How do I add American Express and JCB to my PayPal Payments Pro or Virtual Terminal account?
Important: This information applies only to Canadian merchants who use PayPal Payments Pro, PayPal Payments Advanced, Website Payments Pro, and Virtual Terminal.
As of September 29, 2017, merchants creating a new PayPal Pro account will be able to accept American Express and JCB credit cards.
Enable the cards
If you signed up with PayPal before September 29, 2017, to enable American Express and JCB cards you'll need to accept the American Express and JCB Terms and Conditions. To do so, log in to your PayPal account and follow the instructions given in the Notifications section.
As soon as you enable American Express and JCB cards, they will become available within Virtual Terminal at www.paypal.com. However, if you use manager.paypal.com to manage your account, you must perform the following steps to add American Express and JCB to your account:
- Log in to manager.paypal.com.
- Click Account Administration.
- Click Accepted Card Types.
- Click Add Card Type.
- Select American Express and JCB.
- Click Add Card Type to add these cards to your account. Note: Allow about one hour for this update to take effect.
Update your integration
After you've enabled American Express and JCB on your account, you must update your website to accept these card types. Website changes required may include adding the card branded logos and updating your integration to accept the cards.
- Merchants using an e-commerce partner or shopping cart:
- Contact your e-commerce partner or shopping cart provider for information on adding American Express and JCB card brands to your checkout experience.
- Most e-commerce platforms have administration sites where merchants can log in to configure their e-commerce site. If those sites have sections called "Payment Gateway settings" or "Accepted card types," this is where you'll add American Express and JCB card types.
Important: PayPal Pro and Virtual Terminal accept only Canadian Dollars (CAD) for American Express and JCB card types. If you pass any other currency type (for example, USD) through your integration, PayPal will decline the transaction. In addition, if your customer's card wasn't issued in Canada, they may see a foreign conversion fee from their bank.
- Website Payments Pro integrations:
- You'll need to update your integration to pass AMEX and JCB in the CREDITCARDTYPE field of the following PayPal APIs: DoDirect Payment, CreateRecurringPaymentsProfile, and UpdateRecurringPaymentProfileDetails.
- If you pass a non-CAD currency code with American Express or JCB cards, your transaction will fail with API error code 10558 and will return the following messages:
- SHORT: Currency Not Supported for Card Type
- LONG: Your processor is unable to process the Card Type in the currency requested. Try another card type.
- If your account isn't configured to access American Express or JCB cards, your transaction will fail with API error code 10755.
- PayPal Payments Pro and Payflow integrations:
- Verify that you've added American Express and JCB to your account.
- If you pass a non-CAD currency code with American Express or JCB cards, your transaction will fail with RESULT=6, RESPMSG=Invalid or unsupported currency code.
- If your account isn't configured to accept American Express or JCB cards, your transaction will fail with RESULT=2, RESPMSG=Invalid tender type.
- If you're using the hosted checkout page, the card types will be linked automatically after you've added them to your account.
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