Add PayPal as a secondary/alternate payment method

PayPal Standard is a payment processing option that redirects customers to a secure PayPal-hosted page to complete their payment. Customers can pay using their PayPal balance or any credit/debit card or bank account linked to their PayPal account. After payment, they’re returned to your DecoNetwork checkout to complete the order. It’s a popular secondary (or alternate) payment method because it’s easy to set up, works alongside your primary payment gateway, and keeps sensitive payment details off your website.

In this article

• Prerequisites
• Why use PayPal Standard
• Before you start
• Step 1: Add PayPal as an alternate payment method
• Step 2: Configure PayPal Standard settings
• Step 3: Grant DecoNetwork API permissions in PayPal
• Step 4: Test a checkout
• Best-practice tips
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional Resources

Prerequisites

Why use PayPal Standard

• Fast to enable: minimal setup inside DecoNetwork – customers complete payment on PayPal’s hosted pages.
• Works as a backup: offer PayPal as an alternate option if your primary gateway is unavailable or not preferred by the customer.
• Lower PCI exposure: customers enter payment details on PayPal’s site, not on your store.
• Supports common workflows: you can capture immediately (typical ecommerce) or authorize and capture later (common for made-to-order production).

Before you start

• Have your PayPal account email (the email used for your PayPal Business account).
• Be ready to log into PayPal to grant API permissions (this is required for DecoNetwork to initiate/confirm transactions and manage related actions like refunds).

Step 1: Add PayPal as an alternate payment method

1. Log into your DecoNetwork Account.

2. Go to Admin → Settings → Payment Methods.

   

   

3. Scroll to the Alternative Payment Methods.

   

4. Under the PayPal logo, click Add.

   

   The PayPal payment gateway settings are displayed in the main work area.

   

Step 2: Configure PayPal Standard settings

Configure the settings below in Admin → Settings → Payment Methods → PayPal. Where possible, keep defaults unless you have a specific workflow requirement.

General

• PayPal account: This is the email address you used to register for your PayPal business account.
• Page Style: This field lets you enter the name of a custom page from your PayPal account to use as the payment page. Leave this field blank to use your primary page style.
• Use dynamic header image: This is ignored unless you have specified a page style. If the page style is not blank and this option is set to Yes, DecoNetwork will generate a dynamic header image to be used on the payment page. Set this option to No if you do not want to use a dynamic header image.
• Funds Capture: This field allows you to choose when funds are captured:
  • Capture funds at the time sale/payment is made: when this option is selected, funds will be captured when buyers confirm the order, i.e. money will be collected at the time of sale.
  • Only authorize funds at the time sale/payment is made, capture funds at the time the order is completed/marked shipped: when this option is selected, authorization is granted at the time of sale, but funds will only be captured when the order is shipped.
• Override Address: Choose Yes to override the Paypal account address with the address entered by the customer at checkout. This will allow you to have a verified address as PayPal does an address verification but may cause problems during checkout if the customer has entered an invalid address. We recommend leaving this option set to No to avoid errors.
• Use Unique Invoice Number: This field lets you choose if you want invoice numbers to be unique for each PayPal Standard website transaction. Having unique invoice numbers allows multiple PayPal Express transactions for the same DecoNetwork order. If "Yes" is selected, a suffix will be appended to the invoice number for subsequent payments made to an order that has a balance remaining.

Rename

The Rename configuration area lets override the default payment method name and description. Tick the Override default checkbox and enter a new name and description in the corresponding text box.

Limits

The Limits settings let you specify minimum and maximum order amounts that this payment method can be used for.

Location

The location settings let you limit the countries in which the payment method is available. The "Available for all countries" checkbox is ticked by default. Unticking the checkbox will cause the country checkboxes to be displayed. Untick the checkboxes of the countries you do not want the payment method to be available in.

Availability

The availability settings let you configure the stores or groups of stores where the payment method can be used.

• Availability: lets you choose if the payment method is available for orders placed via the web store and if it is available for orders placed in Business Hub orders.
  • Active for Web enables the method in Web stores.
  • Active for Business Hub enables the method in Business Hub.
• Global: lets you toggle the global availability of the payment method.
  • This is available in all stores by default: select this option to make this payment method available in the storefront and in Business Hub for all stores.
  • This is not in any store by default: select this option to hide the availability of this payment method from the storefront and from Business Hub for all stores.
• Store Group: determines which stores can access the payment type as determined by their group setting. You can see what groups have access set and edit them or click Add Rule to create a new group-based rule. The rules will either specifically include or exclude the group from access to the payment method.

• Store: sets availability on the basis of explicitly denying or allowing specific stores access to the payment type.

  

  (D) seen after the store name indicates that the store has been deleted.

Step 3: Grant DecoNetwork API permissions in PayPal

PayPal requires you to explicitly grant third-party permissions so DecoNetwork can process PayPal Standard transactions through your PayPal account.

1. Log into your PayPal Business account.
2. Visit https://www.paypal.com/businessmanage/credentials/apiAccess

3. Look under Pre-built payment solution and select Grant API permission.

   

   PayPal API access page (select “Grant API permission”).

4. In the Third Party Permissions Users screen, click Add API User.

   

   Third-Party API Users screen (PayPal).

5. In the Add new third-party permissions popup, paste the following into the Third Party Permissions Username field:

          payments_api1.pikicentral.com

   

   Add new third-party permissions popup (enter the third-party API username).

6. Press Enter.

7. Enable the following permissions:

   • Use Express Checkout to process payments.
   • Issue a refund for a specific transaction.
   • Process your customers' credit or debit card payments.
   • Authorize and capture your PayPal transactions.
   • Obtain information about a single transaction.
   • Initiate transactions to multiple recipients in a single batch.
   Available permissions (select the permissions listed for DecoNetwork, then click “Add”).
8. Click Add.

9. Confirm the DecoNetwork third-party user now appears in your list.

   

   DecoNetwork third-party permissions added successfully in PayPal.

Step 4: Test a checkout

1. In DecoNetwork, ensure PayPal is Active for Web for the store you’re testing.
2. Place a small test order in your storefront and select PayPal at checkout.
3. Complete payment on PayPal’s hosted page, then return to the DecoNetwork checkout confirmation.
4. In Business Hub, open the order and confirm the payment status reflects the capture/authorization option you selected in Funds Capture.

Best-practice tips

• Use “Use Unique Invoice Number = Yes” if you ever take multiple payments on one order (deposits, balance payments, add-ons).
• Leave “Override Address = No” unless you have a clear need – this reduces checkout failures caused by address mismatches.
• Rename the method to match what customers expect (e.g., “PayPal / Card”) and note they’ll be redirected to PayPal to complete payment.
• Decide Funds Capture intentionally: capture immediately for standard ecommerce; authorize/capture later for production workflows where changes/cancellations are common.

Troubleshooting

PayPal doesn’t appear at checkout

• Confirm it’s set to Active for Web in Availability.
• Check Location rules (the customer’s country must be allowed).
• Check Limits (order total must fall within min/max).
• If you use multiple stores, confirm the store is included by Store Group / Store rules.

Payment fails or redirects loop back without confirmation

• Re-check that you granted PayPal third-party permissions to payments_api1.pikicentral.com.
• In PayPal, confirm the DecoNetwork third-party user is listed under Third-Party API Users.
• If you recently changed permissions, try the checkout again after saving and reloading PayPal.

Customers report address errors on PayPal

• Set Override Address to No to reduce PayPal address validation conflicts.
• If you must override, ensure your checkout address fields and formats are strict/validated to reduce PayPal rejections.

FAQs

Do I need a PayPal Business account?

Yes. Granting third-party API permissions is typically available through PayPal Business accounts.

Do I need to set a Page Style?

No. Leave Page style blank to use PayPal’s default checkout page. Only set it if you’ve created a custom PayPal page style and want branding control.

Which Funds Capture option should I choose?

If you want standard ecommerce behavior, choose Capture funds at the time sale/payment is made. If you produce items after ordering and want to avoid capturing funds before you’re ready to ship, choose Authorize then capture when completed/marked shipped.

Are there extra fees?

PayPal charges its own processing fees. In addition, DecoNetwork may apply an extra transaction fee for PayPal Standard (shown on the configuration page).

Additional Resources

• Payment Methods
• Enable Third-Party Payment Gateway Integrations
• Add PayPal as a secondary/alternate payment method