Connect PayPal to Roster
This guide walks brands through the steps needed to connect their PayPal account to their Roster account so that payments can be sent to payees directly from within Roster.
Roster uses PayPal's Payouts API to send money from your PayPal account to your payees. This streamlines the process of approving and sending payments right from within your Roster account.
If you want to send payments via PayPal, but do not wish to connect your PayPal account to Roster, you can log into your PayPal account and send payouts using PayPal's Web Interface or their CSV Upload via Secure FTP option.
PayPal Payouts prerequisites
If you are new to PayPal Payouts, you will find it helpful to read PayPal's Standard Payouts Overview ensure your brand's PayPal account is set up correctly and has approval to use their Payouts feature.
- Request access - We strongly suggest you take this step immediately, as it can sometimes take several weeks for PayPal to give approval.
- Payouts prerequisites - Go through their pre-reqs to ensure your PayPal account is set up correctly and that you transfer money into your PayPal account before needing to send your first payments.
Getting approved for Payouts by PayPal is the single biggest source of delay for brands integrating PayPal with Roster. We strongly suggest you request access immediately and then reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
Video walkthrough
Step-by-step instructions
Confirm account and Payout status
This step might sound intimidating, but it's fairly straight forward.
- Log into the PayPal Developer website using your PayPal credentials.
- Go to the Developer account status page to confirm that your account is a business account.
- Scroll down to the Payouts row in the Permissions table and see if there is a green checkmark or a link to Enable... under the Live column. If the latter, click the Enable... link. Note: even after your account is approved for Payouts, it may continue to show Enable instead of a checkmark. Our Roster account has been approved for years and still doesn't show a checkmark 🤷♂️
Create a live PayPal app
- Go to the Apps & Credentials page and ensure the toggle is set to Live (and not to Sandbox)
- Click Create App
- Give your app a name (e.g. Roster Integration) and click Continue
- Your newly created PayPal app will appear.
- Keep this browser tab open.
Open the PayPal Integration page in Roster
- Navigate to the PayPal Integration page in Roster in a browser tab other than the one with your PayPal app.
- Click the Connect button for the PayPal integration.
Add PayPal app credentials in Roster
- In the PayPal, copy the Client ID of the newly created PayPal app to your clipboard.
- In Roster, paste the Client ID into the corresponding field.
- In PayPal, copy the Secret key 1 to your clipboard.
- In Roster, paste the Secret key 1 into the corresponding field.
Set a payment password
- In Roster, set a Payment Password. This is a secure password that you create which will be required to initiate a PayPal payment from within Roster. Do NOT use your PayPal password.
- Confirm your PayPal Password.
- Click Save to save the integration.
Your Payment Password is not stored by Roster and cannot be reset. It is your responsibility to store it securely (e.g. in a password manager) so that you can retrieve it when sending payments.
If you forget your Payment Password, you will need to disconnect the PayPal integration and re-connect.
Send a test payment (Optional)
Follow the steps in Test the PayPal Integration document to ensure that your ---PayPal account is ready to start sending payments to your ambassadors.
Next steps
Need help?
If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to our customer success team at [email protected].