NativeLast verified 2026-09-11 · Reviewed by a person 2026-09-24
PayPal is the engine behind BigCommerce's own payments product: BigCommerce Payments is built on PayPal's infrastructure, creates a PayPal platform account linked to the merchant's PayPal Business account, and is activated from Settings > Payments with no app to install. BigCommerce maintains it (US stores on Core, Growth and Scale plans, select Performance stores); the older standalone PayPal gateway (PayPal Commerce Platform / PayPal Complete Payments) is still a built-in, fee-exempt option and remains the route for non-US merchants.1
UAT-Ops testing: PayPal's sandbox was verified by UAT-Ops on 2026-09-11 with the directory's card flow (5 passed) → evidence on the PayPal hub. The BigCommerce integration itself has not been run.
Sources checked: 31 claims from 7 sites, listed at the foot of the page.
Connects through Native gateway. BigCommerce Payments (gateway id bigcommerce_payments) is set up under Settings > Payments > Embedded > Online Payment Methods and onboards through the merchant's existing PayPal Business account or a new one; checkout-js and the Checkout SDK ship the BigCommerce Payments strategies for Optimized One-Page and custom checkouts, and the server-side Payments API accepts bigcommerce_payments for stored cards, stored PayPal accounts and raw card data. The standalone PayPal (Commerce Platform, gateway id paypalcommerce) gateway is a separate built-in option connected with a PayPal login from the same Payments page. Biggest gotcha: Fee exemption covers the built-in route only.
How it connects
Method
Native gateway. BigCommerce Payments (gateway id bigcommerce_payments) is set up under Settings > Payments > Embedded > Online Payment Methods and onboards through the merchant's existing PayPal Business account or a new one; checkout-js and the Checkout SDK ship the BigCommerce Payments strategies for Optimized One-Page and custom checkouts, and the server-side Payments API accepts bigcommerce_payments for stored cards, stored PayPal accounts and raw card data. The standalone PayPal (Commerce Platform, gateway id paypalcommerce) gateway is a separate built-in option connected with a PayPal login from the same Payments page.1
No integration fee. BigCommerce Payments, PayPal Complete Payments, PayPal Braintree and PayPal Wallet are all on the Embedded Payment Provider list, so no Open Payment Provider Fee applies; custom integrations to those processors (including via third-party apps) do pay it. Processing: cards 2.89% + $0.30 (Core), 2.59% + $0.30 (Growth), 2.39% + $0.30 (Scale/Performance); PayPal button and Venmo 3.49% + $0.49; Klarna/Afterpay 4.99% + $0.30; +1.50% international; fast payouts 1.50% (min $0.50). The pricing page quotes the card rate as beginning at 2.89% + $0.29.1
optimized one page checkout, custom checkout via checkout sdk, payments api server side1
PCI scope
Depends on the checkout mode you choose; see the gotchas below.2
What works on this platform
Yes: a source confirms it on this integration. Limited: supported, but only under meaningful conditions or through a subset of connector paths. Not verified here: the gateway supports it, but no source confirms this integration exposes it. No: not available. A capability with no source either way is left off.
Credit and debit cards (Visa and Mastercard named on the product page) with authorize-and-capture or authorize-only; Fastlane guest checkout is available on BigCommerce Payments, Braintree and PayPal gateways.
Enabled from Settings > Payments > Digital Wallets by accepting Apple's terms and selecting BigCommerce Payments (or PayPal) as the provider; no stored methods or recurring payments through Apple Pay; custom checkouts need the latest Checkout SDK; on the PayPal gateway manual capture is not supported.
Enabled from the Digital Wallets section; Google Pay can be enabled on only one gateway at a time; no stored methods or recurring; on the PayPal gateway reCAPTCHA must be off on the checkout page; custom checkouts need checkout-js 1.812.1+ or checkout-sdk-js 1.921.0+. Google Pay has been available on the standalone PayPal gateway since 2023-12-20.
PayPal Checkout button plus Venmo (USD only, no stored instruments or recurring) inside BigCommerce Payments; the standalone PayPal gateway offers the same wallet plus alternative payment methods such as iDEAL and SEPA Direct Debit, which are always authorize-and-capture regardless of the transaction type setting.
PayPal Pay Later, Klarna and Afterpay at 4.99% + $0.30; Klarna and Afterpay do not support stored instruments or recurring. On the standalone PayPal gateway, Pay Later messaging needs theme 5.0.0+ and a one-time payment integration.
Stored credit cards and stored PayPal accounts on Growth plans or higher; real-time account updater is an optional paid service for Visa/Mastercard; Venmo, Klarna, Afterpay and the wallets cannot be stored.
Recurring payments run through stored PayPal accounts or stored cards (Growth plan or higher) with a subscription app or custom Payments API work; the gateway table checks Recurring Payments for BigCommerce Payments and PayPal, but Venmo, BNPL, Apple Pay and Google Pay are excluded.
24 settlement currencies including AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, JPY, MXN and USD, with per-currency balances and conversion in the Money dashboard; the gateway table checks Multicurrency for BigCommerce Payments and PayPal.
BigCommerce's Level 2/3 guide names BigCommerce Payments, PayPal and Braintree among the gateways that process Level 2 and Level 3 data for corporate and purchase cards.
PayPal supports this; no source confirms it on this integration.
Capability status reflects the integration and documentation available at the time of verification, not necessarily every capability of the underlying gateway or platform.
Testing it
BigCommerce Payments has a test-mode checkbox in its gateway settings that simulates transactions and pauses the live account; the standalone PayPal gateway instead offers Connect PayPal Sandbox, which takes a separate sandbox business account from developer.paypal.com and then Enable test mode on store. Use PayPal's sandbox cards (Visa 4005519200000004 / 4012000033330026, Mastercard 2223000048400011) and the case-sensitive CCREJECT-* cardholder-name triggers for declines; BigCommerce's own Test Payment Gateway (4111 1111 1111 1111, name success; names such as transaction_declined simulate errors) exercises checkout only, must be disabled afterwards, and is not accepted by the Payments API. Payment events reach a dev backend through BigCommerce webhooks (POST /v3/hooks, HTTPS on port 443 only, ngrok for localhost; store/order/* scopes carry only the order id; retries for about 48 hours then deactivation with an email). Assert: order status and transaction on the order, the Money dashboard balance under Finance > BigCommerce Payments, that refunds draw from that balance, and that test mode is switched off before go-live; new accounts hold first payouts up to 21 days.1
UAT-Ops runs integration flows like this against the real sandbox and keeps the evidence. Get one email when it opens.
Gotchas
Fee exemption covers the built-in route only
BigCommerce Payments, PayPal (Commerce Platform) and Braintree are all built-in gateways on the Embedded Payment Provider list, so none of them triggers the Open Payment Provider Fee. BigCommerce states that custom integrations to an embedded processor, including ones connected through third-party apps, still pay that fee: 2.0% (Core), 1.0% (Growth) or 0.6% (Scale) of GMV. Use the built-in gateway before building your own.
The pricing page says BigCommerce Payments card processing starts at 2.89% + $0.29. The product page and the Help Center both give 2.89% + $0.30 on Core, 2.59% on Growth and 2.39% on Scale and Performance. Budget on $0.30 and your plan tier, then add 1.50% for international cards and 1.50% (minimum $0.50) for fast payouts.
BigCommerce Payments pays refunds out of its own balance. If the balance is too low, the refund fails. It cannot then be retried in the control panel and has to be completed in the PayPal dashboard. New accounts also hold initial payments for up to 21 days, so a refund soon after cutover can fail. Fund the balance before launch.
The PayPal gateway sends BigCommerce order numbers to PayPal as invoice IDs, and numbering starts at 100 by default. If you connect a PayPal account that already has transactions, a reused ID fails with a Duplicate Invoice ID error. Before connecting, raise Starting Order Number above every invoice ID already in that account.
Both Fastlane pages list BigCommerce Payments, Braintree and PayPal, and both limit Fastlane to guest shoppers. The developer guide says checkout-js 1.624.1 or later works out of the box and limits stores to the US, UK and Australia. The Help Center sets the floor at checkout-js 1.508.0 or checkout-sdk-js 1.630.3 and lists 50 countries. On a custom checkout, run the newest SDK and confirm eligibility with PayPal first.
Last verified 2026-09-11 · Reviewed by a person 2026-09-24
Integration capabilities, requirements, pricing, availability, and vendor policies may change over time. UAT-Ops documents information based on the authoritative sources and testing available at the time of review.
Where newer information, testing, or vendor documentation materially changes a published claim, UAT-Ops may revise the page to reflect the most current verified information. Readers should confirm time-sensitive requirements with the relevant vendor before making production or purchasing decisions.