Set up PayPal Express Checkout Payment Gateway for WooCommerce

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

PayPal Smart Payment Buttons(Recommended) give merchants different ways to customize the size, color, and shape of the PayPal checkout button. The plugin auto-detects customer’s country and shows available payment methods like PayPal Credit, Venmo, including local payment methods at checkout.

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.

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

• Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > PayPal Express OR

OR

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

With the plugin, you can accept PayPal payments in two ways:

Payment types	Steps to set up
PayPal Smart Buttons	Enable the PayPal Payment Gateway and Smart Button Input the PayPal Client ID and Secret credentials Customize the Smart Buttons Save Settings
PayPal Express Buttons	Enable the PayPal Payment Gateway and Express Button Input the PayPal API credentials Save Settings

PayPal Smart Payment Buttons are rendered using the PayPal API. It allows customizing the smart buttons in different ways. The alternative payment methods accept payments by using local funding sources based on the country.

Using PayPal’s Smart Button, you can accept payment from customers using multiple Alternative Payment Methods (APM). With Alternative payment methods, customers can pay with their bank accounts, wallets, and other local payment methods based on country or device such as:

• Bancontact
• BLIK
• eps
• giropay
• iDEAL
• MyBank
• Pay upon Invoice
• Przelewy24
• SOFORT

To use the WooCommerce PayPal Smart Payment Button, you must have a PayPal business account. You can open Live or Sandbox accounts free of cost. 

To get the Client ID and Secret:

• Log in to your PayPal business account.
• Get API Access credential in any of the two ways:
  • Go to Activity at the top of the page and choose API Access or
  • From Account settings > API Access.
• Scroll down to the REST API Integration section and click Manage API apps and credentials. The REST API apps window opens up.
• Click on the PayPal Developer experience link to create or manage apps. 
• Next, click on the create a new app button. Then, input the application details.
• Copy and paste the Client ID and Secret in the respective fields of the plugin.

Following are the customization options:

You get options to choose the Size of buttons as Small, Medium, Large or Responsive.

Choose from a set of predefined labels from PayPal to appear as Button labels. The available options are PayPal, Buy Now, Pay, Checkout.

Show or hide the Tagline on the checkout page. Note: The Tagline will be hidden for the Vertical layout.

Choose the Button color as Gold, Blue, Silver, White or Black.

Choose the Shape of the button as either Pill or Rect.

Layout for buttons can be either Vertical or Horizontal.

Disable a funding source by choosing it from the available options. Note: The funding sources are shown on the checkout based on country or device type.

Scroll down the window and Save settings to get the payment buttons at the checkout.

For the Alternative Payment Method to render, the cart currency must be in the supported currency. PayPal supports currency codes for the buyer countries unless otherwise stated.

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Payment workflow:

1. The buyer clicks on an alternative payment option from the cart, product or checkout page as per the settings. In the above example, for the United States – PayPal Later, Debit and Credit Card, for Germany – SEPA, giro pay, Sofort, Debit and Credit Card and for the Netherlands – Online betalen, Sofort, Debit and Credit Card appears as alternative payment method.
2. This will prompt the buyer to provide their personal information.
3. PayPal transfers the buyer to an alternative payment provider (bank, wallet) to confirm the purchase.
4. Authorizes and confirms payment by the buyer.
5. Upon returning to the merchant’s site, the buyer completes the transaction.
6. The merchant initiates payment completion. Following the payment, PayPal will send funds to the merchant.

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.

Requires a PayPal Business account linked with confirmed identity, email, and bank account.

To get the API credentials:

• Log in to your PayPal business account.
• Get API Access credential in any of the two ways:
  • Go to Activity at the top of the page and choose API Access or
  • From Account settings > API Access.
• Scroll down to NVP/SOAP API Integration (Classic) and click Manage API credentials.
• Create keys if not done already. Else, copy the API Username, API Password, and Signature
• Paste API Username, API Password, and Signature in the respective fields of the plugin.

Following are the customization options:

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.

The express button on the cart page will appear as shown below:

The express button on the product page will appear as shown below. The buyer can checkout directly from the product page. Clicking the Checkout with the PayPal button/ PayPal Credit will redirect the buyer to the PayPal site.

• 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.

In-Context Flow Checkout

1. Once the customer click the Checkout with PayPal button.
2. The PayPal popup window appears as shown below:
3. The customer will have to enter the PayPal login credentials and pay the order amount.  

• 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.

The PayPal express button on the cart page will appear as shown below:

1. The buyer can checkout directly from the product page or from the cart page.
2. Then buyer can choose to pay using either Checkout with PayPal or PayPal Credit button.
3. This will redirect the buyer to the PayPal Login page.
4. The buyer 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).
5. The buyer can Place / Cancel the order by clicking the respective buttons.

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)

The logo will appear at the PayPal end as shown below:

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.

Authorize or Capture 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 WooCommerce > Orders > Individual Order. The Order page appears as shown below:

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

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

Canceling 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.

1. On placing an order, the buyer is directed to Review Page of Order ( if not skipped in Admin settings) as shown below.
2. The buyer can Place / Cancel the order by clicking the respective buttons.

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.

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.