PayPal is a widely used online payment platform that facilitates transactions for businesses and individuals. By integrating PayPal with Zapier, you can automate tasks such as:
- Recording sales in spreadsheets.
- Sending confirmation emails.
- Updating CRM systems whenever a transaction occurs.
Available on plans:
Free
Pro
Team
Enterprise
Prerequisites
- A PayPal Business account.
- An app (created within PayPal).
- A paid Zapier account. PayPal is a premium app on Zapier.
Connecting to PayPal
1. Create an app in PayPal
To create an app in PayPal:
- Log in to the PayPal Developer Portal using the same credentials you use for Paypal.
- On the Apps & Credentials page, click Live or Sandbox depending on whether you need an app for testing (Sandbox) or going live (Live).
- In the API Credentials section, click Create App.
- A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your app, such as “Zapier”.
- Click Create App.
- Your Client ID and Secret Key will appear. Copy them to your clipboard.
- (Optional) In the Features section, select the Transaction search checkbox.
- If Transaction search is enabled, test records will be returned for:
- Payment Capture Webhooks trigger
- Payment Refund Webhooks trigger
- If Transaction search is not enabled, Zapier cannot return any test records when testing Zap steps.
- If Transaction search is enabled, test records will be returned for:
- Click Save Changes.
NoteYou must create separate apps for sandbox and live accounts.
2. Connect PayPal to Zapier
When connecting your account on Zapier, in the Connect an Account tab:
- In the Client ID field, enter your Client ID.
- In the Client Secret field, enter your Secret Key.
- In the Is sandbox? field:
- Select Yes if you are connecting to a sandbox account.
- Select No if you are connecting to a live account.
- Click Yes, Continue to PayPal.
About PayPal’s app
Triggers, searches, and actions
Triggers
- Billing Plan Webhooks: Triggers when a billing plan event occurs. (Instant)
- Canceled Recurring Payment: Triggers when a recurring payment subscription is canceled. (Instant)
- Payment Refund Webhooks: Triggers when a payment refund event occurs. (Instant)
- Billing Subscription Webhooks: Triggers when a billing subscription event occurs. (Instant)
- Payment Capture Webhooks: Triggers when a payment capture event occurs. (Instant)
- Payment Sale Webhooks: Triggers when a payment sale event occurs. (Instant)
Searches
- Search Captured Payment: Search for a captured payment by ID.
- Search Order: Search for an order by ID.
- Search Product: Search for a product by ID.
- Search Billing Subscription: Search for a billing subscription by ID.
- Search Authorized Payment: Search for an authorized payment by ID.
- Search Invoice: Search for an invoice by ID.
- Search Plan: Search for a plan by ID.
- Search Refund: Search for a refund by ID.
Actions
- Create Invoice: Create a new draft invoice in PayPal.
- Send Invoice: Send an existing invoice to the recipient.
- Create Payment: Create a new payment order using PayPal Orders v2 API.
Limitations
Due to PayPal API updates, the latest app versions, 2.0.0 or later do not support manual payments for instant triggers. To continue using manual payments in your workflow, you can:
- Switch to Webhooks by Zapier.
- Set up a Catch Hook trigger in Zapier.
- Copy the unique URL generated by the Catch Hook.
- Paste this URL into your PayPal's IPN settings. This will notify the hook of all transactions.
Use cases
- 7 ways to automate PayPal
- 4 ways to automate post-purchase marketing with PayPal and Mailchimp
- How to accept payments from an online form
Resources