Confused as to which PayPal api to use for generic payments?

Question

I'm building a small cart app in PHP which needs to have PayPal integrated into it for payments.

Checking the PP developer site you get 100 different APIs for every kind of job, however there is no clear answer as to which is the GENERIC API I should use to accept payments in the classic manner most webshops implement: 1. Client clicks pay 2. Redirected to PP site where he is asked to login. 3. After login he is presented with confirmation, he clicks OK. 4. Browser redirects back to my cart which presents user with a "Thank you" message, order code etc, while in the background a request is sent to my cart with the transaction credentials (transaction id, success status etc).

By the way, I'm not looking for Express Checkout since in this case PP provides the shipping info.

Answer 1

You could use the DoDirectPayment API to process payments. This will keep the buyer on your site, and they will enter in the information on your site. Then you will pass the details over to PayPal through an API call, and PayPal will then send the response back to you if the payment is approved.

If you are not wanting to use the DoDirectPayment API and are wanting to direct the buyer over to PayPal's pages to complete the payment but do not want to use Express Checkout, you could use PayPal Payments Adv/Payflow.

Answer 2

Express Checkout is what you want. Shipping info can be set on your end or Paypal end. It makes no difference.