PayPal Express Set-Up

How do I set up PayPal Express Payment Option or place a PayPal payment button on my site?
What kind of PayPal account works with this option?
What currency can I use with PayPal Express?

Why Use PayPal Express
The placement of a "Pay with PayPal" button on your account can enhance the user experience for some. It provides a quick way to set up a payment method to collect funds directly into your PayPal account. This eliminates the need for setting up a merchant account and you instantly get the money directly into your account. The disadvantage is that you require your users an extra step of having to jump to a separate payment screen and they will need to create a PayPal account if they don't have one. 

Set-Up PayPal Express
On the EventCORE side, this assumes that you already have a PayPal Account. If not, go to the next section that talks about setting up a PayPal account. Within EventCORE, you follow these simple steps to activate your PayPal button.

  • Go to your PayPal account and obtain four pieces of information. (See next paragraph).
  • Within EventCORE, go to Admin: Setup and then click "Payment" on the setup sub-menu.
  • Near the button of the options, there is a drop down titled, "Include PayPal Button"
  • Change the dropdown to "Yes" and a new set of four fields will appear.
  • Fill in the four pieces of information and hit the "Submit" button at the bottom to save your work.

The "four pieces" of information that you need are:

  • Name of your PayPal Account
  • API Username
  • API Password
  • Signature

Step by step images for where to find this information are provided on this page.

Once you have your settings entered, you should run a test transaction to insure all is working correctly. 

PayPal Accounts Explained
PayPal is a service that allows an end user to set up an account that is linked to a bank account. They can then make payments to and from that account. When you as an event organizer have a Paypal account, you can receive money into that account from end users directly. End users can pay by direct transfer from their PayPal balance or they can use a credit card to make payments. If you are unfamiliar with PayPal, we suggest you go to their site and do a demo to learn more. Ther are fees associated with using PayPal that are explained here. 

Global Currency Options
One of the nice advantages of using PayPal is that you can offer to collect payment from your attendees in various world currencies. In addition to US Dollars, they cover most of the popular ones like Euros, Pounds, Yen, Canadian Dollars, Bhat, and Pesos to name a few. You can see a complete listing on their website.

To collect payment in a foreign currency, you must choose that currency on the Start set up page. Provided that is an acceptable PayPal currency, your attendees will then be charged that amount in that currency. Normal exchange rates will be applied as explained on the PayPal page.