your channel is the best way to get donations through Twitch. If you’re a small channel, you could also create a list on your channel page for top donors, which publicly thank the donor and encourages repeat donations.

Twitch and Brave

The Twitch platform fits naturally into the new Brave internet economy. Third-party ads don’t work as well on Twitch; the majority of the ways to make money on Twitch rely on using the viewership base for a particular channel rather than relying on advertising income.

Brave, with its focus on user security and privacy, provides an easy way for Twitch streamers to draw increased revenue. Brave lets Twitch viewers bypass all the third-party donation systems, tipping their favorite streamers directly.