# Introduction

> *<mark style="background-color:yellow;">**Alby is your companion for bitcoin payments in the digital world of apps and the real world of brick-and-mortar businesses.**</mark>* &#x20;

As such, Alby offers products and services that enable the use of Bitcoin—programmable money with instant, low-cost payments.

### Why should I create an Alby Account?

#### **As a consumer** 🙋‍♀&#xFE0F;**:**

* Start Alby Hub, your self-custodial bitcoin lightning wallet with superpowers
* Use the Alby Browser Extension or Alby Go mobile app
* Get an individual lightning address, set up payment notifications, etc.

#### As a creator 👩‍🎨:

* Connect to podcasting 2.0 apps
* Receive bitcoin payments with the [WordPress Lightning publisher plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/bitcoin-lightning-publisher/)
* Get your personal tipping page

#### **As a merchant** ��**:**

* Connect to BTCPay Server to accept bitcoin payments
* Get a lightning address with your own internet domain
* Export your transaction history for your bookkeeping purposes

#### **As a developer** 👨‍��**:**

* Access a dedicated developer portal: <https://getalby.com/developer>
* Programmatically interact with your wallet and implement custom logic in response to events
* Let Alby's SDKs and AI Skills abstract away the complexities for seamless instant bitcoin payments

### How do you get all these features?

#### 1. Create an Alby Account

Visit getalby.com and click on "Login"

#### 2 Link your wallet

{% content-ref url="/pages/uGnxjgk4rIcM5spvaBAm" %}
[Link wallet](/user-guide/alby-account/link-wallet.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

**That's how you supercharge your bitcoin lightning wallet.** 🚀


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