Your API certificate needs renewal

[Buythatcard]

I have received the following eMail several times over the past few months.  It claims that I need to renew my API certificate.  I tried to follow instructions but they don't match the current layout of my account.  So, I am not able to update the API certificate.  Does this eMail sound legit?  If so, why wouldn't they lay out the correct directions?

The API certificate associated with your PayPal Business or Premier account,  will expire on Mar 10, 2020. To avoid service disruption to your PayPal API integration, we recommend renewing your API certificate before the expiration date. Here's how:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click Profile near the top of the page.
3. Click My selling tools.
4. Under "Selling online," click Update beside "API access."
5. Click View API Certificate.
6. Click Renew Certificate.
7. Under the certificate marked "Active", click Download Certificate.

[Jim87]

Same issue. That email suggest opening a ticket for help. How?

Using help does not work as it has a predefined set of conditions to select from and API renewal is not one of them.

[not_here]

Hi @Jim87 @Buythatcard,

I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused sending instructions that don't match your experience. Below are the steps that may help you: 

1. Login to your PayPal account.
2. Click the Profile gear icon in the top right corner.
3. Click on My Selling Tools on the left hand side.
4. Click on Update across from API Access.
5. Scroll down to the NVP/SOAP Integration box and click on Manage API Preferences.

On the following page you can renew your certificate. Please do note that you can only have two active certificates at once, so you may need to remove one before you can renew the other.

If you find that these don't work, please let me know. Otherwise, you can submit a ticket with our Merchant Technical Support team. 

Thanks,
Christina 

Was my post helpful? If so, please give me a kudos!

[Buythatcard]

Still not clear. 

Once I save the certificate, it does not state where the certificate should be saved.  It only puts it in the download folder.

Should current one be removed first?  How do I activate the new one.

Paypal needs to get their act together.  If you expect people to follow instructions, then Paypal needs to make sure that their instructions work.

[not_here]

@Buythatcard,

I apologize this is still not clear. Unfortunately, the next steps are based on your integration and that's something that is created by either you or your developer. If you're using a 3rd party integration (e.g. a Shopify or Wix) to connect to PayPal, you'll plug this new Certificate into those platforms. If you're using an API to connect, you'll put this new certificate into that. Again, it's all based on how you are getting your payments.

Christina 

[Buythatcard]

I only using Paypal with my eBay account which I've been doing for the past 15 years. Never had to do this before. I will just ignore this until Paypal is more specific on who needs to do this and how it should be done.

Thanks anyway.

[AbbyEagle]

I can not find the tab "My Selling Tools".

When i click on the gear wheel do i click on my profile or account settings?

[AbbyEagle]

Try this:

To update PayPal API

Click on the gear wheel.
click on account settings
in left column click on account access
to the right look for API access and click on update

All the best.

[SpringMissy]

I have the same problem too and have wasted an unbelievable amount of time searching for how to do this. Non of this advice applies to my account.  I can find "Seller Tools" as a tab at the top of my paypal account but there is no API to be seen anywhere.  I can only see PayPal buttons,  Website preferences, Instant payment notifications, Getting paid. Its  a complete mystery. 

[WishListCom]

Your user interface has changed. There is no way to figure out how to get to what needs to be updated. There's also no way to confirm that the email "Your API certificate needs renewal" actually applies to my account. We are only using "Connect with PayPal (formerly Log In with PayPal)" and it seems the email "Your API certificate needs renewal" does not apply.

Please either confirm the email "Your API certificate needs renewal" does not apply to my account, or please provide accurate instructions on how to access "NVP/SOAP API Integration section, click Manage API Credentials." Note that I've clicked on every menu item in my account and there's no mention of API Credentials.

Thanks for your help...