PayPal integration for web and mobile products

PayPal offers REST APIs for checkout, subscriptions, payouts and disputes, with a JavaScript SDK for the buttons on your page. We connect them to your product and build the order handling, webhook processing and refund screens around them.

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Standard Checkout with server-side create and capture
Subscriptions and batch payouts
Webhooks that are verified and safe to retry
Moves from older PayPal integrations to the current APIs

When PayPal is the right choice

PayPal suits products where customers expect to pay with their PayPal account:

Your buyers already have PayPal accounts. Standard Checkout adds the PayPal button with the JavaScript SDK, while your server creates and captures the order.
You need recurring billing. The Subscriptions API manages products and plans.
You pay many people at once, such as vendors, contractors or customers. Payouts sends batch payments by email address, phone number or PayPal ID.
You run an older Express Checkout or NVP/SOAP integration. PayPal publishes an upgrade guide to its current Orders API.

When PayPal is not the right choice

PayPal is not the answer to every payment need:

You want cards, wallets and local payment methods with stored data, fraud tools and reporting on one platform. PayPal's documentation points to Braintree for that.
You need global payouts such as gift cards, cheque or cash pickup, or tax reporting. The Payouts documentation points to Enterprise Payouts (Hyperwallet).
You run a marketplace that onboards sellers. That needs partner-level setup in PayPal's APIs, so confirm what applies to you before committing.
You do not have a PayPal Business account. Going live needs one.

What we build with PayPal

Typical projects, described in general terms.

Standard Checkout

The PayPal button on your page, with your server creating the order and capturing the payment after the buyer approves.

Subscriptions

Products and plans with billing cycles, prices and trials, and the screens to manage them.

Payouts

Batch payments to vendors, contractors or customers, with a record of what was sent and what failed.

Webhooks

Verified, queued handlers that keep your orders in step with PayPal and can be replayed safely.

Refunds and disputes

Refund handling, and the screens and evidence your team needs when a buyer raises a dispute.

Upgrades from older APIs

Moving an Express Checkout or NVP/SOAP integration to the current Orders and Payments APIs in stages.

What PayPal gives you

PayPal's developer platform is a set of REST APIs authenticated with OAuth 2.0. The Orders API handles checkout and the Payments API handles captures, authorizations and refunds. Subscriptions, Payouts, Disputes and Webhooks have their own APIs. The PayPal JavaScript SDK draws the buttons in the browser; PayPal's guide recommends its newer SDK version for new integrations, so we check the current guidance before building.

PayPal describes Braintree as a service of PayPal and a separate platform, with its own documentation, for cards, wallets and local payment methods. We help you choose between them when both could work.

What a payment integration needs beyond the API

The button is the easy part. The work behind it is what keeps your records right:

Webhooks: verify that each message really came from PayPal, either by checking its signature or by calling PayPal's verification endpoint with your stored webhook ID. PayPal retries failed deliveries for up to three days. Its documentation does not cover duplicate or out-of-order events, so we build handlers that are safe against both.
Idempotency: the PayPal-Request-Id header lets a retried request avoid repeating an action. Support differs by API, so we check each reference.
Capture or authorize: capturing moves the money when the buyer approves. Authorizing first and capturing later is a separate flow with its own void and reauthorize calls.
Sandbox and live: they use separate addresses and separate credentials. Secrets stay on the server.
Disputes: a buyer can raise a dispute for 180 days after payment, so refund and evidence handling belong in the first build, not a later one.

How we work

Scope the money flow first: who pays whom, when, in which currencies, and what happens on a refund or a dispute
Build in the sandbox: every path, including declined and disputed payments, runs against PayPal's sandbox before live credentials are used
Make webhooks safe: verified, deduplicated and processed from a queue, so a repeated or late event does no harm
Hand over properly: the code in your repository, the configuration documented, and notes on how to find and fix a stuck payment

Frequently asked questions

Can we keep using an old Express Checkout or NVP/SOAP integration?

PayPal publishes an upgrade guide that maps the old calls to the current Orders API, and recommends Orders and Standard Checkout for current work. Check PayPal's notices for any end-of-support date; we help you plan the move in stages.

Do we need a server, or can the page talk to PayPal directly?

The documented Standard Checkout flow uses both. The browser draws the buttons, and your server holds the credentials, creates the order and captures it after approval.

Can PayPal handle subscriptions and payouts?

Yes. The Subscriptions API manages products and plans, and Payouts sends batch payments to recipients by email, phone or PayPal ID. For fees, see PayPal's fees page.

Is Braintree the same as PayPal?

PayPal's documentation calls Braintree a service of PayPal and a separate payments platform with its own documentation. Contracts and fees differ, so compare them for your case before choosing.