Situation
My store is set up to use PayPal Payments Standard to receive payments from customers.I want to allow my customers to pay via Credit Card without having to create a PayPal account.
However, some customers are not given this option, and are required to create a PayPal account before they can complete a checkout.
Cause/Solution
- PayPal has an "Account Optional" setting in your PayPal account Profile, under Payment Receiving Preferences. Ensure that it is on.
- However, note that the PayPal account optional is not available for all locations, some locations (or countries, including China) are required by PayPal to have a PayPal account before making a transaction. In this same regard, if the IP address of the buyer is determined by the system to be at a location where the PayPal account optional is not available, they will be required to create a PayPal account.
Comments
- Note that the PayPal Express Checkout product technically does not allow the option to make payment without having a PayPal account (although many Zen Cart sites do have success with this option due to special concessions granted by PayPal to the Zen Cart software). PayPal has always intended that Express Checkout be offered in addition to other payment choices such as a credit card gateway, and that adding Express is a way to allow PayPal members a very quick and easy way to pay using their PayPal account.
- The PayPal Payments Pro product (which you must pay a monthly fee to PayPal to use, and is only available to US, UK, and Canadian merchants) adds the ability to accept Credit Card payments directly on your website without the customer even knowing that they are being processed by PayPal. Contact your PayPal representative for information and to sign up for this service.
