Require Phone Number in PayPal Express Checkout

PayPalI had to look into how to require a customer phone number using PayPal Express Checkout recently and just found the process to be a pain. Since I don’t work in the PayPal setups/development screens often, I was hoping to just search google and find the answer. It didn’t work out so easily.

Well, I eventually found out how to make the phone number a required field in PayPal Express Checkout. These are the steps:

 

Login => goto My Account => select Profile =>
select “See the classic Profile version” (the new stuff is garbage)

PayPal => My Account => Profile
PayPal => My Account => Profile

Select “Website Payment Preferences” under Selling Preferences

Select Website Payment Preferences
Select Website Payment Preferences

Select radio button “On (Required Field)” under Contact Telephone Number

Select "On (Required Field)"
Select “On (Required Field)”

That’s it. That’s how you can either require or set optional a contact telephone number in your Paypal Express Checkout account.

As a reference, and after far too long searching, I found the documentation on a seemingly obscure developer document at: https://www.x.com/docs/DOC-1367. You’ll find the instructions (the same as I gave) under the heading “Require a Contact Phone Number”. Since this reference is no longer available I’m updating a good set of applicable guidance found here.

Thanks for visiting my post. I’ll continue to update any futher developments on this front.

 

Post written by Ed Reckers

Founder and lead web development consultant at Red Bridge Internet : San Francisco WordPress Developers and Consultants.

10 Responses to “Require Phone Number in PayPal Express Checkout”

  1. Jora Composter

    ereckers thanks for this information! I have been going nuts trying to figure out how to get a customer phone number required in Express Checkout. PayPal was absolutely no help at all!

    Macky

  2. Stacey Riska

    As we say in Hawaiian, MAHALO!!! That was a huge problem for us — not being able to reach someone when there was a question/issue with their order. You’ve been a HUGE help!!!!

  3. a

    Thank you for this

  4. abc

    really really thank you!!

  5. Glynn

    Thanks a million.. I sometimes find paypal to be the worst backend to navigate around! Nothing is straightforward. You’ve saved me a lot of time 🙂

  6. alan

    Crap…the “see the classic profile” link is gone! Ughhh…now what?

  7. Mark

    My selling tools:Website Preferences:Update
    towards the bottom of the preferences

    This took me about 30 minutes to find..Good grief

  8. Vinoth

    Really Superb… Helped a lot.. Thanks buddy 🙂

  9. tudou

    It’s 2022 and I’m still looking for this information…
    Thanks!

  10. Charlie

    Any idea if this requirement can be passed dynamically and only required in certain circumstances, like for when international shipping is selected in checkout?

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