# Telegram referral links: how they work

Telegram's affiliate program, a bot's start-parameter link and Stars rewards in Shiba Bank.

https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/referral-links

Updated 2026-10-02 · 5 min read

A referral link on Telegram is a personal link: a person opens a bot or a Mini App through it, and whoever shared it gets a reward for that person's purchases. Telegram has its own affiliate program for bots and Mini Apps, and individual bots run referral programs of their own. These are two different mechanisms. Below: how they differ and how the Shiba Bank program works.

## Telegram's affiliate program

Telegram launched affiliate programs for Mini Apps: any Telegram user and any channel can join a program that a developer has started ([Telegram blog](https://telegram.org/blog/affiliate-programs-ai-sticker-search)).

1. Open the list of available programs in your Star Balance in the settings.
2. Pick a program and take your personal referral link.
3. Share it. When a person opens the Mini App through it and pays there with Stars, you get a commission — a part of the Stars that person spends in the app.

The commission lands on your balance right after the referred person's purchase. It is paid for the whole term stated in the program's conditions — even if the developer ends the program early. The developer picks the share and the term, so every program has its own: read the conditions before you share the link. A program can be started by the bot's owner ([Telegram documentation](https://core.telegram.org/api/bots/referrals)).

## A bot's own referral link

Every bot has a link like `https://t.me/bot_name?start=value`. Telegram allows Latin letters, digits, underscore and hyphen in the value, up to 64 characters, and the bot receives it together with the `/start` command ([Telegram documentation](https://core.telegram.org/bots/features)). What the bot does with the value is up to the bot. As a rule it carries the code of whoever invited the person, and the bot remembers who brought the newcomer. The reward for such a referral is paid by the bot, not by Telegram: its size and conditions differ from bot to bot.

## The Shiba Bank referral program

In the Shiba Bank bot [@barboskich_stars_bot](https://t.me/barboskich_stars_bot) the reward for friends is paid in Stars. Here is how it works according to the bot's own description:

1. In the main menu open "🔗 Invite friends": it holds your personal link, your statistics and a "Share link" button.
2. A friend opens the bot through your link before their first paid purchase. The link is attached once and does not change afterwards. You cannot use your own link on your own account.
3. Your friend's purchases go into your statistics. Regular Stars purchases and external wallet top-ups count. Premium, GRAM, payments from the internal wallet, `+send`, `+boom`, and cancelled or refunded orders do not.
4. The reward arrives as Stars in your wallet in the bot right after your friend's order is fulfilled — no requests, no approvals. If one purchase brings less than a whole Star, the remainder builds up and is credited as soon as it reaches one ⭐.

The reward is your share of what the service itself makes on your friend's purchase. The share grows with the number of active friends over the last 30 days. As of 2 October 2026 the levels are:

| Active friends | Share |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | 20% |
| 3–5 | 25% |
| 6–10 | 30% |
| 11–20 | 40% |
| 21 or more | 50% |

Purchases of 50 ⭐ or more count towards the active friends. The current terms are always visible in the bot: "🔗 Invite friends" → "How it works".

The price for the invited friend does not go up. You see their public @username or name (or a masked label), the date they joined and their general status, but not their orders or payment details. A person appears in your referral list after their first launch of the bot through your link: no purchase is needed for that, but the reward is paid only for purchases.

The bot's links in chats are referral links too: the buttons and mentions of the bot that it publishes in your group carry your mark if you are the one who added the bot to the chat. More in [Telegram group bots](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/group-bots) and [Stars drops in chats](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/drops-in-chats).

[Everything inside Telegram — Open the app](https://t.me/barboskich_stars_bot?startapp=site_ai_en)

## Don't fall for a "referral" trick

A genuine referral link only opens a bot or a Mini App. If it asks you for a login code, a password, a wallet's secret phrase or to "verify your account", it is a scam. Read [Telegram scams](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/telegram-scams).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a referral link on Telegram?
It is a personal link through which a person opens a bot or a Mini App. If they have a referral or affiliate program, whoever shared the link receives a reward for the invited person's purchases.

### How do I get a referral link on Telegram?
For Telegram's affiliate program: in your Star Balance in the settings, by choosing a program from the list. For a Shiba Bank link: in the bot, under "🔗 Invite friends".

### How does Telegram's affiliate program work?
A Mini App developer sets the share and the term. You share your link, and when a person pays in the app with Stars, you receive the commission on your balance right after the purchase.

### Does a friend have to buy Stars to count as a referral in Shiba Bank?
No, they appear in your list after their first launch of the bot through your link. But the reward is paid only for their purchases.

### When does the Shiba Bank reward arrive?
Right after your friend's order is fulfilled, as Stars in the wallet in the bot. If a purchase brings less than a whole Star, the remainder builds up.

### Does the price change for the invited person?
No, the price for the invited user does not go up.