PayPal

PayPal is an online payment gateway that allows users to securely send and receive payments from around the world. It provides a secure platform to send and receive payments from customers, and offers a variety of features including subscription payments, digital invoicing, and fraud prevention.

This is an article about connecting PayPal as a payment processor. For more information on enabling PayPal as a payment method for your supporters, see our article about PayPal as a payment method.

Connecting PayPal

Connecting PayPal as a processor will allow you to then enable PayPal and Venmo as payment options for your supporters.

If your organization already has a PayPal Business account, go to the Payment methods section of your account settings. Scroll down to Payment providers, select PayPal and click Connect PayPal account. Follow the prompts to connect the PayPal account.

You must connect a PayPal Business account to Fundraise Up. Personal PayPal accounts cannot be used for this purpose.

Getting a PayPal account

If you are looking to set up a PayPal business account, you will first need to sign up online. You will be asked to provide some basic information about your business and your banking information in order to complete the sign-up process. Once you have completed the sign-up process, you will be able to access your PayPal business account and connect it to Fundraise Up.

Get a PayPal Business account

Nonprofit discount

PayPal offers a special discount for nonprofit organizations. With the nonprofit discount, qualifying organizations can enjoy a reduced transaction fee of 1.99% + 0.30 USD per transaction. Learn more →

Payment methods

PayPal supports a variety of payment methods, including major credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers. PayPal also supports alternative payment methods like Venmo, which can be easily activated when you connect a PayPal account to Fundraise Up.

Venmo

Venmo is a popular payment application owned by PayPal, which allows supporters in the US to send and donate easily with a familiar payment method. Learn more →

Supported countries

To use Fundraise Up, your organization needs to connect an active PayPal Business account that is based in a country supported by PayPal.

See PayPal supported countries

Activating recurring giving

PayPal cannot be used for recurring giving until Reference Transactions has been enabled for your PayPal Business account. Enabling Reference Transactions is simple — click the link below, fill out the form and Fundraise Up will help you enable Reference Transactions and activate PayPal for recurring giving.

Request Reference Transactions to enable recurring giving with PayPal

Migrating recurring plans

In some cases, our Solutions Engineers can help you migrate your existing PayPal recurring plans to Fundraise Up. This will enable you to take advantage of Fundraise Up’s advanced features, including Upgrade Links and more. This service is offered to you at no cost. Learn more →

Transferring Donation IDs

Donation IDs will be automatically transferred from Fundraise Up, and will appear in the invoice_id field in PayPal.

Troubleshooting

If you are experiencing issues with PayPal, there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot. First, check the PayPal Help Center for answers to common questions. If you are still having issues, you can contact PayPal directly via the PayPal Resolution Center.

You can also find helpful tips and troubleshooting advice in the support section of our website.

Explore PayPal guides in our Helpdesk

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