Community Support Forums

Hi,

In all the posts that i read here you are connecting between using credit card and paypal pro, not sure i fully understand and i have a question about this issue.

If i install s2member (or purchase the pro version) and i don't have a paypal pro account, can i have a page n my web site in which customers will be able to purchase by entering their credit card info?

Thanks in advance,
Ohad

Hi Ohad. Thanks for the great question.

So let's break this down into each version of s2Member.

1. s2Member ( the free version )
This uses Standard PayPal integration. In the free version of s2Member, all payment information ( i.e. the checkout process ) is completed on PayPal's website, using their checkout form. So every Customer would go through PayPal®, and if you are planning to offer a "recurring" option to your Members, each Member will need to have a PayPal® account of their own. If they don't already have one, they will signup for one automatically during the checkout process @ PayPal.

2. s2Member Pro ( the paid upgrade )
This version comes equipped with PayPal Pro integration, which dramatically improves the functionality and flexibility offered by the s2Member plugin. With s2Member Pro, the checkout process occurs on your site, and Customers never leave your site during checkout. You can accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex, Maestro, Solo, and also PayPal® Express Checkout. These are all options that would appear on a checkout form of your own; which can be integrated with WordPress Shortcodes provided by s2Member Pro. [ demo here: http://dev.primothemes.com/s2clean/payp ... kout-demo/ ]

Now, there are two ways to use s2Member Pro.

1. As I've described above.
In order to use PayPal® Pro integration to its fullest extent, you will NEED a PayPal® Pro account.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=304 ( highly recommended )

2. Alternatively, s2Member Pro can also be integrated without a PayPal® Pro account, whereby the enhanced Form Shortcodes that it provides can be integrated ONLY with PayPal® Express Checkout. In other words, if you get declined for PayPal® Pro service, you can still use s2Member Pro by following these instructions:

a. Ask PayPal® to activate Express Checkout for you. ( free )
This will give you your API Credentials, and you'll enter these into: s2Member -> PayPal Options.

b. In the Shortcodes provided by s2Member Pro, change this:

Code: Select all

accept_via_paypal="paypal"

To this instead:

Code: Select all

accept_via_paypal="paypal,visa,mastercard,amex,discover,maestro,solo"

Hi Jason:

Thank you for this thorough explanation: I am still confused, and just want to check.

1. PayPal Pro is pretty expensive, so I can't afford it at this point.
2. But, I think it's a great thing for my customers to be able to offer credit cards right within my site without them having to go to PayPal.
3. If I buy S2Member Pro and use the Express Checkout alternative (I already activated Express Checkout in my PayPal account)will my subscription customers still be able to pay for their subscriptions with their credit cards without leaving my site?
My clients will be mostly Japanese, and PayPal is simply not known or trusted here much here at all: but credit cards are fine. This is a critical question, and I want to be sure as I am bootstrapping the site myself.

thank you!

Terri

You're VERY welcome Terri.

If I buy S2Member Pro and use the Express Checkout alternative (I already activated Express Checkout in my PayPal account)will my subscription customers still be able to pay for their subscriptions with their credit cards without leaving my site?

No. Integrating s2Member Pro ( without PayPal Pro )
and ONLY with Express Checkout, has the following advantages:

1. The checkout / registration process is consolidated into fewer steps.
2. You're integration with PayPal is done through Express Checkout ( which is easier for a Customer ).
3. You have the ability to upgrade to PayPal Pro at any time and accept credit cards on your site instantly.
( without any further changes to your s2Member Pro installation )

However, if you DON'T get a PayPal Pro account to go with your s2Member Pro installation, then you won't be able to accept credit cards on your own site. You WILL get a more seamless integration ( along with other features provided by s2Member Pro ), but ultimately, your Customers will still enter credit card details @ PayPal.

Another ( cheaper ) alternative can be found here.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=418&p=1688&hilit=enhanced+recurring#p1688
ERP: Enhanced Recurring Payments ( not as powerful as PayPal Pro though )

Hi Jason:

Thank you very much. If you could bear with me, I just want to check in another way:

I'm reading the PayPal breakdown of costs, here:
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?&cmd ... le.x=en_US

So, it looks to me as if I need to pay (monthly fee, not counting PayPal's transaction fees):

Best Case
Website Payments Pro Monthly Cost: $30.00
Recurring Payments Monthly Cost: $30.00
Total: $60.000 per month
This is the set of options I have to use in order to process credit cards directly on my site with S2Member Pro, and my customers would not have to get involved with PayPal at all. Is that right?

Cheaper Alternative
Recurring Payments Monthly Cost: $30.00
But, with this option, although I can accept credit cards, my customers still have to log in to/create an account with PayPal.
Is that right?

Because of the nature of my customer base, I may have to somehow buy this (if PayPal will approve me). I just want to be sure I'm making the right choices.

Thanks so much - sorry to bother you with all of this.

best,
Terri

Very welcome. No trouble at all.

Cheaper Alternative
Recurring Payments Monthly Cost: $30.00
But, with this option, although I can accept credit cards, my customers still have to log in to/create an account with PayPal.
Is that right?

Actually, the cheaper alternative that I was speaking of, is called "Enhanced Recurring Payments", and it's $19.99/mo. https://merchant.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/ ... p_overview

If you add ERP ( Enhanced Recurring Payments ) to an existing PayPal Standard Account, then your Customers will NOT need to have a PayPal account in order to complete checkout, EVEN if you're going to do recurring billing. So this is a great alternative to PayPal Pro. It prevents your Customers from being "forced" to signup for PayPal during checkout. However, they still MUST go through PayPal ( so they do leave your site during checkout ). In other words, it's not the same as PayPal Pro, but it will help you to increase conversion rates slightly.

So here is a breakdown.

1. PayPal Standard ( free )
- you only pay processing fees per transaction
- Customer checkout @ PayPal
- Subscriptions "require" a Customer to have a PayPal account.

2. PayPal Standard + ERP = $19.99/mo.
- Same as PayPal Standard ( free ), except...
Customers are NO longer required to have a PayPal account, even for Subscriptions.

3. PayPal Pro ( $30/mo + Recurring Billing service ) = $60/mo total.
This allows you to keep Customers on your site throughout the entire checkout process. You can accept Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, Maestro, Solo, and ALSO offer PayPal® as an "option".

( In the end, we highly recommend PayPal Pro. The features provided by this service far outweigh the price of the service, even for novice site owners. ) Increased conversion rates make a HUGE difference, and s2Member Pro running together with your PayPal Pro account will make that happen. PayPal® also has very competitive pricing, compared to other services of it's kind.

Incidentally, other services ( i.e. Authorize.net for instance ) would NOT include PayPal® in their list of options to you ( which is another great reason to choose PayPal® Pro ). It consolidates your financials into ONE account, rather than having a PayPal account, and ALSO another merchant bank account, and another gateway provider. Having a PayPal® Pro account keeps your transactions all in one system; for easier reporting and simplified customer service.

On most sites, conversion rates increase by over 20% - because you're accepting Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, Maestro, and Solo ( directly on your site ) - AND also PayPal® as an "option". In other words, with PayPal Pro, you're keeping Customers on your site throughout the entire checkout process. You can control the surrounding elements on the page, the flow of events, and do a better job at building confidence in your products/services.

Even for a small site, if this means 3 extra sales per month,
that usually covers the cost of your PayPal® Pro account.

VIDEO: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=304

--------------
For the benefit of other readers... If you are declined for PayPal Pro, or you simply cannot afford PayPal Pro ... ERP ( Enhanced Recurring Payments ) is a great alternative. This doesn't give you a completely seamless checkout experience, but at least your Customers won't be "forced" to have a PayPal account in order to pay you on a recurring basis.

Jason,

Thanks a lot for your clear answers. We are now working on implementing the free semember but we are pretty sure that soon enough we'll need s2member pro with paypal pro...

I want to make sure i understood the issue of recurring payments. I want my users (mostly from NA) to subscribe and charge them X$ every month.
1. Can i do it without any of the pro versions (i understand that if i can it will happen in paypal site)?
2. Can they make Recurring payment also with credit cards?
3. Should they register in order to make such payment?
4. Do i have to pay 30$ to paypal every month for this service?

Thanks in advance,
Ohad

Hi,

Use s2Member with ERP from Paypal.

Actually, the cheaper alternative that I was speaking of, is called "Enhanced Recurring Payments", and it's $19.99/mo. https://merchant.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/ ... p_overview

If you add ERP ( Enhanced Recurring Payments ) to an existing PayPal Standard Account, then your Customers will NOT need to have a PayPal account in order to complete checkout, EVEN if you're going to do recurring billing. So this is a great alternative to PayPal Pro. It prevents your Customers from being "forced" to signup for PayPal during checkout. However, they still MUST go through PayPal ( so they do leave your site during checkout ). In other words, it's not the same as PayPal Pro, but it will help you to increase conversion rates slightly.

So here is a breakdown.

1. PayPal Standard ( free )
- you only pay processing fees per transaction
- Customer checkout @ PayPal
- Subscriptions "require" a Customer to have a PayPal account.

2. PayPal Standard + ERP = $19.99/mo.
- Same as PayPal Standard ( free ), except...
Customers are NO longer required to have a PayPal account, even for Subscriptions.

A quick question: if I start out with PayPal Standard + ERP and then at a later date want to upgrade to PayPal Pro + Recurring Billing (to keep customers on my site), would that be possible?

Thanks,
Christopher.