Is there any way I can be notified that someone has approved a payment through SetExpressCheckout, if they don't get redirected back to my website?
ie. After they approve the payment I would receive a callback or payment notification.
If so, how would I do it?
Thanks.
Users will always be redirected to your site when using Express Checkout. They have to because the payment isn't final until you call DoExpressCheckoutPayment which can't occur until after they've been redirected back to your site. Maybe I don't understand what you're asking here..??
In any case, take a look at IPN (Instant Payment Notification). It will POST transaction data to a listener script you have on your server so you can automate post-order processing in real-time. Again, though, no IPN would be triggered form SetExpressCheckout alone because no payment has actually been made at that point.
Related
When using the classic PayPal API, what happens to an express checkout transaction in which DoExpressCheckoutPayment does not get called?
For example, if a user is sent to the PayPal site via a successful call to SetExpressCheckout, signs in and completes the sale on the PayPal and is sent back to my site via the ReturnURL field. At that point, what happens if the DoExpressCheckoutPaymet method is not called? Is there still a transaction waiting to be processed?
The token would still be available for a little while yes, but the transaction is never complete until DECP is called. You could circle back around and use the same token, though, or you could go through SetExpressCheckout again to obtain a new token.
Again, though, there is no actual transaction until DECP is completed successfully (unless you're working with recurring payments, in which case you may skip to CreateRecurringPaymentsProfile).
While playing in sandbox and setting up recurring payments via SetExpressCheckout (as suggested in docs) I can successfully create BillingAgreement and recieve a token. Now after user follows a link like https://www.sandbox.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_express-checkout&token=[token goes here] , agrees to all terms and conditions etc., he is automatically redirected to returnUrl provided in SetExpressCheckout method, and additionally this token value is appended to the returnUrl.
So far so good. Now the question is - can I rely on the fact that returnUrl will be called at all times? F. e., what happens when for some reason user's browser refuses or fails to be redirected to the specified url?
As far as I can understand from PayPal documentation, you cannot use IPN to notify you of new subscriptions, initiated by user, though clearly IPNs would be an ideal option. I have tried to provide notifyUrl when I compose SetExpressCheckout request, but it is not being hit. Same IPN works fine for "pay" method which I use for one-time purchases.
I think you're missing a step in there. The recurring payments profile doesn't get created while the buyer is on the PayPal website -- you have to wait for the buyer to come back to your return URL, then call CreateRecurringPaymentsProfile to actually create the recurring payment. If you never call CreateRecurringPaymentsProfile, then no recurring payment gets created -- which is probably why you're not getting any IPNs.
I am using PayPal with NVP API (using PHP) for express checkout. I am creating an invoice record in the database before redirecting the user to Paypal. In case the user doesn't return to my site after processing, I am using IPN to confirm the purchase and then update the invoice record that the payment is confirmed. I am still in the sandbox mode and trying to figure out how I will tie the transaction started with NVP to the confirmation I get with IPN.
I need to verify if the "PAYMENTREQUEST_n_INVNUM" sent in the NVP will come back as "invoice" in the IPN post.
It appears I cannot actually test this until I am live since the Sandbox IPN does not seem to be active with NVP initiated sandbox transactions - is this correct?
Thanks for your help.
You can test this in Sandbox. But if you're using "PayPal NVP", I assume you're using PayPal Express Checkout and calling the SetExpressCheckout and DoExpressCheckoutPayment API's.
If that's the case, you don't really need IPN, because a transaction will only be completed as soon as you call DoExpressCheckoutPayment.
In other words, buyers will always be redirected to the RETURNURL you specified in SetExpressCheckout, and the transaction is completed (or not) when you call DoExpressCheckoutPayment on this return page.
To get the invoice number, you could call GetExpressCheckoutDetails and supply the TOKEN you retrieved earlier (it's also appended to the GET of the RETURNURL).
Finally, check PAYMENTSTATUS=Completed in the DoExpressCheckoutPayment API response to see whether the transaction has completed or not.
Thank you Robert for the clarity on the process - especially useraction=commit.
I finally realized that I could turn on IPN in the Sandbox for my test seller and test NVP with IPN together. I was able to verify that PAYMENTREQUEST_0_INVNUM matches the 'INVOICE' parameter in the IPN POST.
I will use the custom field to pass customer email from my system in case they use a different email to log into paypal with, therefore allowing me to have email/invoice number pair for confirmation.
I developed a small payment process that uses the Express Checkout API. I'm testing the code with my friend's account with $1. My payment process is redirecting to the live paypal site, he enters his information and pays, he is redirected to my confirmation thank you page, but I never receive funds. I've checked my API credentials in the code, and they are OK. I'm receiving a token and paypal payerid info on my confirmation screen. What could be the problem?
Thank you in advance.
See my answer in Why is DoExpressCheckoutPayment required for Paypal?
In order to use Express Checkout, you must call at least the following API calls:
1. SetExpressCheckout -- to set up the transaction.
2. DoExpressCheckoutPayment -- to finalize the transaction.
If you don't call DoExpressCheckoutPayment on the 'Thank you' page, the transaction is not completed. This is by design to allow for greater flexibility
Express Checkout is intended as a drop-in solution in your own checkout process. After Express Checkout redirects you back to your site, you're supposed to show an order confirmation where the buyer can review his/her final order details before initiating a button / link which initiates the final DoExpressCheckoutPayment API call. This is why DoExpressCheckoutPayment is required.
Hi
I have paypal express checkout working on my site, when user buys something the transaction goes through and the merchant is able to capture payment by clicking on the capture button on the sandbox site. Problem is that I need 'capture status' returned to the site as I need to store it in database for future use, is there a way that paypal sends some notification whenever the payment is captured by the merchant.
Thanks
PayPal IPN: https://www.paypal.com/ipn
In short, include NOTIFYURL in your SetExpressCheckout and DoExpresscheckoutPayment call and you'll receive a POST on that URL when the transaction has been captured. Look for 'PAYMENTSTATUS', as that should read 'Complete'.
Don't forget to validate the POST by sending it back to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_notify-validate and checking for a VERIFIED / INVALID response.