When a Direct Payment API call is made, the merchant provides PayPal a user ID, password, API certificate, and the following information to process the credit card transaction:

• Billing information, such as name, address, and email
• Item information, such as item name, quantity, and price
• Transaction information, such as transaction amount, shipping, and tax
• Credit card information, such as credit card number, expiration date, and CVV2
• Security information, such as IP address and session ID

PayPal processes the transaction in real time and sends back the following information:

• Transaction status indicating whether the transaction was successful or if the transaction failed
• Error logging in case the transaction failed
• AVS and CVV2 responses

PayPal’s Direct Payment API can also be used to capture funds at the time of authorization, or set to only authorize payments. PayPal provides additional APIs to capture funds through a delayed settlement.

Note: Direct Payment is not a stand-alone product. You are required to use Direct Payment and Express Checkout together. For more information on Express Checkout, please refer to the Express Checkout manual.