PayPal Expanded Checkout - How do I save my customers’ payment methods for future purchases on my website?

Securely store your customer's payment methods as a unique, non-sensitive token within your system. Your customers won't have to enter their payment details the next time they purchase from your site.

Here are the benefits that saving your customers payment methods can offer:

• Quick checkout experience for returning customers as they won’t have to enter their payment details every time.
• Create subscriptions and recurring billing so you can charge your customers for future transactions.
• Use PayPal’s secure vault to store customers’ data, reducing PCI compliance obligations and the risk of data breaches and thefts.

Visit the Developer Portal to learn more about saving customers’ payment methods.

What payment methods can I save?

If your customer completes an initial purchase on your website using any of the following payment methods, you’ll be able to save that payment method in the PayPal vault.

• PayPal
• Venmo
• Credit and debit cards
• Apple Pay

How do I start saving my customer’s payment methods using the PayPal vault?

Here’s how to request approval from a web browser:

1. Go to Account Settings.
2. Click Payment preferences.
3. Click Get Started next to “Save PayPal and Venmo payment methods” to start the approval process.

We’ll send you an email with the next steps or the approval confirmation. Once you’re approved, go back to Account Settings and click Configure to begin setup.

You must be on the Expanded Checkout integration to save credit and debit cards, and Apple Pay.

How do I keep the card data fresh to reduce declined card payments?

If you’re directly integrated with Expanded Checkout, you can also enable Real-time account updater to keep Mastercards up-to-date and eliminate friction at checkout.

To use Real-time account updater, you'll need to opt into the service following the steps below and then upgrade your integration.

Here's how to enable Real-time account updater from a web browser:

1. Go to Account Settings.
2. Click Payment preferences.
3. Click Turn on next to "Account Updater."
4. Click Turn on.
5. Upgrade your integration.

Note: If you're integrated with Expanded Checkout via a third-party platform provider, you'll need to check with your provider to see if they have real-time account updater enabled for you.