Easy Digital Downloads PayPal Pro and PayPal Express

If you sell files, a Pending payment is someone waiting for their purchase

Your customer pays, returns to the store and waits for the download. With PayPal Standard, the payment status depends on the IPN notices PayPal sends to your site, and pending or incomplete payments are common. In a digital store, that delay becomes your first conversation with the customer.

With PayPal Express, the purchase is not completed until the person returns to your site, which makes it more reliable for the payment to reach Complete. That difference is the reason to look at this Easy Digital Downloads add-on, which adds two ways to charge: Express and Pro.

Two gateways for two ways to pay

You do not have to enable both:

• PayPal Express: the customer goes through PayPal to approve the purchase and finishes it on your site.
• PayPal Pro (Website Payments Pro): the customer enters card details during checkout, without leaving your site.
• In-Context Checkout: an Express-only option, enabled with a checkbox and your Merchant ID.

Taking cards on your site comes with homework

Pro is convenient for the buyer, but it asks more of your site. You need an SSL certificate, and PayPal requires PCI compliance if you use Payments Pro. The add-on does not store card data: it passes it to PayPal. Even so, full compliance also depends on your site using HTTPS for all data, something worth confirming with your host.

If you do not want to take on that part, Express may be enough, because the customer approves the payment at PayPal.

What to check first in your account

Express and Website Payments Pro are not available in all countries. Review PayPal's lists before planning your checkout: the "Merchant country not supported" error means your country is not supported.

Credentials matter too. Without API keys neither gateway works, and the "Security header is not valid" message usually points to incorrect credentials. If you sell subscriptions with Recurring Payments, IPN notices must work correctly.

API credentials, IPN and a test purchase

You need Easy Digital Downloads and a PayPal account with access to its API credentials. These are the steps:

1. In Downloads, Settings, Payment Gateways, enable Pro, Express or both.
2. If you enable Express, disable PayPal Standard.
3. Request NVP/SOAP credentials in PayPal with the signature option.
4. Enter username, password and signature in the Live fields.
5. Copy the seller keys from your Sandbox account into the Test fields.
6. Enable IPN messages in PayPal with the address https://yoursite.com/?edd-listener=eppe, using your domain.
7. Turn on Test Mode and make a full purchase before going live.

That IPN address is not the Standard one, which uses ?edd-listener=IPN.

What rounds out your download store

Easy Digital Downloads Pro is the base of the store. If you charge by period, Recurring Payments adds subscriptions with billing frequency, free trials, signup fees and a customer dashboard.

Common questions about PayPal Pro and Express

Do I have to enable both gateways?

No. You can enable only Pro or only Express.

Can I keep PayPal Standard active next to Express?

You should disable it if you enable Express.

Does the add-on store card numbers?

No. It passes them to PayPal without storing them.

Why does Merchant country not supported appear?

Because your country is not supported.

What do I do about the Security header is not valid error?

Check the API username, password and signature. They are probably incorrect.

Where do I find the Merchant ID?

In PayPal, under Profile and settings, Business Profile, My business info, it appears as Merchant account ID.