PayPal Express Checkout is a payment solution integrated into X-Cart via PayPal API v1. PayPal Express Checkout supports checkout directly on your site, but the payment is made on PayPal's servers.
Email Express Checkout Setup
For a quick start, Paypal Express Checkout requires you to specify your email only:
If you already have a Paypal account, you should specify the email registered in your Paypal account.
If you do not yet have a Paypal account, you can specify the email you will create your Paypal account with and create the account itself later on.
API Credentials Express Checkout Setup
For a full-fledged Express Checkout implementation allowing payments and post-checkout operations, you will need to use the API option:
After choosing this option, you will need to specify a set of credentials to access the API.
To get a set of credentials, please contact PayPal support.
Two API options are supported: PayPal API and Payflow API. PayPal API (Merchant API) will work for most merchants. If you can, use PayPal API. If you only have access to Payflow API, then use Payflow API.
Your choice of an API solution will determine the type of API credentials you must enter. API credentials identify you as a PayPal Business account holder authorized to perform API operations.
For PayPal API, you will need the following set of credentials:
Partner name (should always be "PayPal"),
API access username,
API access password,
API signature or API certificate (The Use PayPal authentication method box allows you to choose which one you want to use).
You can retrieve the credentials mentioned earlier via your PayPal account profile.
An API signature is a unique string of numbers and letters. An API certificate is a file you need to place on your X-Cart store server. Both serve the purpose of identifying your account. An API signature does not expire, is easier to implement, and is more commonly used. However, an API certificate is valid for three years, and you will need to renew it before it expires. Therefore, the API certificate method is recommended for optimal security.
Using an API signature, you need to copy and paste the string of numbers and letters provided to you by PayPal into the API signature box. You also need to place the certificate file on your X-Cart server and specify the full absolute file path in the API certificate box. You can store the file inside or outside your X-Cart store installation folder. In any case, you must ensure that it is stored securely in a location accessible to Curl but not accessible from the Web.
For example, an excellent location to place your certificate will be the /files folder of your X-Cart installation. That folder has a .htaccess file by which any files within the folder are protected from external access.
For Payflow API, you will need the following set of credentials:
Partner name,
Merchant login,
User,
Password.
These are the same credentials that are used as your manager.paypal.com login information.
Secure Token Setup
You may need to include this option if you want to capture payments authorized by Paypal via the admin interface of your X-Cart store. However, you must have a Paypal Advanced Payments or a Paypal Payflow Pro account to use this option.
How to enable the Secure Token setting:
Log in to your PayPal Manager account;
Click Service Settings.
Under Hosted Checkout Pages, click Set Up.
Set Enable Secure Token to Yes.
Click Save Changes.
Fill in the API credentials into the X-Cart's PayPal Express Checkout settings form.
Custom PayPal Payment Page Setup
Creating a custom payment page allows you to co-brand the PayPal checkout pages with your logo and colors.
Log in to your PayPal account.
Underneath the My Account tab, click Profile.
Click My selling tools.
Locate Custom payment pages, and click the Update link next to it;
Click Add.
In the Page Style Name box, name your custom page style. (It doesn't matter what you put here, as long as it isn't PayPal.).
In the Logo Image URL box, enter the URL of your logo image. Your logo image should be 190x60px and should be hosted on an SSL-secured (HTTPS) site. If you do not have an SSL-secured site available to you, free alternatives (such as sslpic.com) are available.
In the Cart Area Gradient Color box, enter an HTML hex code representing the gradient color you want to use around the shopping cart section of the checkout page.
Click Save.
Click the radio button next to the new payment page style you just created, and click Make Primary.
Your online store will use this custom payment page style whenever buyers pay with PayPal.
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