Why Connect PayPal?
Payment Status
Show whether a PayPal payment is completed, pending, denied, or reversed, with its amount, date, and what it was for.
Invoice Status
Show whether a PayPal invoice is paid, unpaid, partially paid, cancelled, or refunded, and give the payment link if it is still unpaid.
Dispute Status
Show whether a dispute or claim exists for a payment, its status and reason, and when your response is due.
Payment Links
When a customer asks to pay with PayPal, the chatbot creates a PayPal invoice and shares its payment link in chat.
Prerequisites
- A BubblaV website with edit access
- A PayPal Business account
- A PayPal REST API app with the features Transaction search, Invoicing, and Customer disputes enabled
- Available on all plans
Setup Steps
1
Create a REST API app
In developer.paypal.com, open Apps & Credentials, choose the Live tab (or Sandbox for testing), and create or open a REST API app. Copy the Client ID and the Secret.
2
Enable the app features
In the app’s Features, enable Transaction search, Invoicing, and Customer disputes, then save. PayPal can take a few hours to apply Transaction search.
3
Connect PayPal
Open that website’s Dashboard → Integrations → Built-in Integrations → PayPal, click Connect, and enter the Client ID and Client Secret. Tick These are Sandbox credentials only for Sandbox credentials.
4
BubblaV adds the tools
BubblaV validates the credentials and the Transaction search and Invoicing features with live API calls, then adds the four PayPal tools to your chatbot.
5
Test
Ask the chatbot about a real payment with its transaction ID and the payer’s email, then ask for a payment link.
Available Tools After Connection
Payment, dispute, and invoice lookups need both the ID or number and the matching email, and cover about 6 months. New payments can take up to 3 hours to appear. Payer names, addresses, phone numbers, and account IDs are never shown in the chat. The chatbot never lists your transactions, and it cannot refund or pay out.
Payment links
Payment links are PayPal invoices shared by link. PayPal does not email them. Each invoice carries the reference “BubblaV chat”, and the same email can have at most 3 unpaid payment links per 24 hours. Check the paid amount in PayPal before you fulfill an order. To turn payment links off, open the integration’s Configure page and disable the Create PayPal Payment Link tool.Troubleshooting
PayPal rejected the credentials on connect
PayPal rejected the credentials on connect
Check that the Client ID and Secret are copied in full and that the These are Sandbox credentials box matches the tab you copied them from: Live credentials come from the Live tab, Sandbox credentials from the Sandbox tab.
The PayPal app is missing a feature
The PayPal app is missing a feature
In developer.paypal.com → Apps & Credentials → your app → Features, enable Transaction search, Invoicing, and Customer disputes, save, then connect again. PayPal can take a few hours to apply Transaction search.
The chatbot says the payment was not found
The chatbot says the payment was not found
The transaction ID and the payer’s email must both match, and the payment must be from the last 6 months. New payments can take up to 3 hours to appear. For privacy, the chatbot gives the same answer when the ID is unknown and when the email does not match.
Dispute lookups fail with an access error
Dispute lookups fail with an access error
The app needs the Customer disputes feature. Enable it in the app’s Features, save, then disconnect and connect PayPal again.
Replace the credentials or switch between Live and Sandbox
Replace the credentials or switch between Live and Sandbox
On the PayPal integration card, click Disconnect, then click Connect and enter the new Client ID and Secret. Tick These are Sandbox credentials only for Sandbox credentials.
Tools are missing after connecting
Tools are missing after connecting
If BubblaV shows Connected, but the chatbot tools were not added, or tools are missing, open the integration’s Configure page and click Sync Tools. Then check that the PayPal tools are enabled.
Security: Your Client Secret is stored encrypted. A visitor must give the matching email to see a payment, invoice, or dispute.
Next Steps
Customize Your Widget
Match the chat widget to your storefront’s appearance.
Test Your Chatbot
Check payment answers and your configured website knowledge.