'PayPal Commerce Platform' replaces the four legacy methods for taking payments with PayPal: ‘PayPal Website Payments’, ‘PayPal Website Payments Pro’, ‘PayPal Website Payments Pro Hosted Solution’ and ‘PayPal Express Checkout’.
How PayPal Commerce Platform Works
With PayPal Commerce Platform your customers will have two routes for checking out and two options for paying with PayPal.
1. In the shopping cart page and at the start of the checkout, a ‘PayPal’ button appears next to the ‘Checkout Now’ directive.
Note: this option will not be available if the cart contains only downloadable products.
Clicking the ‘PayPal’ buttons opens the PayPal checkout in an in-page popup (functioning in much the same way as the older PayPal Express Checkout).
This provides a fast checkout and payment option, requiring the shopper to enter only their PayPal username and password. They can pay using any method available in their PayPal account. At the end of the process they are returned to a confirmation page on your own website.
2. If your customers choose to complete their order through your Sellerdeck checkout, PayPal is offered as a payment option at the end, along with any other payment methods enabled for your site.
If the shopper selects ‘PayPal’, then a ‘Pay with PayPal’ button is made available. If ‘Credit/Debit cards’ is Enabled in your PayPal configuration (see below), then the card entry fields will also appear here.
Note: the data entry method used by PayPal for card capture is compliant with PCI-DSS SAQ-A, but is not compatible with Internet Explorer. The card payment fields will not appear if the shopper is using that browser.
Other payment options may also be presented, depending on your PayPal configuration, what your PayPal account supports, and the purchaser’s location.
Important. PayPal Commerce Platform requires a secure checkout, and the PayPal button will only appear on a secure page. Sellerdeck recommends that your whole site should be configured to use SSL, but SSL may be be used for the checkout and login alone. In this case the PayPal button will not appear on the View Cart page.
Enabling PayPal Commerce Platform with Sellerdeck Desktop
To enable your site to take payments using PayPal Commerce Platform, proceed as follows.
Note: your web site must be uploaded to complete the PayPal onboarding process, which must be able to verify that your order script is accessible.
You will also need the following information to hand:
1. Select ‘Business Settings’ from the Sellerdeck ‘Settings’ menu
2. Select the ‘Payment and Security’ tab
3. Click the [+] icon under ‘Payment Methods’; then select ‘PayPal’ from the ‘Payment Method’ drop-down menu.
4. Click ‘Configure Method’ to open the PayPal Configuration dialog.
5. Click the ‘Information and Registration’ link to start the PayPal onboarding process.
6. Enter the details and click ‘Validate Site’ to validate your site for PayPal.
Taking card payments via PayPal
If you also want to use your PayPal Commerce Server account to take card payments, then add another Payment Method to the grid, selecting ‘PayPal (Cards)’ from the drop-down:
Configure ‘PayPal (Cards)’ using the same account details as ‘PayPal’. Do not onboard the two methods separately.
Using PayPal Commerce Platform on multiple websites
PayPal requires that invoice numbers must be unique across all sites that use the same PayPal Account.
There are two ways of ensuring that this requirement is met.
1. Use a different PayPal Accounts for each site.
2. Ensure that the last digit of the ‘CGI Script ID Number’ (Web | Network Setup) is different for each site. Eg 1,2,3 or 21,22,23 etc. This defines the first digit of the Invoice Number sent to PayPal, and enables you to use the same PayPal account for up to 9 Sellerdeck websites.
Description of fields used in the PayPal configuration panel
Customising the appearance of PayPal elements
PayPal provides a few options for customising the button and logo styles. These may be found under ‘PayPal’ in the ‘Properties’ tab of the Sellerdeck Site Options (Settings | Site Options):
Processing PayPal Commerce Platform payments
If you open an order placed using PayPal Commerce Platform and select the ‘Payments’ tab, you will find some extra buttons enabled, over and above the standard ones.
PayPal Seller Protection
Orders placed via the PayPal checkout will normally be eligible for Seller Protection.
Orders placed via the site checkout, and using PayPal as the Payment Method, will normally be eligible, depending on criteria determined by PayPal. Contact PayPal for further information.
The eligibility or non-eligibility of the order for Seller Protection is recorded in the Comment field of the Payment History dialog:
Using the PayPal Sandbox
It is unlikely that you will need to use the Sellerdeck PayPal integration in Test Mode. But if you do, it must be done in conjunction with the PayPal Sandbox, and requires separate onboarding.
How PayPal Commerce Platform Works
With PayPal Commerce Platform your customers will have two routes for checking out and two options for paying with PayPal.
1. In the shopping cart page and at the start of the checkout, a ‘PayPal’ button appears next to the ‘Checkout Now’ directive.
Note: this option will not be available if the cart contains only downloadable products.
Clicking the ‘PayPal’ buttons opens the PayPal checkout in an in-page popup (functioning in much the same way as the older PayPal Express Checkout).
This provides a fast checkout and payment option, requiring the shopper to enter only their PayPal username and password. They can pay using any method available in their PayPal account. At the end of the process they are returned to a confirmation page on your own website.
2. If your customers choose to complete their order through your Sellerdeck checkout, PayPal is offered as a payment option at the end, along with any other payment methods enabled for your site.
If the shopper selects ‘PayPal’, then a ‘Pay with PayPal’ button is made available. If ‘Credit/Debit cards’ is Enabled in your PayPal configuration (see below), then the card entry fields will also appear here.
Note: the data entry method used by PayPal for card capture is compliant with PCI-DSS SAQ-A, but is not compatible with Internet Explorer. The card payment fields will not appear if the shopper is using that browser.
Other payment options may also be presented, depending on your PayPal configuration, what your PayPal account supports, and the purchaser’s location.
Important. PayPal Commerce Platform requires a secure checkout, and the PayPal button will only appear on a secure page. Sellerdeck recommends that your whole site should be configured to use SSL, but SSL may be be used for the checkout and login alone. In this case the PayPal button will not appear on the View Cart page.
Enabling PayPal Commerce Platform with Sellerdeck Desktop
To enable your site to take payments using PayPal Commerce Platform, proceed as follows.
Note: your web site must be uploaded to complete the PayPal onboarding process, which must be able to verify that your order script is accessible.
You will also need the following information to hand:
- Your cgi-bin URL and Perl Script ID, which can be copied from your Sellerdeck Desktop network settings (Web | Network Setup). If the web site uses SSL only for login and checkout then use the SSL cgi-bin URL for the Onboarding procedure.
- Your Perl Script extension, which is normally .pl
1. Select ‘Business Settings’ from the Sellerdeck ‘Settings’ menu
2. Select the ‘Payment and Security’ tab
3. Click the [+] icon under ‘Payment Methods’; then select ‘PayPal’ from the ‘Payment Method’ drop-down menu.
4. Click ‘Configure Method’ to open the PayPal Configuration dialog.
5. Click the ‘Information and Registration’ link to start the PayPal onboarding process.
6. Enter the details and click ‘Validate Site’ to validate your site for PayPal.
7. As long as the details are valid, and the order script can be accessed then the ‘Connect with PayPal’ button will be displayed.
8. Clicking the ‘Connect with PayPal’ button will open a pop-up where you can log into your PayPal account, or create a new account. If you log in with a personal PayPal account, then you will be asked to upgrade to a business account or create a new one.
9. At the end of the process, click the link to return to your store. You will then be presented with your API details. These include a Client ID, a Secret Key and a Webhook ID. These details must be copied to the corresponding fields in the PayPal Configuration dialog.
10. Configure the other settings as indicated below.
8. Clicking the ‘Connect with PayPal’ button will open a pop-up where you can log into your PayPal account, or create a new account. If you log in with a personal PayPal account, then you will be asked to upgrade to a business account or create a new one.
9. At the end of the process, click the link to return to your store. You will then be presented with your API details. These include a Client ID, a Secret Key and a Webhook ID. These details must be copied to the corresponding fields in the PayPal Configuration dialog.
10. Configure the other settings as indicated below.
Taking card payments via PayPal
If you also want to use your PayPal Commerce Server account to take card payments, then add another Payment Method to the grid, selecting ‘PayPal (Cards)’ from the drop-down:
Configure ‘PayPal (Cards)’ using the same account details as ‘PayPal’. Do not onboard the two methods separately.
Using PayPal Commerce Platform on multiple websites
PayPal requires that invoice numbers must be unique across all sites that use the same PayPal Account.
There are two ways of ensuring that this requirement is met.
1. Use a different PayPal Accounts for each site.
2. Ensure that the last digit of the ‘CGI Script ID Number’ (Web | Network Setup) is different for each site. Eg 1,2,3 or 21,22,23 etc. This defines the first digit of the Invoice Number sent to PayPal, and enables you to use the same PayPal account for up to 9 Sellerdeck websites.
Description of fields used in the PayPal configuration panel
| Field | Meaning |
| Web Site Description | The online name that will be shown to your customers during the checkout stage at your web site. This is the same as the 'Web Site Description' field in the main 'Payment and Security' panel. |
| Provider | A confirmation of the PSP name |
| Run in production mode | With this option selected, customers can use PayPal Commerce Platform to make live payments on your site. |
| Run in test mode | You will only require this option if you need to test the integration using the PayPal sandbox. See the section Using the PayPal Sandbox for more information. Note: If you choose to use test mode, you must repeat the onboarding process when you switch to production mode. |
| Pre-authorize transactions | This option reserves the funds on a credit card without actually taking the money. The amount of the transaction will be removed from a customer's available credit limit. Once you have shipped the goods, you can then contact the PSP in order to actually take the pre-authorised funds. |
| Client ID | Enter your PayPal Client ID, which you were given during the onboarding process. You can also find it by logging in to your PayPal business account. |
| Secret key | Enter your PayPal Secret key, which you were given during the onboarding process. You can also find it by logging in to your PayPal business account. |
| Webhook ID | Enter your PayPal Webhook ID, which you were given during the onboarding process. You can also find it by logging in to your PayPal business account. |
| Landing Page | Allows you to control what the buyer sees when they click the PayPal button. The options are: 1. Login, the buyer will be asked to login but will also have the option to continue as a guest and enter card details. 2. Billing, the buyer is invited to pay by card as a guest but will also have the option to log in to use their PayPal wallet. 3. No Preference, the buyer will be presented with whichever method they used last time on the same browser/device. |
| Brand Name | You can enter a Brand Name to appear in place of the company name in your PayPal Account. This is useful if you trade under different names |
| PayPal Credit | Select ‘Enabled’ if your account supports PayPal Credit, and you want to allow shoppers to pay by this method. Before enabling, you must ensure that you are white listed by PayPal. There are several legal constraints on using the credit option. Default = Disabled. |
| Credit/Debit cards | Select ‘Enabled’ to allow buyers to pay using their Credit or Debit cards on the payment page. Default = Enabled. |
| Additional methods | Select ‘Enabled’ to allow PayPal to offer the buyer alternative payment methods based on the geographic location and currency. These include Giropay, SEPA and SOFORT. PayPal uses other factors to further restrict which methods appear, including withholding any method that is not authorized immediately when the merchant has selected ‘Immediate Payment’. Default = Enabled. |
| 3DS not enforced | PayPal (Cards) 3D Secure was skipped because the authentication system did not require a challenge. The options are to Accept the transaction anyway; or Reject the card and prompt for an alternative.Default = Reject NB if you choose to Accept transactions that have not been authenticated using 3D Secure, you may be assuming liability for any loss. Liability is between yourself, your bank and the card issuer. Check with your bank for further details |
| Card 3DS-unenrolled | PayPal (Cards) The payment card is not enrolled for 3D Secure authentication. Either the card is ineligible, the card network did not require it, or the issuing bank is not participating in the 3D Secure scheme. The options are to Accept the transaction anyway; or Reject the card and prompt for an alternative.Default = Reject NB if you choose to Accept transactions that have not been authenticated using 3D Secure, you may be assuming liability for any loss. Liability is between yourself, your bank and the card issuer. Check with your bank for further details. |
PayPal provides a few options for customising the button and logo styles. These may be found under ‘PayPal’ in the ‘Properties’ tab of the Sellerdeck Site Options (Settings | Site Options):
| Field | Meaning |
| PayPal Button Colour | Selects the PayPal button colour. Valid options are gold, blue, silver, white & black. Default = gold |
| PayPal Button Shape | Selects the PayPal button shape. Valid options are ‘rect’ (rectangle) & ‘pill’ (rounded rectangle). Default = rect |
If you open an order placed using PayPal Commerce Platform and select the ‘Payments’ tab, you will find some extra buttons enabled, over and above the standard ones.
| Button | Description |
| Capture | If you have set your payments to be pre-authorised (see above) you can 'Capture' the payment by clicking this button. This means that the money will actually be taken from the customer's account. |
| Refund | Click this button if you want to refund the payment or part of the payment. |
| Void | If you've very recently processed a payment incorrectly (i.e. that day) you can click this button to cancel it. It then won't show up on the customer's card statement. |
| Seller Central | Opens the PayPal account page in your default browser. |
Orders placed via the PayPal checkout will normally be eligible for Seller Protection.
Orders placed via the site checkout, and using PayPal as the Payment Method, will normally be eligible, depending on criteria determined by PayPal. Contact PayPal for further information.
The eligibility or non-eligibility of the order for Seller Protection is recorded in the Comment field of the Payment History dialog:
Using the PayPal Sandbox
It is unlikely that you will need to use the Sellerdeck PayPal integration in Test Mode. But if you do, it must be done in conjunction with the PayPal Sandbox, and requires separate onboarding.
1. Open the PayPal Configuration dialog.
2. Click the ‘Information and Registration’ link to start the PayPal onboarding process.
3. Append ‘?mode=test’ to the end of the URL in the browser address bar and submit the modified URL.
2. Click the ‘Information and Registration’ link to start the PayPal onboarding process.
3. Append ‘?mode=test’ to the end of the URL in the browser address bar and submit the modified URL.
4. Complete the onboarding process.
5. Paste the sandbox PSP settings into the PayPal Configuration dialog, and select ‘Run in test mode’
5. Paste the sandbox PSP settings into the PayPal Configuration dialog, and select ‘Run in test mode’