PayPal Community

tareed · ‎Sep-16-2014

I'm really struggling with trying to figure out how to make PayPal do what I want, which is frustrating because it's so simple!

What I need is pretty much just a field to enter an amount, then a checkout process that will process the payment, allowing the user to pay without creating a PayPal account if so desired. That's it, nothing fancy.

I can create a Buy Now button with the Price field left empty. This allows the user to enter an amount, but the resulting interface on PayPal's site is butt-ugly and confusing. Worse, it doesn't allow for non-PayPal payments... the only options are "Pay with my PayPal account" and "Create a PayPal account."

The Donation button works exactly the way I want, with a much clearer user interface for the customer... but I can't keep using it because it looks like I may be taking in more than the yearly limit on donations, and I'm not actually a non-profit.

Is there a way to get this to work the way I want on PayPal, or do I need to write code to integrate with my site? If the latter, is there a simple, straightforward guide to how this sort of thing is done for someone with no experience at all with regard to setting up secure sites? PayPal's guides all seem to leave a lot unsaid, assuming I'm already an expert at this level of site design.

Thanks in advance!

snowshoe · ‎Sep-16-2014

What you have in mind is something we refer to as Pay Your Bill Online however, you can call it anything you want. Assuming you have either a "verified" Premier PayPal Account or a "verified" PayPal Business Account, your customers can pay without having to have a PayPal Account or pay as a guest as this is commonly referred to.

Below is a Buy Now or Pay Now type item button example - very straight forward. The customer enters the amount and some other details and pays. Feel free to tweak for your needs.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>

<title>Button Example Code</title>

<!-- START META TAG SECTION -->
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en">
<!-- END META TAG SECTION -->



</head>

<body>

<!-- START SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->


<!-- PARAGRAPH 1 -->
Pay Your Bill Online Examples

<br><br>

Buy Now - Customer Enters Amount, very simple.


<br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>

<!-- START CONTENTS -->

<!-- START BUTTON EXAMPLES -->

<form target="_self" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<!-- If using a Business or Company Logo Graphic, include the "cpp_header_image" variable. -->
<input type="hidden" name="cpp_header_image" value="https://www.yourwebsite.com/logo.jpg">
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="Customer Number">Please Enter Your Customer Number:&nbsp;&nbsp;
(Example:&nbsp;&nbsp; 99999999)
<br><br>
<input type="text" name="os0">
<br><br>
<input type="hidden" name="on1" value="Invoice Number">Please Enter Your Invoice Number:&nbsp;&nbsp;
(Example:&nbsp;&nbsp; 99999999)
<br><br>
<input type="text" name="os1">
<br><br>
Enter Amount Due :&nbsp;&nbsp;
(Example:&nbsp;&nbsp; nnn.nn)
<br>
<input type="text" name="amount">
<br><br>
<input type="reset" name="reset" value="Clear Selections">
<br><br>
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_paynowCC_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<!-- Replace "business" value with your PayPal Email Address or your Merchant Account ID -->
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="your email address">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Online Payment">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="OLP-00001">
<input type="hidden" name="no_shipping" value="1">
<input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="0.00">
<input type="hidden" name="tax" value="0.00">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after a successful transaction -->
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/ThankYou.html">
<!-- Replace value with the web page you want the customer to return to after item cancellation -->
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.yourwebsite.com/Cancel.html">
<input type="hidden" name="button_subtype" value="services">
<input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="Add special instructions to the seller:">
<input type="hidden" name="country" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-BuyNowBF:btn_paynowCC_LG.gif:NonHosted">
</form>


<!-- END BUTTON EXAMPLES -->



<!-- END SAMPLE CODE SECTION -->

<br><br><br><br>
<hr align="left" width="50%" noshade>
<br><br>
NOTES:
<br>
In order to test the code, you must replace the &quot;business&quot; value variable with your PayPal Email Address or your Merchant Account ID.

</body>
</html>

tareed · ‎Sep-16-2014

The problem with that is that it doesn't work with a "hosted" button - the amount can't be changed.

If I do a different kind of button, I don't understand how to secure it. I assume I would need to pay for a certificate for my site, pay more to upgrade to a secure site and install the certificate, but then I don't know where to go from there. And isn't there a better option on PayPal itself that can give me the Donate form interface instead of the "enhanced" interface (which ain't so "enhanced" as I see it, since it lacks functionality).

Also, I'm not sure I understand how to address the issue of allowing a customer to pay as a guest. I've got a business account, and paying as a guest works fine with my Donate button... but my Buy Now button does not. Setting up a custom form won't do me a bit of good if customers still can't pay as a guest. PayPal documents tell me it should happen automatically, but it doesn't. When I e-mailed PayPal, a PayPal tech told me where to find a setting to turn this on, but the things he told me to click on do not seem to exist.

snowshoe · ‎Sep-16-2014

The function you asked for is the example you received. Unfortunately to do what you have in mind won't work with a hosted item button unless you want the customer to enter the amount on the PayPal Screen which I believe is what you did not want, thus the item button code has to be manually created.

If you're concerned about someone messing with non-hosted or non-encrypted code, that's really not a problem. It's after you receive the money is when you should be concerned as scammers are quite savvy. When you have a transaction, it's your responsibly to review it before proceeding, scammers know that so they are not going to do anything to the code upfront becasue it's easier to just open a dispute against you.

For the customer to enter the amount on the PayPal screen for a Buy Now Button, just enter a "0" in the "Amount" Field when you are creating the button. This method works for people who want to use the online button creator. Note, this will not work for Add to Cart item buttons.

As for the Credit Card Option or pay as guest, here's a few tips:

Things to know Payments Standard's Credit Card Option or PayPal Account Optional as referred to in the User Guides:

First, your Item Button Code require no special coding. It's related to how your Account is setup.

* Account must be either Premier or Business. Personal Accounts do not have this option.
* PayPal Account Optional is turned on - this enables non PayPal Members to pay by Credit Card.
* The email address you use to log into your PayPal Account must be verified.
* The "business" variable value in your button code must be a verified email address or your Business ID.
* Bank Account linked and verified - so you can withdraw or transfer funds.
* Credit Card linked and verified.

To enable the PayPal Account Optional feature:
Go to your Account Profile and settings.
Select: My Selling Tools
Under: Selling Online
Locate: Website Preferences
Click on:   Update
Locate: PayPal Account Optional
Click:   On
Click:   Save

When the "account optional" feature is turned on, customers don't need a PayPal account.   They use an alternate checkout and have the option to sign up for a PayPal account afterward.   Customers with PayPal accounts still log in to their PayPal accounts to check out.

This feature is available for Buy Now buttons, Donations, shopping carts and invoices.

Please note that if both the "auto return" and "account optional" features are turned on, customers who don't log in to PayPal can choose to go back to your website after checkout, but are not returned automatically.

Next, there are specific reasons the Credit Card Option may not be available to your customers.

* You are using Express Checkout.   Express Checkout requires a PayPal Account
* You are using the wrong email address or an unverified email address.
* The country you reside in.   Not all countries have all the PayPal features available.
* The country your customers reside in.   Not all countries have all PayPal features available.
* The IP address of your hosted site is on a blocked list.

Want to know what PayPal Features are available in your Country.   Check out this page.   Send and Receive Payments Securely Worldwide.

Last, you have your PayPal Account setup properly but, still don't see the Credit Card Option or only see a small link to the Credit Card Option.

It's all about the cookies.   The PayPal Screens are designed to be displayed in a specific way and what you see is based on the cookies and/or your PayPal Account configuration.

PayPal relies on the use of cookies to track what's in your cart and retain other info about you and therefore the screen that is displayed may not be the screen you expect to see.   If you are a new customer visiting PayPal for the first time, the Credit Card Option will be clearly displayed.

If this is your second or third visit to PayPal and your previous cookie has not expired, PayPal now views you as a returning customer.   You will get a screen with a small link to the Credit Card Option.   Although this is not as obvious to the customer, the Credit Card Option is still available.   For example, the cookie that holds the cart info will retain that info for up to 21 days.   The only way it will change is if you remove the items selected from the cart or delete the cookie.

If you are testing your web pages, creating new code or making changes, etc., simply delete your web browser's cookies, temp files and history, then close your web browser, reopen it and try your web pages again.   When you view the PayPal Screens, you will now get the screen with the Credit Card Option because PayPal views you as a new visitor.

Other reasons for deleting cookies.   Let's say you changed your business email address or business graphic logo.   If you don't delete the cookies, temp files and history before you test, you will still see the old information.

tareed · ‎Sep-16-2014

@snowshoe wrote:
If you're concerned about someone messing with non-hosted or non-encrypted code, that's really not a problem.

So, in other words, it's perfectly okay to send this form data in clear text? There's no security risk at all in doing that? Is that mostly because what I'm trying to do is so simple, and involves an amount that the user is entering anyway, or is this more of a general thing?

@snowshoe wrote:
For the customer to enter the amount on the PayPal screen for a Buy Now Button, just enter a "0" in the "Amount" Field when you are creating the button. This method works for people who want to use the online button creator.

Yes, that does work, but it's ugly. My product name shows up in a teeny tiny font, the price says "0.00", then somewhere underneath there's a field for entering an amount. I'm pretty sure that at least some of my users will bail out rather than try to figure out what they're supposed to do and what that means. Which is silly, when the Donate form is quite simple and easily understood. I don't get that.

@snowshoe wrote:
To enable the PayPal Account Optional feature:
Go to your Account Profile and settings.
Select: My Selling Tools
Under: Selling Online
Locate: Website Preferences
Click on:   Update
Locate: PayPal Account Optional
Click:   On
Click:   Save

See, there's the problem... I get to the Website Preferences page and I see Auto Return for Website Payments, Payment Data Transfer (optional), etc... but nowhere do I see anything saying "PayPal Account Optional." I have a business account, with a verified e-mail and a bank account and credit card linked and verified.

I do not believe that I'm using Express Checkout. That's something that I would have to explicitly write code for, so if I haven't done that, I'm not using it... correct?

Is this a glitch with PayPal that I need to address with them?

snowshoe · ‎Sep-16-2014

Assuming you have a US PayPal Account, what type, Personal, Premier or Business?

Only Premier and Business Accounts have that feature - Personal Accounts do not.

tareed · ‎Sep-16-2014

It's a Business account, based in the US, not a personal account.

snowshoe · ‎Sep-16-2014

Looks like you'll need to follow-up with customer support for help. (No one here can view user account details so we don't really know what's going on with your account.)

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