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This document describes Website Payments Pro integration.
Intended Audience
This document is intended for merchants and developers implementin g Website Payments Pro.
Where to Go for More Information
For information on the administrative tasks you can perform from your PayPal account, see
the Merchant Setup and Administra tion Guide. The guide is available on the Documentation
page linked to the Library tab in Developer Central.
Revision History
Revision history for Website Payments Pro Integration Guide.
TABLE 1.1 Revision history
DateDescription
10/05/2009Added Immediate Payment.
06/30/2009Added a section on payment review.
06/04/2009Added a chapter on pre-populating the PayPal review page. Updated PayPal
04/08/2009Added a chapter describing the Instant Update Callback API.
12/11/2008Revised the Website Payments Pro introduction and overview chapters.
11/13/2008Added information about integrating dynamic images and added
Edited for technical accuracy.
Removed PayPal placement guidelines.
Review pages. Moved some customization topics out of this guide. They
are now in the Merchant Setup and Administration Guide.
Added Express Checkout feature of passing AMT=0 to create one or more
billing agreements.
information about order details that can be displayed on the PayPal Review
page.
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 20099
Revision History
T
ABLE 1.1 Revision history
DateDescription
06/30/2008Complete revision.
10October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
1
Introducing Website Payments
Pro
PayPal’s Website Payments Pro lets you accept both credit cards and PayPal payments
directly on your website. It consists of two API-based solutions: Direct Payment and Express
Checkout.
Direct Payment lets you accept credit cards on your website. Your customers do not ne ed a
PayPal account to pay. Here’s how it works:
1. Your customer pays on your website with their credit card.
2. The payment information is sent to PayPal using the PayPal DoDirectPayment API
operation.
3. PayPal processes the payment information.
4. The funds from the transaction are sent to your PayPal account.
Express Checkout lets you accept PayPal payments on your website. Your customers benefit
because paying for items is fast. They don't have to spend time typing in financial and
shipping information because their information is already stored in their PayPal account.
Here’s how it works:
1. Your customer chooses to pay with PayPal by entering their email address and PayPal
password, without leaving your website.
2. Your customer makes the payment using PayPal.
3. The payment information is sent to PayPal using PayPal Express Checkout API operations.
4. The funds from the transaction are sent to your PayPal account.
NOTE: If you use Website Payments Pro, you must implement both Direct Payment and
Express Checkout.
NOTE: For information about administrative tasks you can perform from your PayPal account
such as adding users, setting up custom page styles, and managing multiple currency
balances, see the Merchant Setup and Administration Guide. The guide is located on
the Documentation page linked to the Library tab on
Developer Central.
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200911
Introducing Website Payments Pro
1
12October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Introducing Direct Payment
2
Direct Payment lets your customers who do not have a PayPal account pay using their credit
cards without leaving your website. PayPal then processes the payment in the background.
Direct Payment has a single API operation: DoDirectPaymen t, which allows you to process
a credit card transaction. This API operation also alerts you to potentially fraudulent
transactions by providing you with industry-standard AVS and CVV2 responses for each
transaction.
NOTE: Transactions processed using the DoDirectPayment API operation are not covered
by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.
Direct Payment Implementation
When customers choose to pay with a credit card, they enter their card number and other
information on your website. After they confirm their order and click Pay, you complete the
order in the background by invoking the DoDirectPayment API operation. Customers never
leave your site. Although PayPal processes the order, customers aren’t aware of PayPal’s
involvement; PayPal will not even appear on the customer’s credit card statement for the
transaction.The following diagram shows a typical Direct Payment flow:
The numbers in the diagram correspond to the following implementation steps:
1. On your checkout pages, you need to collect the following information from your customer
to be used in the DoDirectPayment request:
– Amount of the transaction
– Credit card type
– Credit card number
– Credit card expiration date
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200913
Introducing Direct Payment
2
Additional Recommendations for Checkout With Direct Payment
– Credit card CVV value
– Cardholder first and last name
– Cardholder billing address
NOTE: You must also retrieve the IP address of customer's browser and include this with
the request.
2. When your customer clicks the Pay button, invoke the DoDirectPayment API operation.
3. The PayPal API server executes the request and returns a response.
– Ack code (Success, SuccessWithWarning, or Failure)
– Amount of the transaction
– AVS response code
– CVV response code
– PayPal transaction ID
– Error codes and messages (if any)
– Correlation ID (unique identifier for the API call)
4. If the operation is successful, you should send your customer to an order confirmation
page.
The Ack code determines whether the operation is a success. If successful, you should
display a message on the order confirmation page.
If not successful, which is either a failure or a success with warning due to Fraud
Management Filters, you should display information related to the error. In addition, you
may want to provide your customer an opportunity to pay using a different payment
method.
Additional Recommendations for Checkout With Direct Payment
Your checkout pages must collect all the information you need to create the
DoDirectPayment request. The following recommendations make it easier for your
customers to provide the needed information and aid in the correct processing of the request:
z Provide a drop-down menu for the “state” or “province” fields. For US addresses, the state
must be two letters, and must be a valid two-letter state, military location, or US territory.
For Canada, the province must be a two-letter Canadian province.
z Ensure customers can enter the correct number of digits for the CVV code. The value is 3
digits for Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. The value is 4 digits for American Express.
z Show information on the checkout page that explains what CVV is, and where to find it on
the card.
z Configure timeout settings to allow for the fact that the DoDirectPayment API operation
can take up to 30 seconds. Consider displaying a “processing transaction” message to your
customer and disabling the Pay button until the transaction finishes.
14October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Introducing Direct Payment
Additional Recommendations for Checkout With Direct Payment
z Use the optional Invoice ID field to prevent duplicate charges. PayPal ensures that an
Invoice ID is used only once per account. Duplicate requests with the same Invoice ID
result in an error and a failed transaction.
2
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200915
Introducing Direct Payment
2
Additional Recommendations for Checkout With Direct Payment
16October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Introducing Express Checkout
3
Express Checkout is PayPal’s premier checkout solution, which streamlines the checkout
process for buyers and keeps them on the merchant’s site after making a purchase.
z The Express Checkout Experience
z Getting Started
z Express Checkout Flow
z Express Checkout Building Blocks
NOTE: For information about administrative tasks you can perform from your PayPal account
such as adding users, setting up custom page styles, and managing multiple currency
balances, see the Merchant Setup and Administration Guide. The guide is located on
the Documentation page linked to the Library tab on
The Express Checkout Experience
Developer Central.
Express Checkout makes it easier for your customers to pay and allows you to accept PayPal
while retaining control of the buyer and overall checkout flow.
Consider your buyer’s experience before implementing Express Checkout. A generic flow
probably has the following sequence of pages:
A generic checkout flow
In a typical checkout flow, the buyer
1. Checks out from the shopping cart page
2. Provides shipping information
3. Chooses a payment option and provides billing and payment information
4. Reviews the order and pays
5. Receives an order confirmation
In an Express Checkout flow, a buyer still checks out at the beginning of the flow and pays on
your site; however, the buyer does not reenter shipping, billing, or payment information,
because it is already available from PayPal. This simplifies and expedites the checkout
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200917
Introducing Express Checkout
3
Getting Started
process. The buyer can then proceed to review the order on your site. You can include other
necessary checkout steps. You can also up-sell to the buyer on your Review Order page.
The following diagram shows the Express Checkout flow:
Express Checkout Flow
In the Express Checkout flow, the buyer
1. Chooses Express Checkout by clicking the Check out with PayPal button
2. Logs into PayPal to authenticate his or her identity
3. Reviews the transaction on PayPal
4. Confirms the order and pays from your site
5. Receives an order confirmation
Getting Started
You can implement Express Checkout in just four steps.
1. Place PayPal checkout buttons and PayPal payment mark images in your checkout flow.
2. For each PayPal button that you place, modify your page to handle the button click.
Use a PayPal API Express Checkout operation to set up the interaction with PayPal and
redirect the browser to PayPal to initiate buyer approval for the payment.
3. On your order confirmation page, obtain the payment authorization from PayPal and use
PayPal API Express Checkout operations to obtain the shipping address and accept the
payment.
4. Test your integration using the PayPal sandbox.
Because PayPal offers you the flexibility and opportunity to control your checkout process,
you should understand how your current checkout flow works and become familiar with the
Express Checkout flow. Start by reviewing Express Checkout Flow. For additional
background information that will help you get started, see Express Checkout Building Blocks.
18October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Introducing Express Checkout
Configuring and Customizing the Express Checkout Experience
After you implement and test your basic Express Checkout integration, you should evaluate
the additional features provided by Express Checkout.
Express Checkout can be configured and customized to fit into your site. Carefully evaluate
each option because the more you do to streamline the checkout process and make Express
Checkout seamless to your customers, the more likely your sales will increase.
At a minimum, you should set your logo on the PayPal site and provide order details in the
transaction history. If you do not need the benefits associated with paying on your site,
consider using the PayPal confirmation page as your Order Review page to further streamline
the user experience. This can lead to better order completion, also know as conversion, rate.
You can configure the look and feel of PayPal pages to match the look and feel of your site by
specifying the
z Logo to display
z Colors for the background and border
z Language in which PayPal content is displayed
Getting Started
3
You should include
z Order details, including shipping and tax, during checkout
IMPORTANT: Not displaying this information is a major cause of shopping cart
abandonment during checkout.
z Shipping information for non-digital goods, which can be your address information for the
buyer or the address on file with PayPal; if you use the address on file with PayPal, you can
specify whether or not it must be a confirmed address
You can also handle special situations, including
z Associating a payment with an eBay auction item or an invoice number
z Accepting payments with giropay
Additional PayPal API Operations
You can use PayPal API operations to include advanced processing and “back office”
processes with Express Checkout, such as
z Capturing payments associated with authorizations and orders
z Handling recurring payments
z Issuing refunds, providing a transaction search capability, and providing other “back
office” operations
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200919
Introducing Express Checkout
3
Express Checkout Flow
Express Checkout Flow
You initiate the Express Checkout flow on your shopping cart page and on your payment
options page.
Express Checkout consists of one flow with two entry points:
z At the beginning of the checkout flow; the buyer clicks the Checkout with PayPal button
z Upon payment; the buyer selects PayPal as a payment option
You must integrate Express Checkout from both entry points. They are explained separately
for simplicity.
Checkout Entry Point
Buyers initiate the Express Checkout flow on your shopping cart page by clicking the
Checkout with PayPal button.
The following diagram shows how Express Checkout integrates with a typical checkout flow:
Integrating Express Checkout from the Shopping Cart page
Payment Option Entry Point
Buyers initiate the Express Checkout flow on your payment methods page by selecting PayPal
as the default option.
The following diagram shows how to integrate Express Checkout from your payment methods
page:
20October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Introducing Express Checkout
Express Checkout Flow
Integrating Express Checkout from the Payment Methodss page
Note that if your checkout flow omits the Merchant Review page and proceeds directly to your
Confirmation page, you can change the text on the PayPal Review page fro m Con tinu e to Pay
Now. For details on how to change the text on the PayPal Review page from ‘Continue’ to
‘Pay Now’ see “User Confirms Order on PayPal” on page 75.
3
Complete Express Checkout Flow
T o implement Express Checkout, you must offer it both as a checkout option and as a payment
method.
You add Express Checkout to your existing flow by placing the Check out with PayPal
button on your checkout page and by providing the PayPal mark on your billing payment
methods page. The following diagram shows the complete flow:
Complete Express Checkout flow
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200921
Introducing Express Checkout
3
Express Checkout Building Blocks
To implement the complete Express Checkout flow
z On your Shopping Cart page, place the Check out with PayPal button and handle button
clicks by setting up the Express Checkout transaction and redirecting your buyer’s browser
to PayPal.
z On your Payment Methods page, associate the PayPal mark with an option. Handle
selection of the PayPal mark by setting up the Express Checkout transaction and
redirecting your buyer’s browser to PayPal.
z After returning from PayPal, complete the Express Checkout transaction by obtaining
shipping information from PayPal and accepting the payment.
Express Checkout Building Blocks
You implement Express Checkout flows with Express Checkout buttons, PayPal API
operations, PayPal commands, and tokens.
The following conceptual diagram identifies the building blocks that you use to integrate
Express Checkout on your website:
Express Checkout Integration
NOTE: Tokens are not shown in the diagram.
22October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Express Checkout Buttons
PayPal provides buttons and images for you to place on your website.
To implement Express Checkout, you must place the following button on your Shopping Cart
page:
To implement PayPal as a payment option, which is part of Express Checkout, associate the
PayPal mark image with the option. Using a radio button, as shown in the image below, is the
recommended way to do this:
Introducing Express Checkout
Express Checkout Building Blocks
3
Express Checkout API Operations
The PayPal API provides three operations for Express Checkout, one to set up the transaction,
one to obtain information about the buyer, and one to handle the payment and complete the
transaction.
API OperationDescription
SetExpressCheckoutSets up the Express Checkout transaction. You can specify information
to customize the look and feel of the PayPal site and the information it
displays. You must include the following information:
z URL to the page on your website that PayPal redirects to after the
buyer successfully logs into PayPal and approves the payment.
z URL to the page on your website that PayPal redirects to if the buyer
cancels.
z Total amount of the order or your best estimate of the total. It should
be as accurate as possible.
GetExpressCheckoutObtains information about the buyer from PayPal, including shipping
information.
DoExpressCheckoutPaymentCompletes the Express Checkout transaction, including the actual total
amount of the order.
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200923
Introducing Express Checkout
3
Express Checkout Building Blocks
Express Checkout Command
PayPal provides a command that you use when redirecting to PayPal, which enables your
buyer to log into PayPal to approve an Express Checkout payment.
When you redirect your buyer’s browser to PayPal, you must specify _ExpressCheckout
command for Express Checkout. You also specify the token that identifies the transaction,
which was returned by the SetExpressCheckout API operation.
IMPORTANT:To enable PayPal to redirect back to your website, you must have already
invoked the SetExpressCheckout API operation, specifying URLs that
PayPal uses to redirect back to your site. PayPal redirects to the success URL
when the buyer pays on PayPal; otherwise, PayPal redirects to the cancel
URL.
If the buyer approves the payment, PayPal redirects to the success URL with the following
information:
z The token that was included in the redirect to PayPal
z The buyer’s unique identifier (Payer ID)
If the buyer cancels, PayPal redirects to the cancel URL with the token that was included in the
redirect to PayPal.
Express Checkout Token Usage
Express Checkout uses a token to control access to PayPal and execute Express Checkout API
operations.
The SetExpressCheckout API operation returns a token, which is used by other Express
Checkout API operations and by the _ExpressCheckout command to identify the
transaction. The life of the token is approximately three hours.
24October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Express Checkout Button and
4
Logo Image Integration
PayPal hosts the PayPal button and logo images that you use on your website. Using PayPal’s
buttons and logos is convenient and standardizes appearance on websites that use PayPal as a
payment option.
z About PayPal Button and Logo Images
z Dynamic Images
z Configuring the Dynamic Image
z Dynamic Image Command Reference
z Static PayPal Buttons and Images Source Requirements
About PayPal Button and Logo Images
To inform buyers that PayPal is accepted on your website, you must place PayPal button and
logo images in your checkout flow.
PayPal Express Checkout requires that you integrate two images. The Check out with PayPal
button and the PayPal Acceptance mark.
Express Checkout Images
The Check out with PayPal button is the image you place on your shopping cart page. The US
version of the image looks like this. PayPal also provides buttons for other locales.
The PayPal Acceptance Mark is the image you place on your payment methods page. It looks
like this:
Express Checkout Image Flavors
The Check out with PayPal button and the PayPal Acceptance mark images are available in
two flavors:
z Dynamic image
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200925
Express Checkout Button and Logo Image Integration
4
Dynamic Images
z Static image
The dynamic images enable PayPal to change their appearance dynamically. If, for example,
you have signed up to participate in a PayPal campaign, PayPal can change the appearance of
the image dynamically for the duration of that campaign based on parameter information you
append to the image URL. By default, the Express Checkout images appears as shown above.
The static images cannot be changed dynamically. To participate in a PayPal campaign, you
would have to manually update the image code to change the image displayed and restore the
default image when the campaign is over. The only way you can have image management
taken care of for you is to replace static images in your implementation with dynamic images.
Dynamic Images
To use dynamic images, you must pass information to PayPal as parameters appended to the
image URL. Your unique ID tells PayPal whether or not you are participating in events that
require image changes. Other information you pass instructs PayPal on the types of images to
return.
If, for example, you are participating in a PayPal campaign that you have signed up for with
PayPal and you have passed the appropriate parameter information to PayPal, PayPal
automatically updates the image to reflect the campaign information. When the campaign is
over, PayPal restores the default image. You are not responsible for scheduling or making
changes to your website application code before, during, o r af ter the campaign. It is all
handled for you when you set up the dynamic image.
If you require localized campaign images, you can have the localized button image display for
each country in which you participate. Simply assign the correct code for the country to the
locale parameter you append to the dynamic image URL. PayPal will return to the default
button image associated with each locale when the campaign is not available.
Configuring the Dynamic Image
To set up the dynamic image, you provide the name-value pair parameter information in the
image URL. You can pass information in the image URL for any of the following options.
z Set Up the Default Image
z Set Up Image for Dynamic Use
z Change the Locale
z Feedback to Buyer Meeting an Incentive
z Choose the Image
26October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Express Checkout Button and Logo Image Integration
Set Up the Default Image
The following URL points to the default Check out with PayPal image:
T o set up the image URL for dynamic use, you associate it with your PayPal merchant account
number or pal. Y o u can obtain your pal by getting it from the Profile page, contacting PayPal,
or calling the GetPalDetails API.
2. You can optionally change the value of LOCALE. See Change the Locale for details.
3. Place the URL with parameter information at the appropriate image locations in your web
application.
The pal alerts PayPal to campaigns in which you are participating. PayPal obtains this
information from your account and replaces the default image with the appropriate
campaign image during that campaign.
NOTE: If you pass in a pal value matching a merchant account that is not yours, PayPal
displays the image for that account. Be sure to pass the pal value matching your
account.
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200927
Express Checkout Button and Logo Image Integration
4
Dynamic Image Command Reference
Change the Locale
To specify the locale of the image, append the locale parameter set to the code for the
appropriate country to the image URL. If a country does not have a localized image or if you
do not pass a locale value, the default US image displays. This example displays the image
for the Spanish locale:
If you are participating in a campaign across multiple countries, you can set the image locale
for each country in which you participate. PayPal returns the default image associated with the
locale when the campaign is over.
Feedback to Buyer Meeting an Incentive
Pass the order total amount in the ordertotal parameter so PayPal can determine if the
buyer is eligible for an incentive. Say, for example, that you are participating in a campaign in
which the buyer is eligible for a 20% discount when thei r order meets a minimum of $50.00.
You can pass that value to PayPal in the ordertotal parameter, as shown here:
When a buyer’s order meets or exceeds $50.00, PayPal displays the incentive image informing
the buyer of their eligibility for the discount. When a buyer’s order is less than $50.00, PayPal
displays the default image.
NOTE: If ordertotal is not passed, PayPal does not display the incentive image even if the
buyer is eligible for the incentive.
Choose the Image
To specify the image that you want to display, set the value of buttontype. This example
sets buttontype to the PayPal Acceptance Mark image:
To set up the information that enables dynamic images, you add name-value pairs to the
dynamic image URL. Parameters and values are described below.
28October 2009Website Payments Pro Integration Guide
Express Checkout Button and Logo Image Integration
Dynamic Image Parameters
The table below describes the dynamic image name-value pair parameters.
Dynamic-Image Command Variable Descriptions
palType: encrypted PayPal account number
(Optional) Unique identification number. When merchants sign up for a PayPal
business account, PayPal assigns them an account number. The pal value
represents the pay-to merchant account, not a third party making the API request
on behalf of this merchant.
NOTE: If pal is not passed, PayPal displays the default Check out with PayPal
button.
ordertotalType: numeric
(Optional) The total cost of the order to the buyer. If shipping and sales tax are
known, include them in this value. If not, this value should be the current subtotal
of the order.
NOTE: If ordertotal is not passed, PayPal does not display the incentive
image even if the buyer is eligible for the incentive.
Character length and limitations: Must not exceed $10,000.00 USD in any
currency. No currency symbol.Must have two decimal places, decimal separator
must be a period (.), and the optional thousands separator must be a comma(,).
Dynamic Image Command Reference
4
localeTy pe: string
(Optional) The five-character locale code. See Locale Codes.
Any other values default to US.
NOTE: The merchant can participate in one campaign per country.
buttontypeType: string
(Optional) Indicates a dynamic image. The values are:
z (Default) Check out with PayPal button image: ecsh ortcut
z PayPa l Acceptance Mark image: ecmark
Locale Codes
The table below lists the locale values. Country code is the two-letter code for the country.
Language priority is the language associated with the country code where language_0 is the
default.
Website Payments Pro Integration GuideOctober 200929
Express Checkout Button and Logo Image Integration
4
Dynamic Image Command Reference
Country codes, language priorities, and locale values