What is Checkout and how does it work?
How does it work?
With Checkout, your customers can complete transactions in just a few steps. Their shipping and billing information is already stored securely at PayPal to check out, so they don’t have to re-enter it on your site. When Checkout is configured with the default settings, customers must have a PayPal account to complete a payment.
What API calls are required?
Checkout consists of three APIs:
- SetExpressCheckout indicates to PayPal that you're using Checkout to obtain payment. Your customer is redirected to PayPal to log in and pick a funding source and shipping method. SetExpressCheckout returns a token that you use in the remaining two API calls.
- GetExpressCheckoutDetails (optional) returns details about the customer who is checking out, including shipping address, name, and so on. You pass the token PayPal returned on SetExpressCheckout, and PayPal returns the customer's details.
- DoExpressCheckoutPayment is your request for payment, which you call when the customer has clicked Pay on the final order. You pass the token and other details, and PayPal returns a Transaction ID along with specific payment details.
Checkout is available to any merchant that has API access, and any customer with a PayPal account can use Checkout for their purchases. Checkout has many options that support many different checkout flows. See How to Create One-Time Payments Using Express Checkout or PayPal Checkout Integration for more information.
Was this article helpful?