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.

Gateway	Supported Countries	Supported Cards
PayPal Pro	US, UK, Canada	UK: Visa, MasterCard, Maestro/Switch (requires 3D Secure), Solo US: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express Canada: Visa, MasterCard
PayPal Pro PayFlow	US, Australia	Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express

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

Important ↑ Back to top

• 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 ↑ Back to top

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.

Setting Up PayPal Pro ↑ Back to top

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 ↑ Back to top

• 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 ↑ Back to top

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.

The 3-D Secure 2 integration 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.

To learn more about 3-D Secure and test cases, see: Implementing 3-D Secure Transactions (UK).

Setting up PayPal Pro PayFlow ↑ Back to top

Obtain Credentials for PayPal PayFlow

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.

• Go to: www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/payflow-payment-gateway
• To generate an API user, start at Profile > Request API credentials > Set up Payflow Pro API access > Create Access.

Setup and Configuration ↑ Back to top

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 user’s account statement, e.g., your site/store name. Limit of 23 characters
   • Test Mode – Enable PayPal Sandbox for testing. Remember to untick 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) ↑ Back to top

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.

You can also use the buyer account in Sandbox, and use test credit cards during checkout. You cannot use live API details with Sandbox.

FAQs ↑ Back to top

Can I use PayPal Pro in Australia? ↑ Back to top

PayPal Pro in Australia is not the same as PayPal Pro in the US, Canada and the UK, so this extension will not work with a PayPal Pro Australia account. However, you can set up a PayFlow account in Australia, and PayPal will link that with your PayPal account and you can use that with this extension.

Can I change the credit card icons? ↑ Back to top

The icon used is filterable by adding code to your theme functions.php file. Replace the image URL as follows.

For PayPal Pro:

For PayPal Pro Payflow:

Ensure to link your icon via https to keep the connection secure.

How do I enable address verification? ↑ Back to top

Address verification is done on the PayPal side. If address verification fails, the order is put On Hold.

Is this compatible with WooCommerce Subscriptions? ↑ Back to top

No, PayPal Pro does not support recurring billing currently.

What is the transaction ID? ↑ Back to top

PayPal Pro generates unique transaction IDs for the authorization and the capture. This means that while the Authorization ID is made available as soon as you authorize, the Capture ID is not available until the funds are captured.

Receiving “PayPal Express Checkout is not setup on this account”? ↑ Back to top

Consider changing the privilege role for your PayPal user from API_FULL_TRANSACTIONS to ADMIN_TRANSACTIONS.

1. Log in to your PayPal Manager account.
2. Enter your Partner, Merchant Login and Password information, then click Log In.
3. Click Account Administration.
4. Under Manage Users you can then edit privilege levels.

For more information on predefined roles, see About User Privilege Levels.