S2 Member plugin works in conjunction with PayPal Website Payments Standard, for businesses. You do NOT need a PayPal Pro account.
You do need to upgrade your Personal PayPal account to a Business status, which is free.
A PayPal account can be upgraded from a Personal account to a Business account, simply by going to the `Profile` button under the `My Account` tab, selecting the `Personal Business Information` button, and then clicking the `Upgrade Your Account` button.
PayPal API Credentials – Once you have a PayPal Business account, you’ll need access to your PayPal API Credentials. Log into your PayPal account, and navigate to Profile -> API Access (or Request API Credentials)
. You’ll choose( Request API Signature.
This is the information you’ll need to enter into the PayPal Account details screen. Go to the S2member tab > PayPal Options > PayPal Account Details and enter this information which you’ll get from following the screen shots below:
- Your PayPal E-Mail Address
- Your PayPal API Username
- Your PayPal API Password
- Your PayPal API Signature
PayPal Account Details

API Access – Setting up API permissions and credentials
Request API Credentials
View API Signature
Grab Your PayPal API Username, Password & Signature and enter these details along with your PayPal email address in the S2 Member PayPal Account details screen.
PayPal IPN – Instant Payment Notifications
Log into your PayPal account and navigate to this section:
Account Profile -> Instant Payment Notification Preferences
Edit your IPN settings & turn IPN Notifications: On
You’ll need your IPN URL, an example of which is:
http://example.com/?s2member_paypal_notify=1
PayPal Instant Payment Notification
Choose IPN Settings
Enter Your Notification URL
IPN Enabled
PayPal PDT Identity Token
Log into your PayPal® account and navigate to this section:
Account Profile -> Website Payment Preferences
Turn the Auto-Return feature: On
You’ll need your Auto-Return URL, which you’ll get from your PayPal PDT Identity Token settings page
Example: http://yoursite.com/?s2member_paypal_return=1
You MUST also enable PDT ( Payment Data Transfer ): On
You’ll be issued an Identity Token that you MUST enter in the PayPal PDT Identity Token field in your S2 Member plugin settings:
Website Payment Preferences
Turn Payment Data Transfer On
Auto Return
Your return page should contain something like this:
Example: Thank you for your payment. Your transaction has been completed, and a receipt for your purchase has been emailed to you. You may log into your account at www.paypal.com/c2 to view details of this transaction.
Other PayPal Settings
There are several other PayPal settings which can be configured depending on your personal preferences. They are:
- Encrypted Website Payments – By enabling this feature, any Buy Now or Subscription button that is not encrypted will be rejected by PayPal.
- PayPal Account Optional – This feature is available for Buy Now and Shopping Cart buttons, but not for Subscription buttons.
- Contact Telephone Number – Selecting On (Required Field) could have a negative effect on buyer conversion
- Express Checkout Settings – With this setting you determine if you technically support the German funding methods giropay and bank transfer in your Express Checkout implementation.
Let me understand the above in English.
Also, help me change the information of my Paypal button. Jesus-Christ bless you!!!
Please clarify.
Question regarding the s2 plugin. I noticed that all the payment icons show is there a way not to show the PayPal icon and just show the rest?
thanks
Hi Frank
You can customize the icon files in the plugin however they will be overwritten when you update the theme so you’ll need to add changes back each time.