Call Paypal From Winforms app & PCI Compliance

Question

My client has asked me to integrate my app to take credit/debit card payments from his customers using paypal. I have looked into using the Paypal REST API which seems to do what i need, however my client is worried about PCI compliance and wants all sensitive information to be entered using the paypal website only, and nothing in my app, so has asked me if i can simply open the paypal website payment section, just passing over basic info such as the customers address (who is making the purchase), amount to pay etc to save his operators time re-keying, and then for the operator to continue and fill in just the sensitive stuff such as the long number & expiry dates.

once the payment has been processed by paypal we obviously need to know the result i.e success/fail and any related information such as a payment reference ID, so i can then handle it in my app

is this possible, and if so could any kind soul please point me in the direction of an example so i can get going? i've had a look around and cant find what I need

I'm using VS2010 VB.NET but anything in C# I can easily translate

many thanks in advance

Answer 1

Unfortunately that isn't how Paypal work's, although you could integrate it in an Asp.Net application. If you did want to do it with Winforms you can use a LinkLabel to point to a PayPal BuyNow button email code. You could use the standard browser control or start-up the default browser with the link.

There are also different API's as well, not one is the same...

Adaptive Payments

The Adaptive Payments API allows merchants and developers to pay almost anyone and set up automated payments. They can create applications that manage payments, payment preapprovals, and refunds. They can also send money peer-to-peer, split payments in both parallel and chained models, accept guest payments, and schedule disbursements. The Adaptive Payments API works on multiple platforms including the web and mobile environments. Product Details...

Button Manager

Use the Button Manager APIs to dynamically create, manage, and edit large numbers of PayPal Payments Standard buttons. You can use the Button Manager API to manage any button you can create in your PayPal Profile. Product Details...

Express Checkout

Express Checkout allows merchants and developers to minimize the number of steps customers must complete when they checkout. Customers using Express Checkout pay on PayPal's secure site and return to the merchant's site to complete the transaction. It is designed for merchants who don't have an Internet Merchant Account for processing credit and debit card payments. Product Details...

Mass Pay

Merchants use the Mass Pay API to send money instantly to up to 250 recipients at once. To send payments to multiple recipients, merchants only need the recipient's PayPal account email address, the payment amount, and the currency code. Merchants can manually upload a file listing payments or create them programmatically using the Mass Pay API. Product Details...

Payflow Gateway / PayPal Payments Pro

Payflow is secure, open payment gateway. You can choose to have PayPal host the payment pages or have total control over the payment process. Payflow allows merchants to choose any Internet Merchant Account to accept debit or credit card payments and connect to any major processor. It also lets merchants accept PayPal and PayPal Credit® (formerly Bill Me Later® ) payments. Product Details...

PayPal Payments Advanced

Accept credit cards, PayPal, and PayPal Credit® online with PayPal Payments Advanced. This all-in-one solution offers an embedded checkout that keeps customers on the merchant's site and an Internet merchant account from PayPal. Plus, it's PCI compliant to help merchants manage their credit card security requirements. Product Details...

PayPal Payments Standard

PayPal Payments Standard (also known as Website Payments Standard) allows merchants to add payment and checkout buttons to their website by simply cutting and pasting HTML. Merchants can use the buttons to securely accept credit card, debit card, or PayPal payments. Product Details...

Recurring Billing

Recurring Billing is the automated, flexible billing service that can be used with the Payflow Gateway. It allows you to bill customers on a schedule, reducing the hassle of manually processing regular payments. Whether it's an installment plan, membership fee or a subscription service, you can make sure you get paid regularly and on time. Product Details...

Recurring Payments

Monetizing your app through subscriptions, freemium or pay as you go models. With recurring payments, you can bill customers on a regular basis at intervals that you choose. Product Details...

Website Payments Pro

Website Payments Pro enables merchants and developers to accept credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal payments directly on their website. Website Payments Pro also includes Express Checkout and Virtual Terminal. Add-on services like Recurring Billing are also available. Product Details...

Website Payments Pro Hosted Solution

Website Payments Pro Hosted Solutions offers merchants a way to securely accept credit and debit card or PayPal payments without capturing or storing card information on their website. Payment information is collected by PayPal using an inline frame.

Please visit here to see more related information.

Answer 2

I would recommend you look at HttpClient, as the class provides a decent way for C# code to

send HTTP requests and receive HTTP responses from a resource identified by a URI

You do not mention what version of .NET you are using so you may need to upgrade.

Your client is right to highlight the PCI issue, but without more details on your application and its use decent advice is difficult.