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Payflow Link Gateway Documentation

Submitted by JonW on Sat, 12/08/2007 - 18:00
JonW
Posts: 40
 Joined: 12/05/2007

I am kind of bewildered that there is not more helpful documentation on the payflow link payment gateway.

I think both Ubercart and Payflow Link in and of themselves are fairly straightforward, but to a newbie, I have to say the process of, and options for, getting them to hook up with eachother is not apparent to me.

I need to set this up ASAP, so I will volunteer to try to put together some documentation so that there can be a step-by-step screenshot and narrative for people to follow, as I think it is critical to expanding Ubercart's popularity.

If there is anything out there to get me started, I would really appreciate it - since, although I have played with Drupal for a few months, I am brand new to ubercart. Is there any non-payflow link screen-by screen payment documentation out there already to work from...or do I need to get that together myself??

If so, post it here...if not, I will do my best to share once I have figured it out.
permalink #1 Mon, 12/10/2007 - 10:22
Ryan

Posts: 5379
 Joined: 08/07/2007
AdministratorHead Code Monkey - I eat bugs.

Honestly... I don't know that I've ever even looked at Payflow Link. Do you have links to their developer pages? Do they have an API you hook into or do you have to redirect a user to their site? And are you confident w/ PHP to write a module that would interface with it? Smiling

permalink #2 Mon, 12/10/2007 - 19:38
JonW
Posts: 40
 Joined: 12/05/2007

My post - perhaps mistakenly so - presumes that Payflow Link is already "supported" in that it should work...but the configuration process to get it to work is just not documented anywhere.

I would like to contribute to the Ubercart effort...but my skills limit me to documenting something that works, not coding something from scratch.

Payflow Link was the premier service for payment from Verisign,and Paypal bought Verisign. These are THE major players in the field of ecommerce, so any ecommerce solution worth its salt is going to need some good documentation to connect to Payflow Link. Payflow Pro, the more expensive and higher volume solution is supported with its own module in Ubercart, so the "lite" version should be supported/supportable as well.

Could we maybe get a core developer to chime in and let me know the status of support for Paypal's products??

permalink #3 Mon, 12/10/2007 - 23:59
JonW
Posts: 40
 Joined: 12/05/2007

Actually answering the question now....

The service is detailed here...

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_payflow-link-integration-o...

It is a redirect solution that you post to with this...

<form method="POST" action="https://payflowlink.paypal.com">
<input type="hidden" name="LOGIN" value="Your LOGIN here">
<input type="hidden" name="PARTNER" value="Your PARTNER here">
<input type="hidden" name="AMOUNT" value="Total transaction AMOUNT here">
<input type="hidden" name="TYPE" value="Transaction TYPE here">
<input type="submit" value="Click here to Purchase">
</form>

and it responds with a link or a post back.

Full documentation is here...
https://www.paypal.com/en_US/pdf/PayflowLink_Guide.pdf

At the bottom of this page it has a link to over 80 shopping carts that support it...I think Ubercart should be on that list..
*updated, I had wrong link before
https://www.paypal.com/en_US/html/SolutionsDirectory/sd_pf-compatible.ht...

I am going to sit down now and actually (argh!) read that manual.

permalink #4 Thu, 12/13/2007 - 09:10
TechMosaic
Posts: 7
 Joined: 12/12/2007

I have placed a few posts other than this, and am not getting anyone to even respond.
I chose ubercart because its documentation said it supported Paypal...and payflow link is owned by paypal. But there is not a single post on that service, nor any replies save yours, on payflow link.

Is there some problem that I should be aware of with the Payflow Link service?? I am nervous about investing time in something that is not a good solution, or is not of interest to the Ubercart community, because I will likely need to rely on that community for assistance at times.

permalink #5 Thu, 12/13/2007 - 09:53
Ryan

Posts: 5379
 Joined: 08/07/2007
AdministratorHead Code Monkey - I eat bugs.

Have you been posting under another name? Haven't seen ya before, but welcome aboard. Smiling We have gone through the process of becoming PayPal Certified, which includes implementing PayPal specific services (Website Payments Standard, Website Payments Pro, and Express Checkout). For the services they've absorbed from other companies, we do them when someone sponsors the development or happily accept anyone's work to the contrib directory. There's just too much development going on for me to write a module for every payment service out there.

permalink #6 Wed, 12/19/2007 - 13:08
Souvent22@drupal.org
Posts: 28
 Joined: 10/17/2007

Hello,

I think there is not much documentation on Link because it is a "Redirect" application. Meaning, unlike most of the others (minus PayPal IPN and regular PayPal), when one is working directly with the Payment Processcor/Gateway, it' a a "send/recieve" service. So, to me as a programmer, that's easier to program AND control as I have more control. With redirects, you're sending them to a remote page, and then they get sent back, but you're keeping 2 separate systems in sync. Those are my thoughts anyway.

With that said, I would look at the PayPal payment processor module as a starting point, since the PayPal IPN and "PayPal Buttons" work in a similar manner of Payflow Link.
I shouldh ave some time later this week, and I'll have a look at the documentation and see if I can shed any light also.

What are the current hurdles you are encountering trying to implement Payflow Link?

- Earnest

permalink #7 Wed, 12/19/2007 - 14:09
JonW
Posts: 40
 Joined: 12/05/2007

I should have updated this post, sorry.

The support for Payflow Link is on its way. Ryan has added this functionality, and I just started using it yesterday...

I am sure he will get this into the add on section shortly.

That being said, I should weigh in and say that for those Ubercart folks who are looking into their options for a payment gateway, I had a requirement to use payflow link. Having put it into effect, I can tell you that I do not much care for it. There are too many screens and steps to go through, the default look is very ugly (although it can by styled), and the administrative panel from paypal is buggy. The primary benefit of using payflow link is that it includes the virtual terminal, so I can use a laptop at a trade show and process cards from within my paypal admin panel. Also, the funds go directly to my bank, and do not require a sweep from paypal's account into mine.

I will keep my eyes on this post - if anyone has further questions on payflow link, I will try to be of service.

permalink #8 Wed, 12/19/2007 - 15:07
Ryan

Posts: 5379
 Joined: 08/07/2007
AdministratorHead Code Monkey - I eat bugs.

Contrib was posted here, and if you don't mind I have a question for ya... I noticed that there was a startup fee and a flat per transaction fee. I didn't see any mention of a % per transaction, though. Is that truly the case, or is it buried somewhere I don't see?