Offer PayPal Express payments

Overview

PayPal Express uses a different sequence from PayPal Standard. The customer authorizes the purchase in PayPal first, returns to Cleverbridge with a payment token, and then completes the order on the Cleverbridge checkout.

 

This page explains PayPal Express from the client's perspective. You can share the Pay with PayPal Express guide with customers who need help completing a payment.

PayPal Express at a glance

Capability	Cleverbridge support
Availability	Available across multiple markets. To check country availability in the commonly transacted countries documented by Cleverbridge, see Find payment options by country. Transaction currency, checkout configuration, and your account setup can further affect availability.
Payment type	Digital wallet payment authorized through the customer's PayPal account.
Customer requirement	The customer needs an eligible PayPal account and an available funding source.
Checkout experience	Redirect-based. The customer authorizes the purchase in PayPal, returns to Cleverbridge with a token, and completes the order on the Cleverbridge checkout.
Customer authentication	PayPal requests the applicable login and payment authentication.
Order submission	Cleverbridge uses the PayPal token when the customer completes the order on the Cleverbridge site.
Order confirmation	Cleverbridge sends a confirmation email containing the receipt and applicable delivery information after the order is placed.

PayPal's official checkout documentation describes the creation and capture of an order after the payer confirms it. See PayPal standard payments.

Why offer PayPal Express

PayPal Express can help you reach customers who prefer to authorize purchases through their PayPal account. PayPal reported a network of more than 400 million active accounts in Q2 2024. See Accept PayPal payments.

Offering PayPal Express can help you:

• Provide a familiar account-based payment experience to customers who use PayPal.
• Let customers choose an eligible funding source linked to their PayPal account.
• Reduce the need for customers to enter payment credentials directly in the Cleverbridge checkout.
• Let customers authorize through PayPal before completing the final order-submission step on Cleverbridge.
• Keep customer login and payment authorization within the PayPal environment.

PayPal is available in more than 200 countries and regions, but its services and supported currencies vary by market. See PayPal worldwide.

Cleverbridge order flow

1. The customer selects PayPal Express in the Cleverbridge checkout.
2. Cleverbridge redirects the customer to PayPal to confirm the purchase.
3. PayPal returns the customer to Cleverbridge with a token.
4. Cleverbridge uses the token to finalize the PayPal payment when the customer completes the order on the Cleverbridge site.
5. After the order is placed, Cleverbridge sends a confirmation email containing the receipt and applicable delivery information.

Difference from PayPal Standard

Both methods redirect the customer to PayPal, but the documented order of events differs:

• With PayPal Standard, PayPal processes the transaction before returning the customer to the Cleverbridge confirmation page.
• With PayPal Express, PayPal returns the customer with a token before the customer completes the order on the Cleverbridge site.

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