Receiving text message when money is received

[AnotherMime]

Can I set up PayPal to send a text message to my cell phone when I have recieved a payment?

[skier]

It's possible if you use PayPal's IPN Feature.   This method does require additional programming skills and some additional hardware.  After the payment is processed, PayPal posts the transaction details to your IPN script. At this point, you could have your IPN script send the text message to your cell phone

Regards,

skier

[TangledWeb]

Hi, the IPN method seems overly complicated.

At the bottom of the page it states... 

Non-IPN Notification Mechanisms

You can use IPN with other notification mechanisms. For example, you can use PDT or the API to determine real-time information about a transaction and let IPN notify you of any changes after the transaction occurs.

If you are using Website Payments Standard, you can use PDT to obtain information about the transaction. If you are using Express Checkout or Direct Payment, the PayPal API notifies you of the status and details of the transaction immediately and automatically. In either case, you can immediately display to your customer the information being returned from PayPal. You should not use IPN for this purpose.

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Since an IPN is sent out automatically during or after a transaction, isn't there a danger it could be intercepted by someone else? What would you recommend for someone who does want to use IPN?  Is it "safer" (and possible) to disable IPN, or is IPN absolutely essential for all pay pal transactions?

What is Website Payments Standard?  Is Express Checkout or Direct Payment all I need?

[SandraStehly · Accepted solution]

The easist way I found to do this, since PayPal doesn't have an exclusive option for it, was to set up a "rule" in my Outlook email.  Every time I receive an email from PayPal, it forwards to my mobile phone via text message.  It was very simple to set it up, and I have had no problems receiving notifications.  Hope that helps.