Integrated QR codes

As a PayPal partner, you can enable your merchants to accept PayPal and Venmo as payment tenders for goods purchased in physical locations with QR codes. This integration minimizes development by individual merchants because they can leverage the existing integration between their POS systems and your payments service.

How it works

You can integrate QR codes two ways:

• Consumer-presented: A buyer displays a QR code on their PayPal or Venmo app to scan at the POS.
• Merchant-presented: The POS displays a QR code that the buyer can scan with their PayPal or Venmo app.

Consumer-presented flow

1. The buyer shops in a retail store and brings their items to the POS for checkout.
2. When prompted, the buyer selects PayPal or Venmo and opens the PayPal or Venmo app to display the QR code.
3. The POS scans the QR code and passes the value to your service.
4. You parse the QR code value and detect that the transaction must be routed to PayPal for processing.
5. You call the Checkouts API, which returns either a transaction success or a referenceID, if user action is required.
6. Depending on the buyer's individual settings, they might receive a notification (push, SMS, email) from PayPal indicating that the account was charged.
7. The merchant’s POS receives confirmation that the transaction is complete and the cashier gives the buyer a receipt.

Merchant-presented flow

1. The buyer shops in a retail store and brings their items to the POS for checkout.
2. The POS generates and displays a QR code.
3. The buyer scans the barcode from within the PayPal or Venmo app or using their native device camera.
4. PayPal notifies your QR code callback service that a scan has occurred.  
5. You call the Checkouts API, which returns either a transaction success or a referenceID, if user action is required.
6. Depending on the buyer's individual settings, they might receive a notification (push, SMS, email) from PayPal indicating that the account was charged.
7. The merchant’s POS receives confirmation that the transaction is complete and the cashier gives the buyer a receipt.

Merchant onboarding

PayPal offers two types of account-onboarding models depending on the type of relationship you have with your merchants:

Managed Path

Choose the Managed Path integration when you want to act as the merchant of record (MOR). In this integration, you settle directly with PayPal and distribute funds to each of your merchants. You are responsible for managing disputes and own the transaction risk. This integration uses the Managed Accounts API.

Connected Path

Choose the Connected Path integration when you are not the MOR. In this integration, you act as the API caller for your merchants. You onboard existing or new PayPal accounts during connected path onboarding. Then, you can run transactions on behalf of your merchants, and the funds are distributed directly to them. This integration uses the Partner Referrals API.

Stores API

After the merchant account is created, you onboard each merchant under the tenancy structure with the valid logo URI and the Merchant Business Name for marketing. You use the Create Merchant endpoint in the Stores API for the merchant onboarding request.

Onboard locations

After onboarding your merchants, you onboard the merchant locations with the Locations API. Onboarding merchant locations allows you to accept in-store payments.

Capture payment

After you complete onboarding merchants and locations and you are ready to capture a QR code payment, you use the Checkouts API.

Dynamically build user flows

After you capture payment, you can use the Decode API to return the data from the scanned QRC (and meta data). You can use this data to determine the next action dynamically, and it allows you to create different user flows for multiple use cases. For example, you can display different interactive flows such as a food order flow, vending machine flow, payment flow ,or a loyalty sign-up flow.

Reports

The QR code integration uses the following reports:

• Settlement Report (This is a report for merchants in the Connected Path model.)
• Revenue Share Report, includes the following two reports:
  • Pricing Summary Report
  • Pricing Transaction Report
• Payouts Reconciliation Report

Resolve disputes

To manage customer disputes, you can use the Disputes API.

Mobile Commerce Development Kit

Built as an add-on to the integrated QR code solution, you use the Mobile Commerce Development Kit (MCDK) to engage with PayPal users by redirecting them to an in-app browser within the PayPal mobile app after a successful QR scan. The in-app browser can display content such as menus, store information, promotions, loyalty program sign up, order at table, etc. To get started integrating with MCDK, reach out to your Engagement Manager.