Learn more about PayPal Checkout, including understanding supported features, setting up PayPal Checkout in Checkfront, paying with PayPal Checkout, testing with Sandbox mode, enabling rebilling, setting up API permissions and third-party access for PayPal for rebilling, granting API permissions, managing third-party access, and addressing common issues.
Which plans include this feature?
Legacy: Soho, Pro, Plus, Enterprise
New: Growth*, Managed | Learn more about our new plans or how to change your plan.
*This payment provider is not available to accounts on the Starter or Growth (Per Booking) plan.
Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payments
What more do I need to use this feature?
- Admin permissions are required to manage Payment Providers.
About PayPal Checkout
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"When customers use PayPal, they can skip online forms and complete their checkout in just a few taps, helping boost your sales conversion and reduce shopping cart abandonment." ~ PayPal
PayPal Checkout facilitates processing transactions through the PayPal payment interface. When it comes time to make a payment, your Customer is redirected from Checkfront to PayPal and then back again once the transaction is complete.
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PayPal Checkout does not include virtual terminal functionality and cannot seamlessly integrate with the Checkfront payment page. As such, PayPal does not allow Staff to process credit cards on behalf of your Customers in the Checkfront admin area. Payments can only be made via the Customer-facing booking portal. |
Supported Features
Back to topThe following is a list of standard Payment Provider features. Those available with the PayPal Checkout and Checkfront integration are marked as supported (✓).
| Feature | Supported | More Info |
| Live Payments | ✓ | The ability to process payments in real time. |
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Rebilling |
✓ |
The ability to re-charge using previously provided payment information (tokens).
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Refunds |
✓ |
The ability to return a paid amount directly to the original payment method.
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Integrated Checkout |
X |
Customers remain on the Checkfront domain to input details. These details are sent to the provider to process the transaction without redirecting the Customer. |
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Redirect Checkout |
✓ |
Customers are redirected to the Payment Provider’s domain to input details and process the transaction. |
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Staff-side Payments |
X |
Staff can take payment through the Booking Details page using new payment information. |
| Terminals |
X |
Terminals are not available to operators at this time. |
| Hold Payments |
X |
The provider holds the payment for a certain time without charging the card.
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| Test Mode | ✓ |
The ability to process test payments using your Checkfront account and PayPal Checkout before going live.
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| Multiple Currencies | X |
The ability to offer payments in more than one currency.
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| PSD2 Compliant / 3DSecure | X |
Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant, including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).
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| Can be a secondary Provider? | ✓ |
The ability to configure a primary provider for online payments and a secondary provider for Staff-side payments through the Booking Details page.
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| Additional payment methods | X |
The following additional payment methods are only supported through Checkfront Payments and Stripe.
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| Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Uplift | X |
Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Uplift is an additional payment method exclusively supported by Checkfront Payments. |
| Google reCAPTCHA | X |
Google reCAPTCHA is an add-on which helps protect your business against fraudulent activity. See the Google reCAPTCHA article for the full list of supported payment providers. |
| Supported Countries | ✓ |
The list of countries PayPal supports for businesses and can accept online payments from can be found here: |
| Supported Currencies | ✓ |
While PayPal supports many global currencies, not every currency is available. To process transactions, you must set your Checkfront account to a currency that PayPal accepts. You can double-check if your currency is supported in the documentation below: |
| Minimum Transaction Payment Amount | X |
The minimum payment amount for PayPal (0.00) applies to test and live transactions. Please check with PayPal for more information. |
Setting up PayPal Checkout in Checkfront
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To enable Paypal Checkout in Checkfront, log in to your Checkfront account and navigate to PayPal Checkout (Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment).
Select PayPal Checkout from the Payments section.
In the pop-up window for PayPal Checkout, enter the email matching the one on your PayPal account, and click Activate.
And that's it! Your PayPal Checkout payment provider is now activated, and you're ready to take payments.
Paying with PayPal Checkout
Back to topOnce PayPal Checkout is enabled, Customers are given the option to complete the payment with PayPal.
If PayPal Checkout is set up as the only Payment Provider (primary), then a green Pay button displays on the payment page for the Customer to select.
Once selected, the Customer is redirected to PayPal to pay and then to Checkfront after completing the transaction.
If PayPal Checkout is set up as a secondary Payment Provider, then a yellow Check out with PayPal button is displayed near the top of the payment page for the Customer to select.
Once selected, the Customer is redirected to PayPal to pay and then to Checkfront after completing the transaction.
Testing with Sandbox Mode
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PayPal Checkout sandbox mode allows you to test end-to-end transactions using the PayPal sandbox without needing a live credit card.
During setup, check the Enabled sandbox (test) mode box after supplying your PayPal email address.
Remember to turn this off again when you want to start processing live transactions!
Enabling Rebilling
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The rebilling feature allows Staff to recharge using previously provided payment information (tokens).
To enable rebilling for PayPal Checkout, check the box when configuring the Payment Provider in Checkfront.
In addition, you must ensure you have granted API permissions in PayPal, as seen below.
Finally, when a Customer makes a payment for your services, they must also check a box during checkout to authorize rebilling.
Setting up API Permissions and Third-Party Access in PayPal for Rebilling
Back to topNext, you must permit Checkfront to access payment information from your PayPal account. The following steps show you how to do that.
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The steps provided below are using a Canadian Business account. The PayPal interface and experience may differ depending on your account type or country of business. You may find that the following instructions more closely match your experience. |
Granting API Permissions
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1. Log in to your PayPal Business account. Click to select the Profile menu and then choose Account Settings from the dropdown menu.
2. From the Account Settings page, select Update in the API access section.
3. From the Your payment API credentials page, select Grant API permission.
4. Supply the Checkfront API Username from the next page and click the Lookup button. The username is acct_api1.checkfront.com and not your Checkfront username.
5. Next, you set the permissions for Checkfront. For normal operation, we require the following permissions to be checked:
• Use Express Checkout to process payments.
• Issue a refund for a specific transaction.
• Process your Customer's credit or debit card payments
• Authorize and capture your PayPal transactions.
• Obtain information about a single transaction.
• Charge an existing Customer based on a prior transaction.
Managing Third-Party Access
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6. Once you check the relevant permissions, click the Add button. You now receive a confirmation message stating the third-party application (Checkfront) is successfully added.
Common Issues & Solutions
Back to topListed here are common errors or situations you may come across when using PayPal:
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