PayPal is the wallet many international shoppers trust most, especially buyers in Europe and North America who would rather not type a card number into a store they do not know. For a Gulf business that prices in US dollars, euros or pounds and sells to customers abroad, offering PayPal next to cards can remove that hesitation at checkout.
Before you set it up, there is one fact to know: PayPal does not support every currency, and AED and SAR are not among the ones it accepts. This guide explains what that means and how the connection works.
What the PayPal connection does
- Lets customers pay with their PayPal wallet at your online store checkout. They approve the payment on PayPal, then Wink You captures it.
- Works on the QR Digital Menu too, when the branch currency is one PayPal supports and QR self ordering is on.
- Full and partial refunds from Payments, sent back through PayPal.
- Registers the PayPal webhook for you when you save, if it can.
Currencies: why PayPal may not show
The PayPal connect screen lists USD, EUR and GBP as its currencies. A provider is only offered at checkout when it supports your branch currency, so a store or branch that sells in AED or SAR will not see PayPal at checkout even when it is switched On. If most of your customers pay in a local Gulf currency, connect a card gateway such as Stripe, Network, MyFatoorah or Paymob for them, and keep PayPal for a store that sells in a currency PayPal supports.
How to connect PayPal
- In Business Admin, open Payment Methods and click Connect on PayPal.
- Pick the Currency and the Mode: Test for the PayPal sandbox, Live for real payments.
- Paste your Client ID and Client Secret from the PayPal Developer Dashboard, under your app.
- Optional: add the webhook address shown in your PayPal app, under Webhooks, with the event PAYMENT.CAPTURE.COMPLETED, and paste the generated Webhook ID.
- Switch it On and click Save.
The Webhook ID is optional because Wink You tries to register the webhook for you when you save. Wink You checks each PayPal webhook with PayPal's own verification and asks PayPal for the real order status before an order counts as paid. Without a working webhook, a background check still confirms payments, but it can take a few minutes.
Refunds through PayPal
Open Payments, find the payment, choose Refund and keep Original Method. Lower the Refund Amount for a partial refund and click Confirm Refund. A PayPal refund can stay pending for a while; Wink You follows it up, and if PayPal never answers the payment shows a warning so you check PayPal before refunding another way.
What is not included
- PayPal for stores or branches that sell in AED, SAR or another currency PayPal does not support.
- A separate PayPal account per branch from the app.
Test with the PayPal sandbox
In the PayPal Developer Dashboard, each app has sandbox and live credentials. Paste the sandbox Client ID and Client Secret with the Mode set to Test, then pay a test order with a PayPal sandbox buyer account and check it shows as paid in Orders. When it works, switch to the live credentials, set the Mode to Live and save. Changing the mode deletes nothing.
Who can change it
By default only the business owner can open Payment Methods, through the Payment gateways and payout accounts permission, and you may be asked to confirm it is you with your password, passkey or two factor code before the keys are saved. The money from PayPal payments goes straight into your own PayPal account; Wink You does not hold it.
When PayPal is the right choice
PayPal fits best when your store’s main currency is one PayPal supports and many of your buyers already have PayPal wallets. It also suits stores that sell digital products, because digital products need no delivery address and can be sold to buyers anywhere. Physical deliveries are different: storefront checkout saves addresses in your store’s own country, so PayPal does not open international shipping by itself. Showing prices in other currencies to customers, set in General Settings, changes only what the shopper sees; the charge is still made in your store currency.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add PayPal to my online store?
Open Payment Methods, click Connect on PayPal, paste your Client ID and Client Secret, choose the currency and mode, switch it On and save.
Can customers in the UAE pay with PayPal in dirhams?
No. PayPal does not accept AED, so PayPal is not offered to a branch that sells in AED. Use a card gateway for dirham payments.
Do I need the PayPal Webhook ID?
Not usually. Wink You tries to register the webhook when you save. Add it by hand only if that does not work.
Get started
PayPal is one of the gateways in winkyou.com/products/payments, used by winkyou.com/products/online-store. Every gateway connects the same way as the example in winkyou.com/support/settings-and-account/how-to-set-payment-methods, and refunds follow winkyou.com/support/orders/how-to-refund-an-order.