To set up this gateway, you will need your PayPal account’s:

  • Gateway Account Email
  • API Username
  • API Password
  • API Signature

Table of contents

Locating Your PayPal Account’s API Information

  1. Log in to your PayPal Business account.
  2. Hover over your name in the top right corner and click Account Settings.
  3. Click Website Payments in left column menu.
  4. Select API Access. If you haven’t already done so, you need to verify your account before requesting API credentials.
PayPal Account Settings: API Access
  1. Select NVP/SOAP API integration.
PayPal Account Settings > Website Payments > API Access > NVP/SOAP Method

The next step of setup varies based on whether you have existing PayPal API credentials set up or not.

  1. If you have not set up API credentials, you will need to set up the API credentials and permissions.
    • Click Request API Credentials.
    • Click Request API signature.
    • Click Agree and Submit.
  2. If you already have API credentials, a modal will appear that contains the information you need to copy over into your Paid Memberships Pro settings.
PayPal NVP/SOAP API Credentials

Payment Settings Setup for Paid Memberships Pro

  1. In your site’s WordPress admin, navigate to Memberships > Settings > Payment Settings.
  2. Select PayPal Express from the Payment Gateway dropdown.
  3. Select Live/Production from the Gateway Environment dropdown.
    • Note: It’s possible to use PayPal in Sandbox/Testing mode, but requires you to have a separate PayPal Sandbox account and be logged in to that environment prior to initiating tests.
  4. Enter your PayPal Account Email in the Gateway Account Email field.
  5. Enter your API Username.
  6. Enter your API Password.
  7. Enter your API Signature.
  8. Click Save Settings.

How to Set Your PayPal IPN URL

You should always set the IPN URL in your PayPal settings when using Paid Memberships Pro with any of the various PayPal gateways. Please refer to this guide on how to set, enable, and turn on the IPN URL in your PayPal account.

PayPal IPN Settings Page
This is how your PayPal account’s Instant Payment Notifications Settings Page should look.

Note on Orders in “Review” Status

If the “Confirmation Step” is enabled, the user must click one additional button to complete the payment. Orders in “review” status mean that the user did not click this button upon returning to your site.

You can avoid this by adjusting your gateway settings to skip the “Confirmation Step” and automatically approve their payment.

Require the Extra Confirmation Step with PayPal Gateway and PMPro

For more information, view our documentation on Understanding the “Order Status”.

Payment Methods Available to Your Customer

PayPal Express now allows your customer to pay with their PayPal account or a Credit Card. The customer can even checkout as “Guest”, eliminating the need for each customer to have a PayPal account. You can disable Credit Card as a payment option within your PayPal Account Profile.

Please Note: PayPal accepts payments with a credit card, linked bank account, or PayPal balance. A PayPal account is most often required, regardless of the payment method or membership level pricing (one-time payment vs. subscription). When Guest Checkout is shown depends on criteria determined by PayPal such as cookies, mobile/web usage, time of the day, security checks and if the email address that the buyer is providing is linked to an existing PayPal account

If your members are signing up for a subscription, they will 100% need an existing or new PayPal account. In other words, the member can fund the subscription any way they choose, but they are required to have a PayPal account.