PayPal Pro

NOTE

This product is no longer sold on WooCommerce.com. This document has been left available for existing users, but will no longer be updated.

PayPal Pro for WooCommerce allows you to take credit card details directly on your checkout page.

The PayPal Pro extension gives you access to two gateways: PayPal Pro (website payments pro) and PayPal Pro PayFlow. Both allow you to authorize and capture.

GatewaySupported CountriesSupported Cards
PayPal ProUS, UK, Canada
  • UK: Visa, MasterCard, Maestro/Switch (requires 3D Secure), Solo
  • US: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
  • Canada: Visa, MasterCard
PayPal Pro PayFlowUS, Australia Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express

For more info, see: PayPal Product Availability by Country.

Important

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  • PayPal Pro is only available to holders of a PayPal Pro Business account.
  • An SSL certificate is required. Info on free SSL certificates at: SSL and HTTPS.
  • Authorizations are guaranteed for up to 3 days, though the capture of authorizations can be attempted for up to 29 days.
  • You cannot accept payments from customers in Russia if your Payflow Pro account is tied to a Website Payments Pro account.

If you’re in the United States and concerned about PCI compliance, read: PCI-DSS Compliance and WooCommerce.

Installation

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  1. Download the .zip file from your WooCommerce account.
  2. Go to: WordPress Admin > Plugins > Add New to upload the file you downloaded with Choose File.
  3. Activate the extension.
Note: PayPal requires an SSL certificate, so be sure to tick the Force Secure Checkout checkbox at: WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced.

Setting Up PayPal Pro

PayPal Pro requires that you have a PayPal Pro business account. You can sign up for one on PayPal’s website. Just know this has a monthly fee associated with it. Once your business account is ready we can set up the payment method.

  1. Go to: WooCommerce > Settings > Payments.
  2. Select Manage next to PayPal Pro.
  3. Configure your settings:
    • Enable/Disable – Enable to use. Disable to turn off.
    • Title – Enter a title to be shown during checkout
    • Description – Enter a description shown to users
    • Test Mode – Enable PayPal Sandbox for testing. Remember to disable when ready to go live
    • API Username – PayPal Pro API username obtained from PayPal
    • API Password – PayPal Pro API password obtained from PayPal
    • API Signature – PayPal Pro API signature obtained from PayPal
    • Payment Action – Choose to capture funds immediately or only obtain authorization
    • 3D Secure 2 – Enable or disable 3D Secure 2 (UK only; see below)
    • 3D Secure 1 – Enable or disable legacy 3D Secure integration (UK only; see below)
    • Send Item Details – Checkbox should be ticked. Disable if you experience rounding errors.
    • Soft Descriptor – Optional description shown in user’s account statement, e.g., your site/store name. Limit of 23 characters
    • Debug Log – Tick checkbox to enable/disable for troubleshooting purposes
  4. Save.

Getting Your PayPal API Credentials

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  • Log into your PayPal account on PayPal.com, hover over the gear icon and select Account Settings.
  • From the Account Access section select Update next to API Access.
  • Find the NVP/SOAP API Integration (Classic) and select Manage API credentials.
  • Select “Show” next to API Username, API Password, and Signature.
  • Copy and paste each of those into their corresponding field under WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > PayPal Pro.

3-D Secure

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In the UK, 3-D Secure is required to accept Maestro credit cards and can also help prevent chargebacks. To learn more, see PayPal UK Security.

3D secure
How 3-D Secure works.

The 3-D Secure 2 integration is now closed for new registrations. Please consider using the new PayPal Payments extension.

The 3D Secure 2 functionality is powered by Cardinal Cruise, and requires requesting and providing an additional set of credentials:

This will trigger modal authentication (if and when required by the customer’s bank) without leaving the Checkout screen.

To test 3-D Secure with PayPal sandbox, use a credit card from one of your test sandbox buyer accounts and then, depending on the outcome you wish to simulate, choose the expiry date during checkout.

For example, if you use a PayPal sandbox card number 45678xxxxxxx0002 but the Expiry Date 01/2013, you will generate the Fully Authenticated Test case with 3D Secure, and still reach the PayPal gateway for the authorization.

Setting up PayPal Pro PayFlow

Obtain Credentials for PayPal PayFlow

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PayPal Pro PayFlow requires that have a PayPal Pro business account. You can sign up for one at the PayPal website. Be aware that you incur a monthly fee.

paypalpayflow-settings

Setup and Configuration

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  1. Go to: WooCommerce > Settings > Payments.
  2. Select PayPal Pro PayFlow. This takes you to the Settings screen.
  3. Configure your settings.
    • Enable/Disable – Enable to use. Disable to turn off.
    • Title -Enter a title to be shown during checkout
    • Description -Enter a description shown to users
    • Soft Descriptor – Optional description shown in the user’s account statement, e.g., your site/store name. Limit of 23 characters
    • Test Mode – Enable PayPal Sandbox for testing. Remember to untick the box to go live.
    • Transparent Redirect – Shows the form on its own and sends direct to PayPal, which is more secure and PCI compliant friendly. ‘Enable Secure Token’ must be activated on your PayFlow account
    • PayPal Vendor – Vendor created when you Set up Payflow Pro API access
    • PayPal Password – Password created when you set up Payflow Pro API access
    • PayPal User – User created when you set up Payflow Pro API access
    • PayPal Partner – PayPal or the value created when you set up Payflow Pro API access
    • Payment Action – Choose to capture payment immediately or only obtain authorization
    • Debug Log – Tick checkbox to enable/disable for troubleshooting purposes. Otherwise, leave disabled.
  4. Save.

Testing with the Sandbox (not live)

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To test PayPal Pro in Sandbox mode:

  1. Use a Developer account to log in to the PayPal Developer website.
  2. Select Dashboard > Sandbox > Accounts.
  3. Select the -facilitator address, choose Profile > API Credentials, and copy the credentials.
  4. Enable Sandbox mode and enter the API credentials at WooCommerce > Settings > Checkout > PayPal Pro.