DocumentationAPI Reference

PayPal

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About

Paypal Logo

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American company operating a worldwide online payments system. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders.

Paypal is one of the world's largest Internet payment companies. The company operates as an acquirer, performing payment processing for online vendors, auction sites and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee.

PayPal's main markets include the US, Germany, UK, France, Australia, Canada, and Italy.

Payment Flow

Properties

Type of Payment
Online
Chargebacks
Yes; typically referred to as 'disputes' at PayPal.
Consumer Currency
AUD, CAD, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PHP, PLN, SGD, SEK, CHF, TWD, THB
Consumer Country
Any
Expiry Period
URL Expiry - The URL returned for online payment methods is generally only valid for a few minutes Authorization Expiry - PayPal allows 3 days within which a merchant may attempt to capture funds. Outside of this window, PayPal will attempt capture on a best-effort basis.
Recurring Payments
Yes
Partial Payment
No
Refunds
Yes. PayPal only accepts refunds up to 60 days.

FAQ

Authorization

  • Payment capture is only guaranteed for 3 days after the payment is authorized. A capture can be attempted up to 29 days after authorization, but PayPal cannot ensure that 100% of the funds will be available after the three-day honor period.
  • PayPal will not allow you to capture funds if the buyer's account is restricted, locked, or a fraudulent case occurs.

Seller Protection

  • PayPal's Seller Protection can offer some protection for PayPal Claims filed for the "Item Not Received" and "Unauthorized Payment" type of Claims.
  • There is no PayPal Seller Protection for "Significantly Not as Described" claims
  • For an order to be covered by PayPal's Seller Protection, the order must meet the following requirements:
    • The customer must have a confirmed/verified address at PayPal.
    • The shipping address must be included with the purchase request.
    • The shipping address must match the customer's confirmed/verified address.
    • The order must be for physical goods.
    • PayPal information requests must be responded to within a timely manner (typically 7 - 10 calendar days)
    • Online tracking must be provided upon request.
    • Proof of Delivery or Proof of Shipment must be provided upon request. (This can be a screenshot from the couriers back-end which shows the delivery address matches the shipping address.)
    • For orders over $750, signed delivery confirmation must be provided upon request.

Best Practices

  • It's best to have a reliable process around PayPal capture. Authorizations are only guaranteed to day 3. Captures are then tried on a best effort basis after day 4, but will not reliably work.
  • For anyone in retail, we always recommend that you do not ship before capture is complete.

Testing

  • Although testing can be completed through the Reach sandbox, Reach does not provide a PayPal developer account with which to complete test authentication on PayPal's sandbox instance. A PayPal developer account can be attained at https://developer.paypal.com. This account can be used to login and authenticate test transactions initiated and completed in the Reach sandbox environment.

Related Information

  • PayPal maintains a thorough list of FAQs here.
  • PayPal maintains a demo site here.

Updated 6 months ago