PayPal

Connect PayPal to accept PayPal, Pay Later, and card payments, and PayPal subscriptions, in the checkout flows you build with BJCRUM.

The PayPal connector lets applications you build with BJCRUM accept payments through PayPal.

You can use PayPal for:

Connect PayPal. Describe what customers pay for. BJCRUM builds the checkout.

PayPal vs Stripe

Both connectors accept payments. Many products use one; some offer both.

You want to Use
Let customers pay with their PayPal balance or Pay Later PayPal
A card checkout hosted by your payment provider Stripe
Offer customers a choice at checkout Both

If you ask for payments without naming a provider, BJCRUM uses the payment connectors you've connected. To be sure, name PayPal in your request.

Before You Start

You'll need:

You can build and test everything with sandbox credentials first.

Connect PayPal to BJCRUM

  1. Open the PayPal developer dashboard

    Sign in at developer.paypal.com with your PayPal account.

  2. Select Sandbox

    Open Apps & Credentials and make sure the Sandbox toggle is selected.

  3. Open an app

    Open the Default Application, or click "Create App" and name it after your project.

  4. Copy your credentials

    Copy the Client ID and the Secret.

  5. Connect in your project

    Open your BJCRUM project, go to Connectors, and select PayPal. Paste the Client ID and the Secret, and set Mode to sandbox.

You can also set a Currency. Use your PayPal account's main currency: a payment in another currency can wait in your PayPal account until you accept it by hand. If you leave it empty, prices are in US dollars (USD).

Once connected, the connector page checks your credentials with PayPal. If they belong to the other mode, it tells you which Mode to choose.

Test with Sandbox Accounts

In sandbox mode, no real money moves.

To pay in your preview, sign in to the PayPal window with a sandbox buyer account, not your real PayPal login. You'll find one in the PayPal developer dashboard under Testing Tools, then Sandbox Accounts.

While your app runs in sandbox mode, its checkout says so, and tells you which login to use.

Your First PayPal Checkout

Suppose you sell tickets for an event.

Tell BJCRUM:

Let visitors buy tickets for my event with PayPal. Show the ticket type and price, add a PayPal button, and email the buyer their ticket after payment.

The workflow might look like:

Visitor chooses ticket
        ↓
Order created
        ↓
PayPal button
        ↓
Buyer approves
        ↓
Payment captured on the server
        ↓
Order marked paid

The PayPal button shows PayPal, Pay Later, and card options, depending on what the buyer is eligible for.

How Payment Is Confirmed

An order is only marked paid when your app's server has captured the payment with PayPal and PayPal reports it as completed.

Reaching a success page in the browser isn't proof of payment, so your app never relies on it.

Your app doesn't need webhooks for this. The capture answers straight away, so the confirmation happens in the same request.

If the buyer closes the page halfway through, your app can pick up the same order rather than creating a new one, so nobody pays twice.

Subscriptions

PayPal can also charge a monthly subscription.

For example:

Charge a monthly PayPal subscription for the Pro plan at $29. Only active subscribers can open the reports page.

Conceptually:

Choose plan
     ↓
PayPal subscription
     ↓
Buyer approves
     ↓
Status checked
     ↓
Access granted

Your app checks the subscription with PayPal before granting access, and again regularly afterwards:

Go Live

When you're ready for real customers:

  1. Switch the toggle in the PayPal developer dashboard to Live. This needs a PayPal Business account.
  2. Copy the live Client ID and Secret.
  3. Paste them on the PayPal connector page and set Mode to live.
  4. Make a small real payment to confirm the whole flow.

Refunds and disputes are handled in your PayPal account.

Common Problems

PayPal says the credentials belong to the other mode

Sandbox and live credentials are different. Set Mode to match where you copied them from, or paste the credentials for the mode you want.

PayPal rejects the Client ID and Secret

Check that both were copied in full from the same app in the PayPal developer dashboard, and that the app hasn't been deleted.

You can't log in to the PayPal window in your preview

In sandbox mode, use a sandbox buyer account from Testing Tools, then Sandbox Accounts. Your real PayPal login only works in live mode.

A payment is waiting in PayPal

The payment was in a currency your PayPal account doesn't hold. Accept it in your PayPal account, and set the Currency on the connector page to your account's main currency.

A subscriber lost access

Check the subscription's status in your PayPal account. Only an active subscription unlocks paid features.

Debugging PayPal

A good Debug Mode request might look like:

Expected: After a buyer approves the PayPal payment, the order should be marked paid and the ticket emailed.

Actual: The buyer approves the payment, but the order stays pending.

PayPal shows as connected in sandbox mode.

Error: [PASTE ERROR IF AVAILABLE]

Debug the PayPal capture without changing the ticket selection.

Never paste your PayPal Secret into a prompt.

Test Your PayPal Workflow

Before publishing, test:

A Good PayPal Prompt

A strong request defines:

For example:

Add a PayPal checkout to the booking page. Charge the price of the selected session in GBP, mark the booking paid only after the payment is captured, and email the customer a confirmation. If the payment is cancelled, keep the booking as unpaid and let the customer try again.

That's significantly stronger than:

Add PayPal.

Next: Resend

PayPal handles payments.

Next, we'll connect your application to Resend so it can communicate with users through transactional email.

Resend

Connect Resend and send transactional email from your BJCRUM app.