How to build a Telegram store bot that takes payments
By the Botable team
A Telegram store bot shows a catalogue, holds a cart, and takes payment inside the chat using Telegram Stars. Describe your products and what happens after payment, and Botable builds the catalogue, the cart, and the order records.
What is a store & payments bot?
A Telegram store bot is a checkout that never leaves the chat. Payment runs through Telegram Stars, which means no external payment page, no redirect, and no card form — the confirmation happens in the same conversation as the browsing. The parts that need describing are the catalogue shape (a flat list is fine under about twenty items; more than that needs categories), the cart, and above all what happens after payment succeeds: a digital product should be delivered immediately in the chat, while a physical one needs an address step and an order reference. Orders have to be stored, because a payment with no record is a dispute waiting to happen. Refunds and cancellations need a stated policy the bot can enforce. On Botable the product table, the cart state, and the order log are created as part of the build, and revenue is visible from the dashboard.
What commands does it have?
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/shop | Browses the catalogue by category |
/cart | Shows the cart and the total |
/checkout | Takes payment through Telegram Stars |
/orders | The user's past orders and their status |
/track <id> | Status of one order |
What do you need before you start?
- A Telegram bot token from @BotFather
- Your products: names, prices, and whether each is digital or physical
- A post-payment rule — instant delivery, or an address and fulfilment step
How do you build it?
How should the catalogue be laid out?
A flat list of buttons works up to roughly twenty items. Beyond that, categories first and products inside them, so no single message needs scrolling. Say which you need — restructuring a catalogue after customers have bookmarked it is avoidable work.
How does payment work without an external checkout?
Through Telegram Stars, inside the chat. The user confirms and the bot receives the payment event. Describe whether you sell one-off items, subscriptions, or both, because a recurring charge is a different flow from a single purchase.
What has to happen the moment a payment succeeds?
Write the order, then deliver. A digital product goes straight into the chat; a physical one collects an address and returns an order reference. Ask for the order to be recorded before delivery — a delivery with no order row is impossible to support later.
How do you handle refunds?
State the policy and let the bot enforce it. A refund window the bot checks is consistent; one that depends on who reads the message is not, and inconsistency is what turns a refund into a complaint.
A prompt you can use as-is
Paste this into Botable and adjust the details. It is specific on purpose — a vague description produces a vague bot.
Build a store bot. /shop browses products by category with inline buttons, each showing name, price in Stars and a short description. Add to cart, /cart shows contents and total, /checkout takes payment with Telegram Stars. On successful payment, write an order row with a reference before anything else, then deliver: digital items immediately in the chat, physical items after asking for a delivery address. /orders lists my past orders with status, /track <reference> shows one. Refunds allowed within 14 days, enforced by the bot.
Who is this bot for?
- Creators selling digital goods to an audience already on Telegram
- Small shops that want ordering in the chat instead of a website
- Subscription or membership access sold inside a community
What goes wrong with this kind of bot?
- Record the order before delivering, not after — the reverse is unsupportable
- Digital and physical fulfilment are different flows; do not blend them into one
- Publish a refund rule the bot can actually enforce, then let it
Questions about store & payments bots
Do I need Stripe or a merchant account?
Not for Telegram Stars — the payment happens inside Telegram, so there is no external checkout to connect. If you need card payments as well, describe that and the appropriate provider can be wired in.
Can it sell subscriptions rather than one-off items?
Yes. Recurring access is supported, with the bot granting and revoking membership as the subscription starts and lapses. Say which products are recurring when you describe the catalogue.