Choose Your Integration Path

Last updated: March 10th 2022, @ 3:39:25 pm


There are two integration paths for Payflow Pro:

  1. Payflow Software Development Kit (SDK). The Payflow SDK is available as a .NET or Java library. PayPal recommends using the SDKs to simplify your integration.
  2. Build your own API to connect to PayPal directly. Customize your Payflow Pro instance by creating simple transactions that include connection parameters, user parameters, and transaction data parameters in name-value pair format. This page describes the required parameters.

Requirements for simple transactions

Name-Value pairs

Name-value pair (NVP) is the format you use to specify the parameter information you send in a transaction request to the Payflow server. A name-value pair consists of the parameter name and its value. The equal sign (=) is a special character that associates the name and its value:

PARAMNAME=value

Typically, you send several name-value pairs as a parameter string to the server. The ampersand (&) is a special character that separates each name-value pair in the parameter string:

PARAM1NAME=value&PARAM2NAME=value&PARAM3NAME=value

Special characters and syntax guidelines

Because the ampersand and equal sign characters have special meanings, they are invalid in a name-value pair value.

To include special characters in the value portion of a name-value pair, use a length tag. The length tag specifies the exact number of characters and spaces that appear in the value.

InvalidValid
COMPANYNAME=Ruff & JohnsonCOMPANYNAME[14]=Ruff & Johnson
COMMENT1=Level=5COMMENT1[7]=Level=5

Note: Do not use quotation marks ("), even if you use a length tag.

Follow these special character and syntax guidelines when you create name-value pairs:

  • Do not use spaces in values.
  • Do not place quotation marks within the body of the NVP parameter string.
  • Separate all NVPs with an ampersand.
  • Set the VERBOSITY transaction parameter to HIGH to have the response return detailed information. Act upon the returned values that you need for the transaction.
  • If you duplicate a parameter in your NVP string, the last item will always be the one used and the others will be discarded.
  • Do not URL encode Name-Value parameter data because it can cause problems with authentication and reporting.

Incorrect:

TRXTYPE%3DS%26TENDER%3DC%26USER%3DMerchantUserID%26PWD%3DPwd4Gateway%26PARTNER%3DPayPal%26ACCT%3D5105105105105100%26EXPDATE%3D1215%26AMT%3D23.45%26COMMENT1%3DAirport+Shuttle%26BILLTOFIRSTNAME%3DJamie%26BILLTOLASTNAME%3DMiller%26BILLTOSTREET%3D123+Main+St.%26BILLTOCITY%3DSan+Jose%26BILLTOSTATE%3DCA%26BILLTOZIP%3D951311234%26BILLTOCOUNTRY%3DUS
%26CVV2%3D123%26CUSTIP%3D0.0.0.0

Correct:

TRXTYPE=S&TENDER=C&USER=MerchantUserID&PWD=Pwd4Gateway&PARTNER=PayPal&ACCT=5105105105105100&EXPDATE=1215&AMT=23.45
&COMMENT1=Airport Shuttle&BILLTOFIRSTNAME=Jamie&BILLTOLASTNAME=Miller&BILLTOSTREET=123 Main St.&BILLTOCITY=San Jose
&BILLTOSTATE=CA&BILLTOZIP=951311234&BILLTOCOUNTRY=840&CVV2=123&CUSTIP=0.0.0.0

Payflow connection parameters

The Payflow SDK passes connection parameters to define the connection to the Payflow server.

Pass the connection parameters in the format and syntax required by the Payflow SDK and programming language that you are using. See your integration documentation for details.

ParameterRequiredDescription/Value
HOSTADDRESSYesGateway server name
HOSTPORTYesUse port 443
TIMEOUTYesTime-out period for the transaction. PayPal recommends a minimum time-out value of 30 seconds; the client begins tracking from the time that it sends the transaction request to the server.
PROXYADDRESSNoProxy server address. Use the PROXY parameters for servers behind a firewall. Contact your network administrator for these values.
PROXYPORTNoProxy server port
PROXYLOGONNoProxy server log on ID
PROXYPASSWORDNoProxy server log on password

In addition to the connection parameters, you must pass the NVP parameters that specify the payment information for the transaction.

User parameter data

All Gateway transactions require user parameters.

ParameterRequiredDescriptionLimitations
USERYesIf you set up one or more additional users on the account, this value is the ID of the user authorized to process transactions. If, however, you have not set up additional users on the account, USER has the same value as VENDOR64 alphanumeric, case-sensitive characters
VENDORYesYour merchant login ID that you created when you registered for the account.64 alphanumeric, case-sensitive characters
PARTNERYesThe ID provided to you by the authorized PayPal Reseller who registered you for the Gateway gateway. If you purchased your account directly from PayPal, use PayPal.64 alphanumeric, case-sensitive characters
PWDYesThe password that you defined while registering for the account.6 to 32 alphanumeric, case-sensitive characters

Transaction parameter data

In addition to the required connection and user parameters, each transaction type requires other parameters and can include a number of optional parameters.

For example, to perform a sale transaction involving a credit card, pass these parameters:

NameValue Description
TRXTYPEThe type of the transaction, such as S for Sale
TENDERThe method of payment, such as C for credit card
ACCTThe buyer's credit card number
AMTThe amount of the sale, including two decimal places and without a comma separator
EXPDATEThe expiration date of the credit card

This example shows a typical name-value pair string for a sale transaction. Besides the required sale transaction parameters, the string includes other Payflow parameters typically included in a sale transaction.

TRXTYPE=S&TENDER=C&USER=MerchantUserID&VENDOR=MerchantUserID&&PWD=Pwd4Gateway&PARTNER=PayPal&ACCT=5105105105105100&EXPDATE=1215&AMT=23.45&COMMENT1=AirportShuttle&BILLTOFIRSTNAME=Jamie&BILLTOLASTNAME=Miller&BILLTOSTREET=123 Main St.&BILLTOCITY=SanJose&BILLTOSTATE=CA&BILLTOZIP=951311234
&BILLTOCOUNTRY=840&CVV2=123&CUSTIP=0.0.0.0&VERBOSITY=HIGH

Format other Payflow Gateway transactions

For details on how to format other Payflow transactions, see the examples in the next step or see Submitting Credit Card Transactions for more types.

For information on credit card parameters, see Core Credit Card Parameters.

Next

Choose the transaction type.

Additional information