Express checkout: Possible to only authorize payment instead of capture it immediately?

noir04
Contributor
Contributor

I would like to know if it is possible to only authorize a payment and then capture it later, when the order is ready to be shipped?

In Denmark it's either frowned upon, or illegal, to capture a payment before the order has been shipped - Which is why I'm looking for a way to "reserve" the amount from the buyers, but not actually move (capture) the money to my seller account.

 

I'm using the Express Checkout REST Client - In my world the transaction should happen as follows:

 

User enters my site and adds some items to my shopping cart

User goes to my checkout

I create the PayPal Express Checkout Pay button and show it to the customer

The customer clicks the button and is taken to Express Checkout, where he/she accepts the payment

The amount is now reserved (authorized) but not captured

A few hours go by until I'm ready to ship the customers order

Now I'd like to, using the REST API, capture the payment, and thus have the money move into my seller account

 

Is the above possible?

 

Regards

Lasse

Login to Me Too
1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
Solved

noir04
Contributor
Contributor

I contacted PayPal directly as well, as this issue was kinda important, the below was the reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal regarding capturing the payment later whilst awaiting the shipment.

I can understand that in Denmark the law tells that you can only capture the funds when the item has been shipped and therefore you have some inquiries about capturing funds through PayPal payment gateway.

 

After reviewing your inquiry i can confirm that due to PayPal's Buyer and Seller protection we actually advise sellers to capture the funds immediately. The reason behind this is due to the fact that an authorization is only guaranteed for 3 days through PayPal, after that we can no longer guarantee that the funds will be available for the seller.

 

However the buyer has 180 days buyer protection, so if the buyer doesn't receive the item that s/he bought the customer always have the option to dispute the transaction.

 

With other words we will strongly advise you to capture the funds immediately.

 

So I'm marking this as solved, since that answer is acceptable

View solution in original post

Login to Me Too
1 REPLY 1
Solved

noir04
Contributor
Contributor

I contacted PayPal directly as well, as this issue was kinda important, the below was the reply:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal regarding capturing the payment later whilst awaiting the shipment.

I can understand that in Denmark the law tells that you can only capture the funds when the item has been shipped and therefore you have some inquiries about capturing funds through PayPal payment gateway.

 

After reviewing your inquiry i can confirm that due to PayPal's Buyer and Seller protection we actually advise sellers to capture the funds immediately. The reason behind this is due to the fact that an authorization is only guaranteed for 3 days through PayPal, after that we can no longer guarantee that the funds will be available for the seller.

 

However the buyer has 180 days buyer protection, so if the buyer doesn't receive the item that s/he bought the customer always have the option to dispute the transaction.

 

With other words we will strongly advise you to capture the funds immediately.

 

So I'm marking this as solved, since that answer is acceptable

Login to Me Too

Haven't Found your Answer?

It happens. Hit the "Login to Ask the community" button to create a question for the PayPal community.