Paypal Website Payments Pro 2007 Developers Guide Developer’s

Website Payments Pro - 2007 - Developer’s Guide PP_WebsitePaymentsPro_IG_2007 Free User Guide for PayPal Software, Manual

2015-07-27

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Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

© 2006 PayPal Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal, the PayPal logo, Payflow, and Payflow Pro are registered
trademarks of PayPal Inc. Other trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
The information in this document belongs to PayPal Inc. It may not be used, reproduced or disclosed
without the written approval of PayPal Inc.
PayPal (Europe) Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United
Kingdom as an electronic money institution. PayPal FSA Register Number: 226056.

Notice of Non-Liability
PayPal Inc. is providing the information in this document to you “AS-IS” with all faults. PayPal Inc.
makes no warranties of any kind (whether express, implied or statutory) with respect to the information
contained herein. PayPal Inc. assumes no liability for damages (whether direct or indirect), caused by
errors or omissions, or resulting from the use of this document or the information contained in this
document or resulting from the application or use of the product or service described herein. PayPal Inc.
reserves the right to make changes to any information herein without further notice.
PayPal Inc. does not guarantee that the features described in this document will be announced or made
available to anyone in the future.

Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Organisation of This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Where to Go for More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
How to Contact Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 1

Website Payments Pro Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

How Website Payments Pro Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Supported Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Supported Currencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Direct Payment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
PayPal Express Checkout Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Additional Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Business Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
About the PayPal SDK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 2

Installing and Configuring the Payflow SDK . . . . . . . . 13

Supported Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Preparing the Payflow Client Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 3

Creating a Simple Transaction Request . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Transaction Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Request Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Data Modes for Sending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Connection Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Values Required by All Transaction Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Sale Transaction Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Typical Sale Transaction PARMLIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
How to Format a Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Contents

Chapter 4

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions

. . . 21

How Direct Payment Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
About Direct Payment Credit Card Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Considerations Regarding Your Website Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Parameters Used in Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Additional Parameters by Transaction Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Submitting Sale Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
When to Use a Sale Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Additional Parameters for Sale Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Typical Sale Transaction Parameter String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Required Authorisation Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Typical Authorisation Transaction Parameter String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Required Delayed Capture Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Delayed Capture Transaction: Capturing Transactions for Lower Amounts . . . . . . . 33
Delayed Capture Transaction: Capturing Transactions for Higher Amounts . . . . . . 34
Delayed Capture Transaction: Error Handling and Retransmittal . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Submitting Credit Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Required Credit Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Credit Transaction Parameter Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Submitting Void Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
When to Use a Void Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Required Void Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Example Void Transaction Parameter String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Recharging to the Same Credit Card (Reference Transactions). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
When to Use a Reference Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Transaction Types that Can Be Used as the Original Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Fields Copied from Reference Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Example Reference Transaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Using Address Verification Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Example AVS Request Parameter String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Example AVS Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Card Security Code Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
American Express Card Security Code Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Example CVV2 Request Parameter String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Example CVV2 Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Contents

Chapter 5

Testing Credit Card Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Testing Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Credit Card Numbers Used for Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Testing Result Code Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 6

PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing . . . . . 47

What Is PayPal Express Checkout? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
How PayPal Express Checkout Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Sale and Authorisation Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Void, Delayed Capture and Credit Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
PayPal Express Checkout Sale Transaction Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Set Express Checkout (ACTION=S) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Redirecting the Customer to PayPal Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Get Express Checkout Details (ACTION=G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Redirecting the Customer to Your Website Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Do Express Checkout Payment (ACTION=D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Parameter Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Sale and Authorisation Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Void Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Delayed Capture Transaction Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Credit Transaction Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter 7

PayPal Button Placement and Page Designs . . . . . . . . 65

HTML for PayPal Button Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Examples of Button Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Payment Method Page Layout Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 8

Responses to Transaction Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Contents of a Transaction Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Address Verification Responses from PayPal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Card Security Code Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Normalised Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
PayPal Card Security Code Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PNREF Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
PNREF Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Contents

RESULT Codes and RESPMSG Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
RESULT Values for Transaction Declines or Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
RESULT Values for Communications Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Appendix A Verbosity: Viewing Processor-Specific
Transaction Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Supported Verbosity Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Changing the Verbosity Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Setting the Default Verbosity Level for All Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Setting the Verbosity Level on a Per-Transaction Basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Appendix B ISO Country Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Preface

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide describes Website Payments Pro and how
to integrate it into your website using the Payflow SDK. The product offers two website
payment solutions: PayPal Direct Payment and PayPal Express Checkout.

Intended Audience
This guide is written for merchants who have signed up through PayPal Manager to
use PayPal as their processor and Website Payments Pro as their solution for handling
payment transactions on their website.
This guide assumes that its readers:
z

Are experienced web or application developers

Have a background in payments services

Scope
This guide describes the Payflow SDK programming interfaces needed to integrate Website
Payments Pro into your website, along with guidelines and best practices for presenting
these payment offerings.

Organisation of This Document
The guide is organised into the following chapters and appendices:
z
z

Chapter 1, “Website Payments Pro Overview”, provides a brief overview of the product.
Chapter 2, “Installing and Configuring the Payflow SDK”, describes where to get the
Payflow SDK and how to install it.
Chapter 3, “Creating a Simple Transaction Request”, identifies a common set of
transaction data required in all transactions and provides syntax guidelines on how to
format it so that it can be understood by the Payflow server.
Chapter 4, “Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions”, describes how you can
implement Direct Payment credit card processing. The chapter provides a basic set of data
parameters typically used in transaction requests.
Chapter 5, “Testing Credit Card Transactions”,

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Preface
Where to Go for More Information

z
z

Chapter 6, “PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing”, explains how PayPal
Express Checkout works and describes additional (optional) parameters you can send
in PayPal Express Checkout transaction requests.
Chapter 7, “PayPal Button Placement and Page Designs”,
Chapter 8, “Responses to Transaction Requests”, describes parameters returned in
transaction responses.
Appendix A, “Verbosity: Viewing Processor-Specific Transaction Results”, describes how
you can use the VERBOSITY parameter to control the kind and level of information you
want returned in a transaction response
Appendix B, “ISO Country Codes”, lists the country codes you provide as transaction data
in certain transactions.

Where to Go for More Information
PayPal Manager Online Help describes the use of PayPal Manager — the web-based
administration tool that you can use to process transactions manually, issue credits
and generate reports. PayPal Manager provides links to the PayPal website, where you can
perform additional tasks such as resolving disputes. See the Manager Online Help for details.
Getting Started with PayPal Manager contains instructions on how to use PayPal Manager,
including testing credit card numbers and Direct Payments.
For answers to specific questions about Payflow products, search PayPal’s Knowledge Base
at the following URL: http://knowledge.paypal.com/.

How to Contact Customer Service
For problems with transaction processing or your connection to the server, contact Customer
Service at business-support@paypal.co.uk.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Website Payments Pro Overview

With Website Payments Pro, you get the payment processing capabilities of a merchant
account and gateway – plus much more. It is an all-in-one payment solution that includes:
z

Direct Payment. Direct Payment enables you to accept credit card payments directly
on your website. PayPal remains invisible, so you control the customer experience.
PayPal Express Checkout. PayPal Express Checkout allows PayPal account holders
to check out fast with saved information, and enables you to gain incremental sales
from PayPal’s growing base of users.

How Website Payments Pro Works
Figure 1.1, “ High-Level View”, is an example of a standard checkout process.
Website Payments Pro has the flexibility to work with your unique checkout process,
whether it is one page or has multiple steps.
FIGURE 1.1 High-Level View

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Website Payments Pro Overview
Supported Transactions

After selecting products to purchase, your customer chooses whether they want to pay using
PayPal or pay using credit cards directly on your website.
If your customer pays using credit cards on your website, PayPal processes them in the
background.
If your customer chooses to use PayPal, your customer is transferred to PayPal to log in and
select a postal address and payment method, and is returned to your website to complete their
purchase.
Once the buyer completes their order, you receive your payment.

Supported Transactions
Website Payments Pro supports the following transaction types:
Sale
Authorisation
Void
Delayed Capture
Credit
Chapter 4, “Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions”, describes the transaction
types in detail and identifies the minimum parameters that you must send for each.

Supported Currencies
Website Payments Pro supports the following currencies:
z

USD (US dollar)

EUR (Euro)

GBP (UK pound)

CAD (Canadian dollar)

JPY (Japanese Yen)

AUD (Australian dollar)

Unlike other processors that require you to set up a separate account for each currency,
PayPal allows you to run transactions using any of the six currencies with a single account.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Website Payments Pro Overview
Direct Payment Overview

Direct Payment Overview
Direct Payment offers you direct credit card payment processing capability through PayPal.
For credit card transactions, customers can stay on your website as PayPal processes the
payment in the background.
For each payment, Direct Payment takes the billing address, transaction amount, credit card
information and item information as inputs. Within seconds, PayPal returns a confirmation
that the transaction has been processed. If you have signed up for Fraud Protection Services,
Direct Payment lets you flag potentially fraudulent transactions, and provides you with
industry-standard Address Verification Service and card security code (CVV2) responses
for each transaction.
By integrating Direct Payment with PayPal Express Checkout as part of the Website Payments
Pro solution, you can accept all major payment types, including PayPal, while working with a
single provider that processes and manages all your online payments for you.
IMPO RTANT: Direct

Payment is not a standalone product. You are required to use Direct
Payment and PayPal Express Checkout together as part of the Website
Payments Pro solution. See “Business Rules” on page 12.
Direct Payment is not covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy (SPP).

PayPal Express Checkout Overview
With PayPal Express Checkout, a customer selects their products and completes their
orders on your website. Payment method along with postage and billing details are managed
on PayPal’s website. PayPal automatically gives you the postal address and other customer
information to fulfil the order.
The more convenient it is for your customers to buy from you, the more they'll buy.
PayPal Express Checkout allows customers the option to pay quickly through PayPal
and gives your business more benefits.
PayPal Express Checkout provides these advantages to your customers:
z Gives buyers more convenience, and gets more sales. Since your customers simply log
in to use information they've already entered with PayPal, they save time by completing
transactions in fewer steps.
z Helps buyers feel safer, so they buy more. Buyers prefer to pay with PayPal because
their customer information is kept safe. When they’re confident about the security
of their information, they purchase more.
With this design, you have these advantages:
z Real-time notification of successful payments.
z Automation of your internal business processes.
z More advertising opportunities as buyers finish their orders on your website.
z Notification that the buyer's address is confirmed.
z Eligibility for coverage under PayPal’s Seller Protection Policy.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Website Payments Pro Overview
Additional Services

Additional Services
If you have signed up for the Recurring Billing Service, see the Payflow Pro Recurring Billing
Service User’s Guide. It is downloadable from the PayPal Manager Documentation page.

Business Rules
Website Payments Pro must be integrated on your website in the following ways. You must:
z

Present the PayPal Express Checkout button and associated messaging before requesting
postal address, billing address and financial information. PayPal account holders should
not be required to enter any of this information on your website, because the information
is available from their PayPal accounts.
Display PayPal as an option together with other payment methods, wherever other payment
methods are offered.
Present the PayPal mark graphic wherever other payment marks are displayed.

For details on displaying PayPal graphics on your website, see Chapter 7, “Integrating PayPal
Button Graphics”.

Testing

For details on testing, see the documentation at the following URL:

https://test-expresscheckout.paypal.com/documentation/

About the PayPal SDK
The SDK is available from the PayPal Manager Downloads page.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Installing and Configuring the
Payflow SDK
The Payflow SDK is available either as a standalone client that you can integrate with your
web shop using CGI scripts or as a set of APIs for direct integration with your application.
This chapter provides instructions for downloading the SDK appropriate to your platform.
IMPO RTANT: Full

API documentation is included with each SDK.

Supported Platforms
The PayPal SDK is available on all major web server platforms in a variety of formats
to support your integration requirements. It is available as a C library (.dll/.so), binary
executable, Java library, COM object, Java Native Interface and Perl Module Interface.
TABLE 2.1

Supported platforms

Windows NT 4.0, 2000, 2003

Linux - libc6 / glibc2 / ELF kernels 2.0.36 and above

Solaris 2.6 - Intel

Linux (Redhat 9.x)

Solaris 2.7/2.8 - Sparc

Pure Java Any JDK 1.2, 1.4

BSDI 4.0

SGI IRIX 6.2

HP UX 11.0

AIX 4.3
FreeBSD 5.x

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Installing and Configuring the Payflow SDK
Preparing the Payflow Client Application

Preparing the Payflow Client Application
Follow these steps to download and install:
Step 1 Download the Payflow SDK
From the Download page in PayPal Manager (https://manager.paypal.com), download the
Payflow SDK appropriate for your platform.
Step 2 Extract the files to a local directory
Step 3 Configure your firewall
If you have a stateful firewall, enable outbound traffic for SSL (port 443). The firewall
keeps state on the connection, and automatically permits the inbound response from PayPal.
If you do not have a stateful firewall, enable inbound and outbound traffic for SSL (port 443).
Outbound traffic permits the initial request by Website Payments Pro, while inbound permits
the response from PayPal.
Step 4 Set the certificate path
To enable the client to authenticate the Payflow server, you must set the path to include
the certs directory (included with the SDK that you downloaded).
For specific information on setting the certificate path, see the readme.txt file and example
applications in the SDK.
Step 5 Read the readme.txt file
The readme.txt file includes integration information and samples that illustrate how to use
the client in your development environment.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Creating a Simple Transaction
Request
This chapter describes how to create a simple Sale transaction request.
The chapter focuses on the common set of parameters required in all transactions and how
you set up these parameters using name-value pair strings. Additional parameters are required,
depending on the transaction type. You can also provide many optional parameters, depending
on the results you want returned. For example, you can set the VERBOSITY parameter to
return PayPal processor-specific details rather than normalised information if you are looking
for this kind of information.
In This Chapter
z

“Transaction Request” on page 15

“Sale Transaction Example” on page 18

“How to Format a Transaction” on page 19

Transaction Request
Request Contents
A transaction request includes the following:
z

Connection parameters.

Parameters required by all transactions. This list includes 'user information' parameters.

Additional parameters required by the type of transaction.

Data Modes for Sending
You can send parameter data in the transaction request to the Payflow server in either
of two modes:
z

Name-value pair

XMLPay

The examples in this guide are presented in name-value pair format. Name-value pair syntax
guidelines are described in “PARMLIST Syntax Guidelines” on page 16.
XMLPay is an XML syntax for payment requests and associated responses in a
payment-processing network. Instead of using name-value pairs, you can send to the Payflow
server XML documents based on the XMLPay 2.0 schema. For details on XMLPay, see the
Website Payments Pro — XMLPay Developer’s Guide. It is available from the Documentation
page in PayPal Manager.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Creating a Simple Transaction Request
Transaction Request

Connection Parameters
Table 3.1 describes the connection parameters. Pass them in the format and syntax required
by the Payflow SDK and programming language that you are using. See your integration
documentation for details.
TABLE 3.1

Connection parameters

Argument

Required

Description

HOSTADDRESS

Yes

Payflow host name.
For live transactions, use payflowpro.verisign.com
For testing purposes use pilot-payflowpro.verisign.com

HOSTPORT

Yes

Use port 443.

PARMLIST

Yes

The PARMLIST is the list of parameters that specify the payment
information for the transaction. The quotation marks “ ” at the beginning
and end are required. The following is an example:
"TRXTYPE=S&TENDER=C&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMercha
nt&USER=SuperMerchant&PWD=SuperUserPassword&AMT=123.00"
The content of the PARMLIST varies by the type of transaction being
processed. For example, a Void transaction requires a different set of
parameters than a Sale.

TIMEOUT

Yes

Time-out period for the transaction. The minimum recommended time-out
value is 30 seconds. The client begins tracking from the time that it sends
the transaction request to the server.

PROXYADDRESS

Proxy server address. Use the PROXY parameters for servers behind
a firewall. Your network administrator can provide the values.

PROXYPORT

Proxy server port.

PROXYLOGON

Proxy server logon ID.

PROXYPASSWORD

Proxy server logon password.

PARMLIST Syntax Guidelines

Follow these guidelines when creating the PARMLIST:
Spaces are allowed in values.
Enclose the PARMLIST in quotation marks (“”).
Do not place quotation marks (“”) within the body of the PARMLIST.
Separate all name-value pairs in the PARMLIST using an ampersand (&).
Payflow SDKSet the VERBOSITY transaction parameter to MEDIUM (default is LOW)
if you want the response to return more detailed information. For details, see Appendix A,
“Verbosity: Viewing Processor-Specific Transaction Results”.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Creating a Simple Transaction Request
Transaction Request

Using Special Characters in Values

Because the ampersand (&) and equal sign (=) characters have special meanings
in the PARMLIST, name-value pairs like the following examples are not valid:
NAME=Ruff & Johnson
COMMENT1=Level=5

To use special characters in the value of a name-value pair, use a length tag. The length tag
specifies the exact number of characters and spaces that appear in the value. The following
name-value pairs are valid:
NAME[14]=Ruff & Johnson
COMMENT1[7]=Level=5
N O T E : Quotation

marks (“ ”) are not allowed even if you use a length tag.

Values Required by All Transaction Types
All Payflow SDK transactions require the parameters described in Table 3.2.
TABLE 3.2

Required transaction parameters

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

USER

If you set up one or more additional users on the account,
this value is the ID of the user authorised to process
transactions. If, however, you have not set up additional
users on the account, USER has the same value as
VENDOR.
The examples in this document use
USER=SuperMerchant.
Limitations: This value is case-sensitive.

Yes

Alphanumeric

VENDOR

Your merchant login ID that you created when you
registered for the Website Payments Pro account.
The examples in this document use
VENDOR=SuperMerchant.
Limitations: This value is case-sensitive.

Yes

Alphanumeric

PARTNER

The ID provided to you by the authorised PayPal Reseller
who registered you for the Payflow SDK. If you
purchased your account directly from PayPal, use
PayPalUK.
The examples in this document use
PARTNER=PayPalUK
Limitations: This value is case-sensitive.

Yes

Alphanumeric

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Creating a Simple Transaction Request
Sale Transaction Example
TABLE 3.2

Required transaction parameters(Continued)

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

PWD

The 6 to 32-character password that you defined while
registering for the account.
The examples in this document use
PWD=SuperUserPassword.
This value is case-sensitive.

Yes

Alphanumeric

TENDER

The tender type (method of payment). Values are:
z C = Credit card for Direct Payment transactions
z P = PayPal for PayPal Express Checkout transactions

Yes

Alpha

TRXTYPE

A single character indicating the type of transaction to
perform. Website Payments Pro supports the following
values:
S = Sale transaction
A = Authorisation
C = Credit
D = Delayed Capture
V = Void

Yes

Alpha

Sale Transaction Example
In addition to the connection parameters and the required parameters in Table 3.2, each
transaction type (TRXTYPE) has additional parameter requirements and can use a number
of optional ones as well.
For example, to perform a Direct Payment credit card Sale transaction, you are required
to pass the following parameters:
z ACCT - The payer’s credit card number
z AMT - The amount of the sale
z EXPDATE - The expiry date of the credit card

Typical Sale Transaction PARMLIST
The following is a typical PARMLIST string passed in a Sale transaction.
"TRXTYPE=S&TENDER=C&USER=SuperMerchant&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPal
UK&ACCT=5105105105105100&EXPDATE=1209&AMT=99.06&COMMENT1=Reservation&FIRSTN
AME=John&LASTNAME=Jones&STREET=123 Main St.&CITY=San
Jose&STATE=CA&ZIP=123451234&COUNTRY=US&CVV2=123&CLIENTIP=0.0.0.0"

Note that, besides the required Sale transaction parameters, this string includes other typical
Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition parameters. These parameters are described in
Chapter 4, “Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions”. and in Chapter 6, “PayPal
Express Checkout Transaction Processing”.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Creating a Simple Transaction Request
How to Format a Transaction

How to Format a Transaction
For details on how to format a transaction based on the above information, refer
to the examples and the supporting documentation provided with your SDK.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Creating a Simple Transaction Request
How to Format a Transaction

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit
Card Transactions
This chapter provides guidelines on how to implement PayPal Direct Payment transactions.
Direct Payment offers you credit card payment processing capability through PayPal directly
from the buyer’s credit card.
N O T E : Direct

Payment is not a standalone feature. You must use Direct Payment together
with PayPal Express Checkout. See Chapter 7, “PayPal Button Placement and
Page Designs,” for guidelines on how to display the PayPal mark logo with credit
card logos.

With the exception of a few optional PayPal Express Checkout transaction parameters not
covered here, this chapter describes all required Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition
request parameters. Differences exist in PayPal Express Checkout transactions, however, and
these are explained in Chapter 6, “PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing.”
In This Chapter
z

“How Direct Payment Works” on page 22

“About Direct Payment Credit Card Processing” on page 22

“Parameters Used in Transactions” on page 23

“Additional Parameters by Transaction Type” on page 29

“Submitting Sale Transactions” on page 29

“Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions” on page 31

“Submitting Credit Transactions” on page 35

“Submitting Void Transactions” on page 36

“Recharging to the Same Credit Card (Reference Transactions)” on page 37

“Using Address Verification Service” on page 39

“Card Security Code Validation” on page 40

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
How Direct Payment Works

H o w D i r e c t P a y m e n t Wo r k s
Figure 3-1 shows the general flow of customer checkout with Direct Payment.

The numbered steps in the figure are described below:
1. On your website, the customer chooses to pay with a credit card and enters the credit card number
and other details.
2. The customer reviews the order.
3. When your customer clicks “Pay” to place the order, you perform a transaction to request payment,
and the payment transaction is initiated.
4. You transfer your customer to your order confirmation page.

The “Pay” button on your website sends the payment request to the server, including required
information you collected from the customer, such as the amount of the transaction, the
buyer’s credit card number, expiry date, browser IP address, and an element that specifies
whether this transaction is a final sale (complete transaction amount including postage,
packing and tax) or an authorisation for a final amount that you must capture later with a
Delayed Capture transaction.

About Direct Payment Credit Card Processing
Direct Payment credit card processing occurs in two steps — a real-time authorisation and a
capture (settlement) of the funds that were authorised. You perform these two steps either as a
single Sale transaction or as two types of transactions, an Authorisation and Delayed Capture,
depending on your business model.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Parameters Used in Transactions

For an Authorisation, PayPal sends the transaction information to the cardholder’s issuing
bank. The issuing bank checks whether the card is valid, evaluates whether sufficient credit
exists, checks values such as Address Verification Service and card security codes, and returns
a response: Approval, Decline, Referral, or others. For details on Address Verification Service
and card security codes, see:
z

“Using Address Verification Service” on page 39

“Card Security Code Validation” on page 40

You receive the response shortly after you submit the transaction to PayPal. If the
Authorisation is approved, the bank temporarily reserves credit for the amount of the
transaction to prepare to capture (fulfil) the transaction. The hold on funds typically lasts for
about a week.
Capturing a transaction (also known as settling a transaction) actually transfers the funds to
PayPal. At least once a day, the Payflow server gathers all transactions that are flagged to be
settled and sends them in a batch file to PayPal. PayPal charges the issuing bank and transfers
the funds to your PayPal account. It typically takes a few days before the money is actually
available in your PayPal account.

Considerations Regarding Your Website Integration
In the design of your website integration, you should consider whether you want to store
information in your local database or use PayPal Manager reports to manage the data. You
may want to store postal information in your system, or you may prefer to send the
information to PayPal with the transaction and report on it later.
N O T E : PayPal

recommends that you do not store credit card numbers. If you must store
numbers, encrypt and store them behind properly configured firewalls. You should also
consider whether and how to use the merchant-defined fields COMMENT1 and
COMMENT2 to help tie PayPal reports to your orders/customers or to report on other
information about the transaction.

If you want to integrate with other systems, such as order fulfilment, customer service, and so
on, you may want to connect these systems directly to Website Payments Pro for capturing
funds, issuing refunds/credits, and so on. Alternatively, you may prefer to perform these steps
manually using PayPal Manager. Either way, PayPal recommends that you monitor transaction
activity using PayPal Manager.

Parameters Used in Transactions
PayPal accepts the parameters listed in Table 4.1. The table indicates whether the parameters
are required or optional.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Parameters Used in Transactions
N O T E : Unless otherwise noted, the parameters in Table

4.1 can be used in Direct Payment and
PayPal Express Checkout transactions. See Chapter 6, “PayPal Express Checkout
Transaction Processing,” for additional (optional) PayPal Express Checkout
parameters.

TABLE 4.1

Transaction parameters

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

ACCT

Payer’s credit card or account number. It may
not contain spaces, non-numeric characters, or
dashes.
For example, ACCT=5555555555554444

Yesa

Numeric

ACCTTYPE

Credit card type. The following card types are
supported:
0 = Visa
1 = MasterCard
8 = Other
9 = Switch
S = Solo

Alpha

AMT

Total of this order.

Yes

Decimal

N O T E : You must set CURRENCY to one of

the three-character currency codes for
any of the supported PayPal currencies.
See CURRENCY in this table for
details.
Limitations: Must not exceed $10,000 USD in
any currency. No currency symbol. Decimal
separator must be a period (.). Do not use
comma separators. Use 1199.95, not 1,199.95.
BILL-TO Address (Next five table entries)

STREET

Cardholder’s bill-to postal address (number and
street name).
The STREET value is verified by Address
Verification System (described on page 39).

Alphanumeric

100

CITY

Name of bill-to city.

String

STATE

Name of bill-to county or province.

String

COUNTRY

Bill-to country code. See Appendix B, “ISO
Country Codes.”

Alpha

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Parameters Used in Transactions
TABLE 4.1

Transaction parameters (Continued)

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

ZIP

Account holder’s five to nine-digit bill-to ZIP
code or other country-specific bill-to postcode.
Do not use spaces, dashes or non-numeric
characters.
ZIP is verified by Address Verification System
and the International Address Verification
System (described on page 39).

String

BUTTONSOURCE

Identification code for use by third-party
applications to identify transactions.

Alphanumeric

CARDISSUE

Issue number of Switch or Solo card.

Numeric

No, but is
recommended

String

N O T E : For a Switch or Solo transaction to be

approved, either CARDISSUE or
CARDSTART must be present.
CARDSTART

Date that Switch or Solo card was issued in
mmyy format.
For example, 0308 represents March 2008.
N O T E : For a Switch or Solo transaction to be

approved, either CARDISSUE or
CARDSTART must be present.
CLIENTIP

IP address of payer’s browser as recorded in its
HTTP request to your website.
N O T E : PayPal records this IP address as a

means to detect possible fraud.
Limitations: This value is in dotted quad format:
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
COMMENT1

Merchant-defined value for reporting and
auditing purposes. See “Using Address
Verification Service” on page 39.”

Alphanumeric

128

COMMENT2

Merchant-defined value for reporting and
auditing purposes.

Alphanumeric

128

CAPTURECOMPLETE

Indicates if this Delayed Capture transaction is
the last capture you intend to make. The values
are:
z Y (default)
z N

Alphanumeric

N O T E : If CAPTURECOMPLETE is Y, any

remaining amount of the original
reauthorised transaction is
automatically voided.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Parameters Used in Transactions
TABLE 4.1

Transaction parameters (Continued)

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

CURRENCY

One of the following three-character currency
codes:
z USD (US dollar)
z EUR (Euro)
z GBP (UK pound)
z CAD (Canadian dollar)
z JPY (Japanese Yen)
z AUD (Australian dollar)

Alpha

CUSTOM

A free-form field for your own use.

Alphanumeric

256

CUSTREF

Merchant-defined identifier for reporting and
auditing purposes. For example, you can set
CUSTREF to INVNUM.

Alphanumeric

CVV2

A three of four-digit code that is printed (not
imprinted) on the back of a credit card. Used as
partial assurance that the card is in the buyer’s
possession. For details, see “Card Security
Code Validation” on page 40.

Alphanumeric

N O T E : CVV2 values are normalised to Y, N

and X values. The PayPal processor
values are returned when you set
VERBOSITY parameter to MEDIUM.
For details on VERBOSITY, see

Appendix A, “Verbosity: Viewing
Processor-Specific Transaction
Results.”
EMAIL

Email address of payer.

Alphanumeric

127

EXPDATE

Expiry date of the credit card in mmyy format.
For example, 0308 represents March 2008.

Yesa

Numeric

FREIGHTAMT

Total postage costs for this order.

Decimal

N O T E : You must set CURRENCY to one of

the three-character currency codes for
any of the supported PayPal currencies.
See the CURRENCY entry in this table
for details.
Limitations: Must not exceed $10,000 USD in
any currency. No currency symbol. Decimal
separator must be a period (.). Do not use
comma separators. Use 1199.95, not 1,199.95.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions

Parameters Used in Transactions
TABLE 4.1

Transaction parameters (Continued)

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

HANDLINGAMT

Total packing costs for this order.

Decimal

N O T E : You must set CURRENCY to one of

Your own unique invoice or tracking number.

Alphanumeric

127

ITEMAMT

Sum of cost of all items in this order.
Limitations: Must not exceed $10,000 USD in
any currency. No currency symbol. Decimal
separator must be a period (.). Do not use
comma separators. Use 1199.95, not 1,199.95.

Decimal

127

L_DESCn

Line item name.

String

127

Decimal

See
description

N O T E : You can view line item information in

the Transaction Details report in your
PayPal merchant account.
L_AMTn

Cost of line item.
N O T E : You must set CURRENCY to one of

Line item quantity.

String

Any
positive
integer

L_TAXAMTn

Line item tax amount.
Limitations: Any valid currency amount;
CURRENCY value must be set the same as
for AMT.

Decimal

See
description

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Parameters Used in Transactions
TABLE 4.1

Transaction parameters (Continued)

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

MERCHANTSESSIONID

Your customer Direct Payment session
identification token.
PayPal records this session token as an
additional means to detect possible fraud.

String

NAME Information (Next two table entries)
FIRSTNAME

Account holder's first name.

No, but
recommended

Alpha

LASTNAME

Account holder’s last name.

No, but
recommended

Alpha

NOTIFYURL

Your URL for receiving Instant Payment
Notification (IPN) about this transaction.
If you do not specify NOTIFYURL in the
request, the notification URL from your
Merchant Profile is used, if one exists.

Alphanumeric

2048

ORDERDESC

Description of items the customer is
purchasing.

Alphanumeric

127

ORIGID

ID of the original Direct Payment transaction
that is being referenced. This ID is returned by
the PNREF parameter and appears as the
Transaction ID in PayPal Manager reports.
Limitations: This value is case-sensitive.

Yesa

Alphanumeric

RECURRINGTYPE

Type of transaction occurrence. The values are:
F = First occurrence
S = Subsequent occurrence (default)

Alpha

SHIP-TO Address Information (Next five table entries)

SHIPTOSTREET

Post-to postal address.

Nob

String

SHIPTOCITY

Name of post-to city.

Nob

String

SHIPTOSTATE

Name of post-to county or province.

Nob

String

Alpha

String

SHIPTOCOUNTRY

Post-to country code. See Appendix B, “ISO
Country Codes.”

SHIPTOZIP

US post-to ZIP code or other country-specific
postcode.

Nob

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Additional Parameters by Transaction Type
TABLE 4.1

Transaction parameters (Continued)

Parameter

Description

Required

Type

Max.
Length

TAXAMT

Sum of tax for all items in this order.

Decimal

Alpha

N O T E : You must set CURRENCY to one of

Either of two values: LOW or MEDIUM.
LOW is the default setting — normalised
values.
MEDIUM returns the PayPal processor’s raw
response values.
See Appendix A, “Verbosity: Viewing

Processor-Specific Transaction Results.”

a. Some transaction types do not require this parameter. See “Values Required by All Transaction Types” on page 17.
b. If you pass in any of the post-to address parameters such as SHIPTOCITY or SHIPTOSTATE, you must pass in the
complete set (that is, SHIPTOSTREET, SHIPTOCITY, SHIPTOSTATE, SHIPTOCOUNTRY and SHIPTOZIP).

Additional Parameters by Transaction Type
Each Direct Payment credit card transaction type has its own request parameter requirements.
These are in addition to the parameters required by all transactions described in the following
tables in Chapter 3, “Creating a Simple Transaction Request.”
z

Table 3.1, “Connection parameters”

Table 3.2, “Required transaction parameters”

Transaction responses are described in Chapter 8, “Responses to Transaction Requests.”

Submitting Sale Transactions
The Sale transaction (TRXTYPE=S) charges the specified amount against the account, and
marks the transaction for immediate fund transfer during the next settlement period. PayPal
submits each merchant’s transactions for settlement on a daily basis.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Sale Transactions

When to Use a Sale Transaction
A Sale transaction is best suited to businesses that provide immediate fulfilment for their
products or services. Electronic goods merchants, for example, who fulfil orders immediately
can use Sale transactions. If your business does not provide immediate fulfilment, then credit
card association rules recommend that you use the Authorisation and Delayed Capture model.
For details, see “Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions” on page 31. If you
need to recharge a credit card and you are not storing the credit card information in your local
database, you can perform a new reference transaction based on a Sale transaction. For details,
see “Recharging to the Same Credit Card (Reference Transactions)” on page 37.

Additional Parameters for Sale Transactions
To perform a Sale transaction, you are required to pass the following parameters:
ACCT
AMT
EXPDATE

Typical Sale Transaction Parameter String
The following is a typical PARMLIST string passed in a Sale transaction.
EXAMPLE 4.1 Typical Sale transaction parameter string
"TRXTYPE=S&TENDER=C&USER=SuperMerchant&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPal
UK&ACCT=5105105105105100&EXPDATE=1209&AMT=99.06&COMMENT1=Reservation&FIRSTN
AME=John&LASTNAME=Jones&STREET=123 Main St.&CITY=San
Jose&STATE=CA&ZIP=123451234&COUNTRY=US&CVV2=123&CLIENTIP=0.0.0.0"

Note that, besides the required parameters that you pass in a Sale transaction, this string
includes other typical parameters. PayPal recommends that you include the account holder’s
FIRSTNAME and LASTNAME. PayPal also recommends including CLIENTIP to help detect
possible fraud. The COMMENT1 field helps to track transaction information. The customer’s
postal address (STREET) and ZIP (postcode) should be passed to use the Address Verification
Service (AVS). CVV2 is needed for card security code validation. For details on AVS and card
security code, see the following sections:
z

“Using Address Verification Service” on page 39

“Card Security Code Validation” on page 40

The following is a typical set of Response parameters. See Chapter 8, “Responses to
Transaction Requests,” for details on response parameters.
EXAMPLE 4.2 Typical response parameters
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFIP0D391C30&RESPMSG=Approved&AVSADDR=N&AVSZIP=Y&CVV2MATCH=X
&PPREF=7XX11903GL026951F&CORRELATIONID=3a5df0066697a

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions

Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions
An Authorisation (TRXTYPE=A) transaction places a hold on the cardholder’s open-to-buy
limit, lowering the cardholder’s limit by the amount of the transaction. It does not transfer
funds.
One or more Delayed Capture (TRXTYPE=D) transactions are performed after an
Authorisation to capture the original Authorisation amount. You can perform up to ten partial
captures for a single authorisation provided the buyer is in good standing. A partial capture
keeps the funds in a Pending status. A Delayed Capture is scheduled for settlement during the
next settlement period.
Because Visa and MasterCard regulations prohibit capturing credit card transaction funds until
a product or service has been sent to the buyer, most processing networks implement an
Authorisation transaction followed by one or more Delayed Capture transactions.
When to Use Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions

If your business does not provide immediate fulfilment of products or services, you should use
this two-stage transaction model, also known as Delayed Capture processing, because it
enables you to capture credit card transaction funds when your are ready to collect them.
If your business provides immediate fulfilment, you can use a simple Sale transaction instead.
For details, see “Submitting Sale Transactions” on page 29. If you need to recharge a credit
card and you are not storing the credit card information in your local database, you can
perform a new reference transaction based on a Sale. For details, see “Recharging to the Same
Credit Card (Reference Transactions)” on page 37.

Required Authorisation Transaction Parameters
To perform an Authorisation transaction, you are required to pass the following parameters:
ACCT
AMT
EXPDATE

Typical Authorisation Transaction Parameter String
A typical parameter string passed in an Authorisation transaction is the same as a Sale
transaction string. The only difference is that the TRXTYPE value is A in an Authorisation.
EXAMPLE 4.3 Typical Authorisation parameter string
"TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&USER=SuperMerchant&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPal
UK&ACCT=5105105105105100&EXPDATE=1209&AMT=99.06&COMMENT1=Reservation&FIRSTN
AME=John&LASTNAME=Jones&STREET=123 Main St.&CITY=San
Jose&STATE=CA&ZIP=123451234&COUNTRY=US&CVV2=123&CLIENTIP=0.0.0.0"

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions

Required Delayed Capture Transaction Parameters
To perform a Delayed Capture transaction, you are required to pass the following parameter:
ORIGID
Set ORIGID to the PNREF (Transaction ID in PayPal Manager reports) value returned from
the original transaction. (For details on PNREF, see Chapter 8, “Responses to Transaction
Requests.) In addition, if the amount of the capture differs from the amount of the
Authorisation, you also must pass a value for AMT.
Fields Copied from the Authorisation Transaction into the Delayed Capture
Transaction

The following fields are copied from the Authorisation transaction into a Delayed Capture
transaction (if they exist in the original transaction). If you provide a new value for any of
these parameters when submitting the Delayed Capture transaction, then the new value is
used. (Exceptions are ACCT and EXPDATE. These parameters retain their original values.)
ACCT

AMT

CITY

COMMENT1

CLIENTIP

COMMENT2

COUNTRY

CUSTCODE

EXPDATE

FIRSTNAME

FREIGHTAMT

INVNUM

LASTNAME

NOTE

PHONENUM

SHIPTOCITY

SHIPTOCOUNTRY

SHIPTOFIRSTNAME

SHIPTOLASTNAME

SHIPTOSTATE

SHIPTOSTREET

SHIPTO ZIP

STATE

STREET

TAXAMT

ZIP

Step 1 Perform the Authorisation transaction
The Authorisation transaction uses the same parameters as Sale transactions, except that the
transaction type is A.
The return data for an Authorisation transaction is the same as for a Sale transaction. To
capture the authorised funds, perform a Delayed Capture transaction that includes the value
returned for PNREF, as described in Step 2 on page 33.
EXAMPLE 4.4 Authorisation transaction parameter string

Issue Authorisation-only Transaction
"TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&USER=SuperMerchant&VENDOR=SuperMerchant&PARTNER=PayPalU
K&PWD=SuperUserPassword&ACCT=5105105105105100&EXPDATE=1209&AMT=9.06COMMENT1
=Reservation&FIRSTNAME=John&LASTNAME=Jones&STREET=123 Main St.&CITY=San
Jose&STATE=CA&ZIP=123451234&COUNTRY=US&CVV2=123&CLIENTIP=0.0.0.0"

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions

EXAMPLE 4.5 Authorisation response

(For details on response parameters, see Chapter 8, “Responses to Transaction Requests.”)
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFHP0D426838&RESPMSG=Approved&AVSADDR=N&AVSZIP=Y&CVV2MATCH=X
&PPREF=68W3371331353001F&CORRELATIONID=2e52df7ddf292

Step 2 Perform a Delayed Capture transaction
Set ORIGID to the PNREF value returned in the original Authorisation transaction response
string. (There is no need to retransmit the credit card or billing address information — it is
stored at PayPal.)
If the capture succeeds, the amount of the Sale is transferred to the merchant’s account during
the daily settlement process. If the capture does not succeed, the hold on the cardholder’s
open-to-buy is still in effect.
EXAMPLE 4.6 Delayed Capture transaction parameter string
"TRXTYPE=D&TENDER=C&USER=SuperMerchant&VENDOR=SuperMerchantPARTNER=PayPalUK
&PWD=SuperUserPassword&TENDER=C&COMMENT1=Reservation&ORIGID=EFHP0D426838"
EXAMPLE 4.7 Delayed Capture response
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFHP0D42687C&RESPMSG=Approved&PPREF=1F987159809825103&CORREL
ATIONID=b5689409e279f&FEEAMT=0.56&PAYMENTTYPE=instant&PENDINGREASON=complet
ed

Delayed Capture Transaction: Capturing Transactions for Lower Amounts
You can perform a Delayed Capture transaction for an amount lower than the original
Authorisation amount (useful, for example, when you make a partial delivery). To perform a
partial capture programmatically using the PayPal SDK, set CAPTURECOMPLETE to N in
the Delayed Capture transaction request. Setting CAPTURECOMPLETE to Y voids any
remaining amount of the original authorised transaction.
You can also perform Authorisations and Delayed Captures through PayPal Manager. For
details, see PayPal Manager Online Help.
Example Partial Capture Transaction

In this example, you authorise an amount of $100 for a consignment and charge $66 for the
first partial delivery using a Delayed Capture transaction. You charge the $34 for the final part
of the delivery using a second Delayed Capture transaction to draw credit card and postal
address information from the initial Authorisation transaction.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Authorisation/Delayed Capture Transactions

Step 1 Submit the Initial transaction (Authorisation in this example)
This example uses an Authorisation transaction for the full amount of a purchase of $100.
EXAMPLE 4.8 Authorisation for the full amount of the purchase
"TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&ACCT=5555555555554444&EXPDATE=0308&AMT=100.00&INVNU
M=123456789&FIRSTNAME=John&LASTNAME=Jones&STREET=5199 MAPLE&ZIP=94588"

Note the value of the PNREF in the response.
EXAMPLE 4.9 Response to the Authorisation
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFHP0D426A51&RESPMSG=Approved&AVSADDR=N&AVSZIP=Y&CVV2MATCH=X
&PPREF=6FS950632E172331R&CORRELATIONID=3c1a7c1c411a

Step 2 Capture the authorised funds for a partial delivery of $66
When you deliver the first $66 worth of product, you use a Delayed Capture transaction to
collect the $66. Set ORIGID to the value of PNREF in the original Authorisation and set
CAPTURECOMPLETE to N.
EXAMPLE 4.10 Delayed Capture with CAPTURECOMPLETE=N
"TRXTYPE=D&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&CAPTURECOMPLETE=N&ORIGID=EFHP0D426A51&AMT=66.00"
RESULT=0&PNREF=VXYZ01234568&AUTHCODE=25TEST&AVSADDR=Y&AVSZIP=N&CORRELATIONI
D=2dc60e253492e

Step 3 Capture the $34 balance for the rest of the consignment
Once you have sent the remainder of the product, you can collect the remaining $34 in a
second Delayed Capture transaction, setting CAPTURECOMPLETE to Y.
EXAMPLE 4.11 Delayed Capture with CAPTURECOMPLETE=Y
"TRXTYPE=D&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&CAPTURECOMPLETE=Y&ORIGID=EFHP0D426A51&AMT=34.00"
RESULT=0&PNREF=VXYZ01234569&AUTHCODE=25TEST&AVSADDR=Y&AVSZIP=N&CORRELATIONI
D=2dc60e253493e

Delayed Capture Transaction: Capturing Transactions for Higher Amounts
You can perform a Delayed Capture transaction for an amount higher than the original
Authorisation amount, however, you are charged for an extra transaction. In addition, the
cardholder’s open-to-buy is reduced by the sum of the original Authorisation-only amount and
the final Delayed Capture amount.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Credit Transactions

Delayed Capture Transaction: Error Handling and Retransmittal
If an error occurs while processing a Delayed Capture transaction, it is safe to retry the capture
with values that allow the server to successfully process it. Conversely, if a capture for a
previous Authorisation succeeds, subsequent attempts to capture it again will return an error.

Submitting Credit Transactions
The Credit transaction (TRXTYPE=C) refunds the specified amount to the cardholder.

Required Credit Transaction Parameters
Credit transactions are permitted only against existing Sale and Delayed Capture transactions.
To submit a Credit transaction, you must pass the following parameter:
ORIGID
Set the value of ORIGID to the PNREF value returned for the original transaction. (PNREF is
displayed as the Transaction ID in PayPal Manager reports. For details on PNREF, see
Chapter 8, “Responses to Transaction Requests.”). If you do not specify an amount, then the
amount of the original transaction is credited to the cardholder.
Fields Copied from the Original Transaction into the Credit Transaction

The following fields are copied from the original transaction into the Credit transaction (if
they exist in the original transaction). If you provide a new value for any of these parameters
when submitting the Credit transaction, then the new value is used. (Exceptions are ACCT and
EXPDATE. These parameters retain their original values.)
N O T E : The

TAXAMT and FREIGHTAMT parameters are not copied for referenced credits.

ACCT

AMT

CITY

COMMENT1

CLIENTIP

COMMENT2

COUNTRY

CUSTCODE

EXPDATE

FIRSTNAME

INVNUM

LASTNAME

SHIPTOCITY

SHIPTOCOUNTRY

SHIPTOFIRSTNAME

SHIPTOLASTNAME

SHIPTOSTATE

SHIPTOSTREET

SHIPTOZIP

STATE

STREET

PHONENUM

ZIP

Credit Transaction Parameter Strings
This is an example Credit transaction string.
"TRXTYPE=C&TENDER=C&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerchant&USER=SuperMerchan
t&PWD=SuperUserPassword&ORIGID=EFHP0D426A62"

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Submitting Void Transactions

Submitting Void Transactions
The Void transaction (TRXTYPE=V) prevents a transaction from being settled but does not
release the Authorisation (hold on funds) on the cardholder’s account.

When to Use a Void Transaction
Follow these guidelines:
z
z

You can only void Authorisation transactions.
You can only use a Void transaction on a transaction that has not yet settled. To refund a
customer’s money for a settled transaction, you must submit a Credit transaction.

Required Void Transaction Parameters
To submit a Void transaction, you must pass the following parameter:
ORIGID
Set ORIGID to the PNREF (Transaction ID in PayPal Manager reports) value returned for the
original transaction. (For details on PNREF, see Chapter 8, “Responses to Transaction
Requests.”)
Fields Copied from the Original Transaction into the Void Transaction

The following fields are copied from the original transaction into the Void transaction (if they
exist in the original transaction). If you provide a new value for any of these parameters when
submitting the Void transaction, then the new value is used. (Exceptions are ACCT and
EXPDATE. These parameters retain their original values.)

ACCT

AMT

CITY

COMMENT1

CLIENTIP

COMMENT2

COUNTRY

CUSTCODE

EXPDATE

FIRSTNAME

FREIGHTAMT

INVNUM

LASTNAME

NOTE

PHONENUM

SHIPTOCITY

SHIPTOCOUNTRY

SHIPTOFIRSTNAME

SHIPTOLASTNAME

SHIPTOSTATE

SHIPTOSTREET

SHIPTOZIP

STATE

STREET

TAXAMT

ZIP

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Recharging to the Same Credit Card (Reference Transactions)

Example Void Transaction Parameter String
This is an example Void transaction parameter string.
EXAMPLE 4.12 Void transaction parameter string
“TRXTYPE=V&TENDER=C&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerchant&USER=SuperMerchan
t&PWD=SuperUserPassword&ORIGID=EFHP0D426A68”

Recharging to the Same Credit Card (Reference Transactions)
If you need to recharge a credit card and you are not storing the credit card information in your
local database, you can perform a reference transaction. A reference transaction takes the
existing credit card information that is on file and reuses it.

When to Use a Reference Transaction
Say that Joe Smith purchases a holiday gift from your website shop and requests that it be sent
by UPS ground service. That evening, Joe becomes concerned that the item might not arrive in
time for the holiday. So he calls you to upgrade postage to second-day air. You obtain his
approval for charging an extra $10 for the upgrade. In this situation, you can create a reference
transaction based on the original Sale and charge an additional $10 to Joe’s credit card without
having to ask him again for his credit card information.
CA UTION!

As a security measure, reference transactions are disallowed by default. Only
your account administrator can enable reference transactions for your account.
If you attempt to perform a reference transaction in an account for which
reference transactions are disallowed, RESULT code 117 is returned. See
PayPal Manager online help for instructions on setting reference transactions
and other security features.

Sale and Authorisation transactions can make use of a reference transaction as a source of
transaction data. PayPal looks up the reference transaction and copies its transaction data into
the new Sale or Authorisation transaction.
IMPO RTANT: When

PayPal looks up the reference transaction, neither the transaction
being referenced nor any other transaction in the database is changed in any
way. That is, a reference transaction is a read-only operation — only the new
transaction is populated with data and acted upon. No linkage is maintained
between the reference transaction and the new transaction.

You can also initiate reference transactions from PayPal Manager. See PayPal Manager
Online Help for details.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Recharging to the Same Credit Card (Reference Transactions)

Transaction Types that Can Be Used as the Original Transaction
You can reference any of the supported transaction types shown below to supply data for a
new Sale or Authorisation transaction:
z
z

Sale
Authorisation (To capture the funds for an approved Authorisation transaction, be sure to
perform a Delayed Capture transaction — not a Reference transaction.)

Void

Delayed Capture

Credit

N O T E : PayPal Express Checkout does not support reference transactions for Authorisations or

Sales. Reference transactions are only supported for Voids, Delayed Captures and
Credits. For details on PayPal Express Checkout, see Chapter 6, “PayPal Express
Checkout Transaction Processing.”

Fields Copied from Reference Transactions
The following fields are copied from the reference transaction into the new Sale or
Authorisation transaction (if they exist in the original transaction). If you provide a value for
any of these parameters when submitting the new transaction, then the new value is used.
ACCTTYPE

STREET

ACCT

CITY

EXPDATE

STATE

FIRSTNAME

ZIP

LASTNAME

COUNTRY

Example Reference Transaction
In this example, you authorise an amount of $100 for a consignment and charge $66 for the
first partial delivery using a normal Delayed Capture transaction. You charge the $34 for the
final part of the delivery using a reference transaction to draw credit card and postal address
information from the initial Authorisation transaction.
Step 1 Submit the Initial transaction (Authorisation in this example)
You use an Authorisation transaction for the full amount of the purchase of $100.
EXAMPLE 4.13 Authorisation for the full amount of the purchase
"TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&ACCT=5555555555554444&EXPDATE=0308&AMT=100.00&INVNU
M=123456789&FIRSTNAME=John&LASTNAME=Jones&STREET=5199 MAPLE&ZIP=94588"

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Using Address Verification Service

Note the value of the PNREF in the response.
EXAMPLE 4.14 Response to the Authorisation
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFHP0D426A51&RESPMSG=Approved&AVSADDR=N&AVSZIP=Y&CVV2MATCH=X
&PPREF=6FS950632E172331R&CORRELATIONID=3c1a7c1c411a

Step 2 Capture the authorised funds for a partial delivery of $66
When you deliver the first $66 worth of product, you use a normal Delayed Capture
transaction to collect the $66. Set ORIGID to the value of PNREF in the original
Authorisation.
EXAMPLE 4.15 Partial capture of the purchase amount
"TRXTYPE=D&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&ORIGID=EFHP0D426A51&AMT=66.00"
RESULT=0&PNREF=VXYZ01234568&AUTHCODE=25TEST&AVSADDR=Y&AVSZIP=N&CORRELATIONI
D=2dc60e253495e

Step 3 Submit a new Sale transaction of $34 for the rest of the delivery
Once you have sent the remainder of the product, you can collect the remaining $34 in a Sale
transaction that uses the initial Authorisation as a reference transaction.
EXAMPLE 4.16 New Sale transaction for the balance
"TRXTYPE=S&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&ORIGID=EFHP0D426A51&AMT=34.00"
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFHP0D426A53&AUTHCODE=25TEST&AVSADDR=Y&AVSZIP=N&CORRELATIONI
D=2dc60e253495e
N O T E : In

the case that your business model uses Authorisation/Delayed Capture for all
transactions, you could have chosen to use partial captures to collect the $34. For an
example, see “Delayed Capture Transaction: Capturing Transactions for Lower
Amounts” on page 33.

Using Address Verification Service
Address Verification Service (AVS) consists of the information — postal address and
postcode.
AVS compares the submitted billing postal address and postcode with the values on file at the
cardholder’s bank. The response includes values for AVSADDR and AVSZIP: Y, N or X for
the match status of the customer’s postal address and postcode. Y = match, N = no match,
X = cardholder’s bank does not support AVS. The AVS result is for advice only. Banks do not
decline transactions based on the AVS result — the merchant makes the decision to approve or
decline a transaction. AVS is supported by most US banks and some international banks.
Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Card Security Code Validation
N O T E : AVS

checks only for a street number match, not a street name match, so
123 Main Street returns the same response as 123 Elm Street.

The International Address Verification Service response indicates whether the AVS response is
international (Y), USA (N), or cannot be determined (X). SDK version 3.06 or later is
required.

Example AVS Request Parameter String
This example request includes the AVS request parameters STREET and ZIP.
EXAMPLE 4.17 Request string with AVS request parameters
"TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&ACCT=5555555555554444&EXPDATE=0308&AMT=123.00&STRE
ET=5199 Maple&ZIP=98765"

Example AVS Response
In this example, the address value matches the value in the bank’s records, but the postcode
does not. The IAVS response is X.
EXAMPLE 4.18 AVS response parameters
RESULT=0&PNREF=EFHP0D426A56&RESPMSG=APPROVED&AVSADDR=Y&AVSZIP=N&IAVS=X&CORR
ELATIONID=2dc60e253496a

For details on Address Verification responses, see “Address Verification Responses from
PayPal” on page 71.

Card Security Code Validation
The card security code is a three or four-digit number (not part of the credit card number) that
is printed on the credit card. Because the card security code appears only on the card and not
on receipts or statements, the card security code provides some assurance that the physical
card is in the possession of the buyer.
N O T E : This fraud prevention tool has various names, depending on the payment network. Visa

calls it CVV2 while MasterCard calls it CVC2. To ensure that your customers see a
consistent name, PayPal recommends use of the term card security code on all end-user
materials.
You must provide a CVV2 value as a transaction parameter for those credit cards that use card
security code validation. The value is required for Visa, MasterCard, Switch, and Solo cards.
IMPO RTANT: To

comply with credit card association regulations, you must not store the
CVV2 value.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Card Security Code Validation

American Express Card Security Code Enhancements
In a card-not-present environment, American Express recommends that you include the
following information in your authorisation message:
z

Card member billing name

Postal information (SHIPTO* parameters) such as:
– Address
– Name
– Postage method

Customer information such as:
–
–
–
–

Email address
IP address
Host name
Browser type

Order information (such as product SKU)

On most cards, the card security code is printed on the back of the card (usually in the
signature field). All or part of the card number appears before the card security code (567 in
the example).
For details on PayPal processor card security code responses, see “Card Security Code
Results” on page 72.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Card Security Code Validation

Example CVV2 Request Parameter String
This example request parameter string includes the CVV2 parameter.
EXAMPLE 4.19 CVV2 request parameter string
"TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPalUK&VENDOR=SuperMerc
hant&USER=SuperMerchant&&ACCT=5555555555554444&EXPDATE=0308&AMT=123.00&CVV
2=567"

Example CVV2 Response
In this example result, the card security code value matches the value in the bank’s records.
EXAMPLE 4.20 CVV2 response
RESULT=0&PNREF=VXW412345678&RESPMSG=APPROVED&CVV2MATCH=Y&CORRELATIONID=2dc
60e2534971

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Testing Credit Card Transactions

To test your application, direct all transactions to pilot-payflowpro.verisign.com. Transactions
directed to this URL are processed through PayPal’s simulated payment network, enabling
you to test the configuration and operation of your application or shopfront — no money
changes hands. (You must activate your account and configure your application for live
transactions before accepting real orders.)

Testing Guidelines
While testing, use only the credit card numbers listed in this chapter. Other numbers
produce an error.
Expiry Date must be a valid date in the future (use the mmyy format).
To view the credit card processor that you have selected for testing, see Account Info >
Processor Info in PayPal Manager.

Credit Card Numbers Used for Testing
Use the following credit card numbers for testing. Any other card number produces a general
failure.
TABLE 5.1

Test credit card numbers

American Express

378282246310005

American Express

371449635398431

Amex Corporate

378734493671000

Australian BankCard

5610591081018250

Diners Club

30569309025904

Diners Club

38520000023237

Discover

6011111111111117

Discover

6011000990139424

JCB

3530111333300000

JCB

3566002020360505

MasterCard

5555555555554444

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Testing Credit Card Transactions
Testing Result Code Responses
TABLE 5.1

Test credit card numbers (Continued)

MasterCard

5105105105105100

Visa

4111111111111111

Visa

4012888888881881

Visa

4222222222222
N O T E : Even though this number has a different character count than

the other test numbers, it is the correct and functional number.

Testing Result Code Responses
You can use the amount of the transaction to generate a particular result code. Table 5.2
lists the general guidelines for specifying amounts.
TABLE 5.2

Result codes resulting from amount submitted

Amount

Result (RESPMSG)

$0 – $10000

0 (Approved)

$10001 or greater

Certain amounts in this range return specific PayPal result codes.
If the amount is in this range but does not correspond to a PayPal result
code supported by this testing mechanism, result 1000 is returned.

Table5.3 shows amounts that return specific PayPal result codes.
TABLE 5.3

Obtaining PayPal result code

Result

Definition

How to test using Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition

Approved

Use an AMOUNT of 10000 or less

Invalid transaction type

Use the AMOUNT 10402

Invalid amount

Use any of these as AMOUNT:
10400
10401
10403
10414

Invalid merchant
information

Use any of these as AMOUNT:
10548
10549

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Testing Credit Card Transactions
Testing Result Code Responses
TABLE 5.3

Obtaining PayPal result code (Continued)

Result

Definition

How to test using Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition

Field format error

Use any of these as AMOUNT:
10405
10406
10407
10408
10409
10410
10412
10413
10416
10419
10420
10421
10509
10512
10513
10514
10515
10516
10517
10518
10540
10542

Declined

Use any of these as AMOUNT:
10417
15002
15005
10506
10528
10539
10544
10545
10546

Referral

Use the AMOUNT 10422

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

Testing Credit Card Transactions
Testing Result Code Responses
TABLE 5.3

Obtaining PayPal result code (Continued)

Result

Definition

How to test using Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition

Invalid account number

Use any of these as AMOUNT:
10519
10521
10522
10527
10535
10541
10543

Invalid expiry date

Use any of these as AMOUNT:
10502
10508

Duplicate Transaction

Use the AMOUNT 10536

105

Credit error

Attempt to credit an authorisation

112

Failed AVS check

Use the AMOUNT 10505

114

CVV2 Mismatch

Use the AMOUNT 10504

1000

Generic Host
(Processor) Error

Use an AMOUNT other than those listed in this column

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

PayPal Express Checkout
Transaction Processing
This chapter provides guidelines on how to implement PayPal Express Checkout. The chapter
introduces you to this feature and provides the information you need to get started integrating
it into your website application.
N O T E : If

you also plan to use PayPal Direct Payments described in Chapter 4, “Performing
Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions,” to process credit cards, you must use
PayPal Express Checkout together with Direct Payments. Direct Payments is not a
standalone feature.

In this Chapter
z

“What Is PayPal Express Checkout?” on page 47

“How PayPal Express Checkout Works” on page 48

“Sale and Authorisation Transactions” on page 49

“PayPal Express Checkout Sale Transaction Example” on page 50

“PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Parameter Descriptions” on page 53

What Is PayPal Express Checkout?
PayPal Express Checkout offers your customers an easy, convenient checkout experience. It
lets them use postal and billing information stored securely at PayPal to check out, so they
don’t have to re-enter it on your site.
From the perspective of website development, PayPal Express Checkout works like other
Website Payments Pro features. You submit transaction information to the server as namevalue pair parameter strings.
N O T E : This
z

chapter assumes that you are familiar with the following:

The basic transaction parameters required in all Website Payments Pro transactions, as
described in Chapter 3, “Creating a Simple Transaction Request”
The parameters for each transaction type, as described in Chapter 4, “Performing Direct
Payment Credit Card Transactions”

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing
How PayPal Express Checkout Works

How PayPal Express Checkout Works
Figure 6.1 summarises the PayPal Express Checkout process.
FIGURE 6.1 Customer checkout sequence

Figure 6.1 shows a typical set of web pages representing your merchant website. The PayPal
logo is used by the customer to choose PayPal as their method of payment. PayPal Express
Checkout gives you the flexibility to put this PayPal button graphic first in your checkout
process — or on your billing page with other payment options. These guidelines are discussed
in detail in Chapter 7, “PayPal Button Placement and Page Designs.”

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing
Sale and Authorisation Transactions

The web page layout may differ somewhat from your own web design, but the points at which
the PayPal Express Checkout API calls are made and when the customer is redirected to
PayPal and back to your website are important to understand. The events that take place at
each numbered step in the figure are described below:
1. On your website when your customer chooses to pay with PayPal, you submit a Set
Express Checkout request.
2. The server sends back a token, a string value to track your customer throughout the
checkout process.
3. You direct your customer to the PayPal site, where they log in, select a funding source, and
confirm contact and postal information. PayPal Express Checkout includes parameters that
you can use to customise the PayPal pages so they match characteristics of your own
website. For example, you can provide your own logo and colours. These parameters are
described in “Set Express Checkout Request Parameters” on page 53.
4. When your customer clicks the “Continue” button, PayPal sends them back to your site at
the return URL you specified in the Set Express Checkout request. The token is appended
to the URL to identify the customer.
5. Optionally you can send the Get Express Checkout Details request to obtain details about
your customer such as the customer’s telephone number and postal address. You send the
token to identify the customer. The server returns the requested information.
6. When your customer clicks the “Pay” button, you submit the Do Express Checkout
Payment request to perform the actual payment transaction. The server returns the
transaction result.

Sale and Authorisation Transactions
PayPal Express Checkout Sale and Authorisation transactions are handled a little differently
than described in Chapter 4, “Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions.” Unlike a
Direct Payment credit card Sale or Authorisation transaction request, which is submitted as a
single request, a PayPal Express Checkout Sale or Authorisation requires that you submit at
least two requests:
z

Set Express Checkout

Do Express Checkout

(A third request, Get Express Checkout Details, is optional.)
Do Express Checkout performs the actual money transfer. The Set Express Checkout and Get
Express Checkout Details requests provide supporting data. To distinguish between a Sale or
Authorisation request, you must pass an additional ACTION parameter with the respective
value, S or G. Table 6.1 summarises the ACTION values and transaction types.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing
PayPal Express Checkout Sale Transaction Example
N O T E : PayPal

Express Checkout does not support reference transactions for Sales and
Authorisations.

TABLE 6.1

Mapping PayPal Express Checkout requests to ACTION values

Request

TRXTYPE

ACTION

Set Express Checkout

Identifies the transaction.
S = Sale
A = Authorisation

Is S (for Set Express Checkout)

Get Express Checkout Details

Identifies the transaction.
S = Sale
A = Authorisation

Is G (for Get Express Checkout
Details)

Do Express Checkout Payment

Identifies the transaction.
S = Sale
A = Authorisation

Is D (for Do Express Checkout
Payment)

Void, Delayed Capture and Credit Transactions
You perform Void, Delayed Capture and Credit transactions as described in Chapter 4,
“Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions”,” using the PayPal tender type P.
Additional PayPal Express Checkout data parameters that you can use in these transaction
types with PayPal Express Checkout are described in the following sections:
z

“Void Transaction Parameters” on page 62

“Delayed Capture Transaction Parameters” on page 62

“Credit Transaction Parameters” on page 63

N O T E : PayPal

Express Checkout supports reference transactions for Void, Delayed Capture
and Credit transactions.

PayPal Express Checkout Sale Transaction Example
This section provides an example of a Sale transaction.
All required transaction parameters are described in Chapter 4, “Performing Direct Payment
Credit Card Transactions.”

Set Express Checkout (ACTION=S)
The Set Express Checkout request passes the transaction details from your website to PayPal
when a customer chooses to pay with PayPal.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing
PayPal Express Checkout Sale Transaction Example

In addition to the parameter values required by all transaction types described in Chapter 3,
“Creating a Simple Transaction Request,” and the minimum required parameters for a Sale
transaction described in Chapter 4, “Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions,”
Set Express Checkout requires that you pass data for the following parameters.
ACTION
AMT
RETURNURL
CANCELURL
EXAMPLE 6.1 Set Express Checkout request parameter string for a Sale transaction
"TRXTYPE=S&ACTION=S&AMT=35.00&CANCELURL=http://www.order_page.com&PARTNER=P
ayPalUK&PWD=SuperUserPassword&RETURNURL=http://www.confirmation_page.com&TE
NDER=P&USER=SuperMerchant&VENDOR=SuperMerchant"

It is strongly recommended that RETURNURL be the URL of the final review page on your
website, where the customer confirms the order and payment. Likewise, CANCELURL
should be the URL of the original page on your website where the customer initially chose to
use PayPal.
EXAMPLE 6.2 Set Express Checkout response
RESULT=0&RESPMSG=Approved&TOKEN=EC-17C76533PL706494P

You use the TOKEN value in the response to refer to this particular transaction in the
following requests to PayPal (as shown in Figure 6.1 on page 48).
z

In the HTTP request to redirect the customer’s browser to the PayPal website (described in
“Redirecting the Customer to PayPal Example” on page 51).
In the Get Express Checkout Details request to obtain the customer’s billing information
(described in “Redirecting the Customer to PayPal Example” on page 51).
In the Do Express Checkout Payment request to carry out the transaction (described in “Do
Express Checkout Payment (ACTION=D)” on page 53).

Redirecting the Customer to PayPal Example
After your buyer clicks the PayPal button and you submit the Set Express Checkout request,
you will want to automatically direct your customer to the PayPal website. The redirect URL
for this is:
"https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_express-checkout&token="

where TOKEN is the value returned in the Set Express Checkout response.
PayPal recommends that you use the HTTPS response 302 “Object Moved” with your URL as
the value of the Location header in the HTTPS response. Alternatively, you can generate a
web page for your buyer that includes a META REFRESH tag in the header. An example is
shown below. Remember to replace with the token value that you received in the
Set Express Checkout response.

Website Payments Pro Developer’s Guide

PayPal Express Checkout Transaction Processing
PayPal Express Checkout Sale Transaction Example
EXAMPLE 6.3Generating a web page with a META REFRESH tag

Paypal Website Payments Pro 2007 Developers Guide Developer’s

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