How to test upcoming subscription changes (dropping 1st Feb)?

[mikewz]

Regarding the upcoming changes to PayPal Payments Standard Subscriptions features as outlined in the "Important Notice regarding upcoming Subscription changes" at:

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/important-notice-regarding-upcoming-subscription-changes...

Please can you advise how we can test these changes ahead of their rollout on 1st February?

We have attempted to test within the PayPal Test Sandbox at https://www.sandbox.paypal.com but this appears to be using the current behaviour (i.e. allowing subscription modifications).

@MTS_Chad @MTS_Kyle @MTS_Max @MTS_Roy @MTS_Tom @MTS_Christina- Can you help?

Thanks.

[MTS_Christina]

Hi @mikewz,

I'll follow up with the team to get you an answer to this question. 

Christina 

[mikewz]

Hi @MTS_Christina,

Thanks for looking into this. Just wondering if there was any update as this change is due to go live in production tomorrow?

Thanks,

Mike.

[MTS_Christina]

Hi @mikewz

In order to give merchants more time to make adjustments, we are pushing out this deadline until March (date TBD). Ultimately, this change will be updated both in Production/Sandbox concurrently, which means there isn't going to be a way to test this in Sandbox. If your integration currently uses either usr_manage or the modify features, you'll need to make adjustments accordingly: 

Q: What changes do I need to make to my integration?

A: If your integrations is using usr_manage, you will want to stop using password management and use an alternative solution to manage this. If your integration uses modify 1 or 2, update your script to be prepared to replace existing I- profile ID with the new profile created.

Please post any other questions here and I'll work with the teams to get you answers. 

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

[mikewz]

Thanks for your checking with the teams @MTS_Christina and getting back to me - much appreciated.

I have some follow-on questions which I was hoping you might be able to help with.

Specifically, if a user is part way through an existing subscription and they modify their subscription (using modify=1 or modify=2):

1. Is the old subscription cancelled immediately or will it run until the end of the billing cycle?
2. When that old subscription is cancelled will we receive the normal subscr_cancel and subscr_eot IPN notifications?
3. Is the new subscription setup immediately?
4. Is payment take for the new subscription immediately?
5. How is payment for the new subscription calculated - is it a pro-rata'd payment, or the full cost of the new subscription?
6. Is a subscr_signup IPN notification sent for the new subscription?

Also, please can you ask the development team to consider making this change available for testing in the Sandbox ahead of the rollout to production?

This is a breaking change to the API, and for merchants to have our first visibility of the change in production is not ideal. We can make changes to our
applications to anticipate these changes, but it is highly risky for us not to be able to test those changes.

[MTS_Christina]

Hi @mikewz

I will work on getting you answers to your questions in addition to relaying the importance of considering this update to Sandbox before production. I'll respond as soon as I have these answers.

Christina 

[MTS_Christina]

Hi @mikewz ,

I apologize for the delay in my response as I was working to get answers to your questions. Below you will find the information in response to your questions: 

Specifically, if a user is part way through an existing subscription and they modify their subscription (using modify=1 or modify=2) the modify = 2 will not be supported, the subscription button with modify = 2 will need to be changed

1. Is the old subscription cancelled immediately or will it run until the end of the billing cycle? For modify = 2, this is not applicable and will show an error message.
2. When that old subscription is cancelled will we receive the normal subscr_cancel and subscr_eot IPN notifications? For modify = 2, this is not applicable and will show an error message.
3. Is the new subscription setup immediately? For modify = 2, this is not applicable and will show an error message.
4. Is payment take for the new subscription immediately? This depends on your subscription schedule or set up fee
5. How is payment for the new subscription calculated - is it a pro-rata'd payment, or the full cost of the new subscription? Full cost
6. Is a subscr_signup IPN notification sent for the new subscription? Yes

With regards to testing, I'm still pushing to get this into sandbox before we make production changes. I'll let you know if they have any update on that effort.

Christina 

[mikewz]

Hi @MTS_Christina ,

Many thanks for collating these answers, they have been very helpful, and thanks also for pushing to get these changes into the Sandbox for us to test.

A follow-on question - Given that the subscription "modify = 2" button will no longer be supported what is the new recommended way for us to upgrade users midway through their subscriptions/?

Additionally is there a confirmed release date for the changes yet? The guide at https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/important-notice-regarding-upcoming-subscription-changes... states "March 2019" but it would be helpful to know exactly when the changes will be rolled out so we can prepare and then monitor.

Thanks,

Mike.

[MTS_Christina]

@mikewz 

Happy to help make this transition easier. The teams advised they are working towards getting these changes into Sandbox by March 1st and the production changes by March 15th.

Note: this is a tentative schedule and I'll let you know of any changes as soon as I hear. 

Also, I'll get you an answer to your open question. 

Christina 

[MTS_Christina]

@mikewz 

The team has informed me that the update to sandbox will happen Monday or Tuesday (3/4 or 3/5). I'll make sure to post again once it's confirmed as updated. 

Also, with regards to your question on how to solve for upgrades to users mid-way, my suggestion would be to call our Sales team and they will guide you to a product that fits your solution needs.