I am Confused. Please Help me with Terminology

The Zen Cart documentation refers to two PayPal methods:

1. PayPal IPN
2. PayPal Express Checkout
   However, PayPal refers to to two (or three???) methods with different names:
3. Website Payments Standard
4. Website Payments Pro
5. PayPal Express Checkout

Somehow I got lost in this... Zen Cart's "PayPal Express Checkout" is probably the same as PayPal's "PayPal Express Checkout". Makes sense. I am not really interested in that option since it takes the customer away from my web site. It does return back, but it looks less "professional".

So now I am left Zen Cart's PayPal IPN: which of the two (current) PayPal methods does it correspond to? "Website Payments Standard" or "Website Payments Pro"?

Thanks,
Daniel

If you're using Zen Cart v1.3.8 or newer, then you'll see matching descriptions in your Admin->Modules->Payment screen.

Both of these take you to PayPal's site to authorize the payment:
PayPal IPN (Website Payments Standard) = PayPal Website Payments Standard
PayPal Express Checkout = PayPal Express Checkout

This one collects credit card info directly on your own site and submits to PayPal for processing, unknown to the customer.
PayPal Website Payments Pro = PayPal Website Payments Pro

DrByte, thank you very much for your quick reply. I use version 1.38a and you are right: I can now see three, not two, PayPal payment modules under the Zen Cart Admin.

Your explanation is great - it clarified to me several issues and made me aware that even the "Payments Standard" takes the customer away from my web site.

My question now is: suppose I want to switch, in the future, away from PayPal, for credit card payments only: Which of the methods will make it easiest for me to do so?

For example, let's say that I use PayPal for both PayPal type of payments and credit card payments, for a period of 6 months. Then my sales pick up and I find out that Authorize.Net provides a better deal for credit card payments. Then I want to switch to Authorize.Net, but retain the ability to accept PayPal payments.

Which of PayPal's 3 methods give me the least hassle switching as described above?

Thanks,
Daniel

PayPal Website Payments Pro (availble to US and UK merchants) is essentially a merchant account, for which you'll have to sign up and pay a monthly service charge. You can of course terminate that program anytime you like.

Using the Website Payments Standard or Express Checkout options will allow you to accept payments via PayPal using funds already-on-account with PayPal or via a credit card tied to a PayPal member's account. While you need only one or the other, either can happily co-exist alongside any merchant account.

Thank you again. One more clarification (and another question, hopefully the last):

DrByte:

Using the Website Payments Standard or Express Checkout options will allow you to accept payments via PayPal using funds already-on-account with PayPal or via a credit card tied to a PayPal member's account.
PayPal's comparison chart states that customers need not have a PayPal account:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-comparison

How does that align with the "credit card tied to a PayPal member's account" above?

And my last question:

Zen Cart already has a PayPal module. OTOH, PayPal account setup offers its own integration with my web site (if I use Payments Standard). It's like choosing to dig a tunnel from one side or the opposite side... :smile: Which way is the recommended, in your experience?

Thanks,
Daniel

zcnb:

PayPal's comparison chart states that customers need not have a PayPal account:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-comparison

How does that align with the "credit card tied to a PayPal member's account" above?When using Website Payments Standard, a PayPal account is not needed. Credit Card details will be requested from those electing to pay without a PayPal account.

zcnb:

Zen Cart already has a PayPal module. OTOH, PayPal account setup offers its own integration with my web site (if I use Payments Standard). It's like choosing to dig a tunnel from one side or the opposite side... :smile: Which way is the recommended, in your experience?
Zen Cart works with the built-in PayPal modules. If you'd like to build your own, feel free.
Zen Cart is not designed to work with PayPal's "buy now" buttons ... those are designed for PayPal's shopping cart, not a more advanced system like Zen Cart.

Belated thanks for your guidance. I used the following URL to follow the steps of setting up the PayPal Website Payments Standard:

http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/PayPal

It turns out that despite being that Wiki invaluable in its excellence, I did have to go back and forth between Zen Cart Admin and the PayPal web site.

For example, the URLs described in steps 9 and 12, should be fetched first from the Zen Cart admin. I didn't know that initially and so I had to repeat the process on the PayPal site, to replace https://www.myz_domain.com with https://secure.myz_domain.com.

All is well now and, to clarify, I never intended to use PayPal's "buy now" buttons. I actually wanted to use Zen Cart's own integration. However, the instructions on PayPal's web site are so confusing... I had to ask here. I even called PayPal's tech "support" but they were clueless regarding Zen Cart and all they could tell me was "use the buttons" (which, of course, I didn't want). So I ended up going against their advice and using Zen Cart's Wiki (and your guidance) instead.

Thank you again!
Daniel