Set Up PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce

PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce facilitates express checkout, which considerably reduces the number of clicks to complete the checkout process.

Allows payment via PayPal Credit – store owners will receive the payment upfront but customers can opt for financing and pay over time.

1. Requires a PayPal business account linked with confirmed identity, email, and bank account.
2. Get the API credentials:
   1. Log into your PayPal business account.
   2. Click Activity near the top of the page and select API Access.
   3. Scroll to NVP/SOAP API Integration (Classic) and click Manage API Credentials.
   4. Create keys if not done already. Else, copy the API Username, API Password, and Signature and paste it into the respective fields of the plugin. 

To begin with, install and activate the plugin. You can navigate to plugin in two ways as given below:

• Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > PayPal Express OR
• Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins > PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce
  > Settings.
  

To use the WooCommerce PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway, you must have a PayPal account. You can open Live or Sandbox accounts free of cost. 

The General Settings are as given below:

• PayPal Payment Gateway: Select the checkbox to enable the PayPal Payment Gateway.
• Title: It is visible on the Checkout page under the payment modes. Specify Title as required(defined by you).
• Description: Specify the required description in this text box. The customer can view this description on the checkout page under the WooCommerce PayPal payment method.

When you integrate the PayPal Express Checkout Button, your buyers can quickly checkout using the shipping information and funding source already stored in their PayPal accounts. They don’t have to re-type any information—saving them time and reducing shopping cart abandonment.

The settings are as shown below:

• Show Express button on: Displays PayPal Express button on chosen pages.
  
• Show Express Credit button on: Displays a PayPal Express Credit button on selected pages. By using PayPal Credit, store owners will receive the payment upfront but customers can opt for financing and pay over time.
  
• Description: Input description displayed above the PayPal Express button.
• Type of Checkout: Select the type of PayPal checkout type. The available options are as given below:
  • Redirect to PayPal: Choose ‘Redirect to PayPal’ to open PayPal in the same window from the cart or checkout page.
  • In-Context Flow PayPal:   Choose ‘in-context flow’ to open PayPal in a new window from the cart or checkout page.
• Button Settings:
  • Position: Select the position of  PayPal Express/Credit Card checkout buttons from the given dropdown list. The available options are as given below:
    • Above: Displays PayPal Express/Credit Card checkout buttons above Add to Cart (Product page checkout) or Proceed to Checkout (Cart page checkout).
    • Below: Displays PayPal Express/Credit Card checkout buttons below Add to Cart (Product page checkout) or Proceed to Checkout (Cart page checkout).
  • Size: Select the Button size for PayPal Express/Credit Card  Button according to your choice. The available options are as given below:
    • Small
    • Medium
    • Large
• Style: Select the style of PayPal Express/Credit ard checkout buttons from the dropdown list. The available options are as given below:
  • PayPal Style: Displays PayPal Express/Credit Card checkout buttons in PayPal style.
  • WooCommerce Style: Displays PayPal Express/Credit Card checkout buttons in WooCommerce style i.e. same style as Add to Cart / Proceed to Checkout.

Set your brand identity at the PayPal end by giving a brand name, logo, banner etc. It will be visible for customers on the PayPal site on choosing to pay via PayPal.

The settings are as shown below:

• Brand name: Enter your store name that will be displayed at the PayPal end.
• Landing page: Redirects customers to the chosen page. By default, redirected to the billing page.
• Logo(190×90): Upload a company logo that will appear on the PayPal end. Image requires an SSL host.
• Header(750×90): Upload a header image that will appear on the PayPal end. Image requires an SSL host.
• PayPal locale:
  • Use Store Locale: Choose to set the PayPal locale the same as the store locale.
  • Use Specific Locale: Choose to set a different locale other than store locale for the PayPal locale. (Drop down lists down the languages supported by PayPal)

• Instant payment: Disable to allow buyers to use funding sources that take additional time to complete (e.g. eChecks). Keep the option in the enabled state, to accept Payments via instant transfer, credit/debit card, or PayPal Credit.
• Payment action: Option ‘Sale’ captures funds immediately. ‘Authorize’ verifies the availability of funds, and captures the payment later. The shop owner can capture payment from the individual WooCommerce order page. From the PayPal Express Action box, the shop owner/admin can capture the payment. Refer to capture payment from the order page to know more.
• Invoice prefix: Enter an invoice prefix to identify transactions from your site. Suppose, you have added Extensionhawk_ in this field, then the Invoice Number will be Extensionhawk_12098.
• Address override: Enabling will prevent the checkout address from being changed at the PayPal end. It will affect express checkout and PayPal will strictly verify the address.
• Shipping details: Enable to send shipping details to PayPal instead of billing. PayPal allows us to send only one among shipping/billing addresses. We advise you to validate PayPal Seller protection to send shipping details to PayPal.
• On payment cancel: Cancelling express payment will redirect customers to the chosen page.
  • Back to Proceeding Page: Directs the customer to the page from where the customer navigated to PayPal.
  • Redirect to Custom Page: Directs the customer to customize the page from PayPal. Enter the URL of the customized page in the Cancel Redirect Page URL field.
• Skip review page: Enable to skip the review page and move to the site directly. The plugin provides you an option to review the order before completion of the order. On the review page, the customer gets the option to place or cancel the order. The setting is as shown below:
  • Seller Policy: This field appears if you do not skip the Review page.  Enter Seller Policy or any customized text which you want to display on the Review page for the customer.

Debug Logs

Records PayPal payment transactions into WooCommerce status log

• Log: Enable to record PayPal payment transactions in a log file.

Finally, click Save changes to save/update the plugin settings.

Cart Page Checkout

1. Once the customer adds the required products to cart, it appears as given below:
2. Click Check out with PayPal button.
3. The PayPal Login page appears as shown below:
4. The customer needs to enter the PayPal login credentials and pay the order amount. If the customer checks out with PayPal Credit Card, the customer needs to enter the credit card and billing details. Finally, the customer is taken to the Review page(if not skipped in settings). The Review page appears as shown below:
5. The Customer can Place / Cancel the order by clicking the respective buttons.

Product Page Checkout

The customer can checkout directly from the product page. The product page appears as given below:

The rest of the checkout steps are the same as cart page checkout, please follow step 2 to place the order.

Regular Checkout

Once the customer adds the required products to cart and comes to the checkout page, it appears as given below:

Click Proceed to PayPal and the preceding steps are the same as cart page checkout, please follow step 3 to place the order.

In-Context Flow Checkout

1. Once the customer adds the required products to cart, it appears as given below:
2. Click the Checkout with PayPal button.
3. The PayPal popup window appears as shown below:
4. The customer will have to enter the PayPal login credentials and pay the order amount.  Once it is done, the customer is directed to Review Page of Order ( if not skipped in Admin settings). The review page is as shown below:
5. The Customer can Place / Cancel the order by clicking the respective buttons.

How to capture authorized payment from the order page?

You can place a hold on a card to reserve funds now but only capture them after your business completes the service. For example, a hotel may want to authorize payment in full prior to a guest’s arrival, then move the money when the guest checks out.
When a payment is authorized, the funds are guaranteed by the card issuer and the amount is held on the customer’s card for up to seven days. If the payment is not captured within this time, the PaymentIntent and authorization are both canceled and funds are released.

The store admin can capture the payment from Dashboard > WooCommerce > Orders > Individual Order. The Order page appears as shown below:

Under PayPal Express Action box, Click Capture to get the order payment. On capture, the payment for the order will be received successfully.

This way the customer can place the order by paying through PayPal securely. For more details on the plugin, check out our PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce.