Connect Your PayPal Account with CF7 Apps

The PayPal app allows you to accept payments directly through your Contact Form 7 forms using PayPal Checkout.

Before using the PayPal app, make sure CF7 Apps and CF7 Apps Pro are installed and activated on your WordPress website.

 The PayPal payment gateway is available as a Pro feature.

The PayPal app provides:

• Global Settings – Connect your PayPal account and configure the payment environment and default currency.
• Individual Form Settings – Enable PayPal for a specific Contact Form 7 form and configure its payment details.

Configure PayPal Payment Gateway Settings

To configure PayPal globally:

• Navigate to Contact → CF7 Apps → Dashboard.
• Locate PayPal under Payment Gateways.
• Click the Settings icon.

CF7 Apps does not charge or deduct any platform fee from PayPal payments; PayPal may apply its own processing fees based on its pricing, market, and transaction.

PayPal Global Settings

Configure the following PayPal settings:

• Enable PayPal Integration: Enable or disable PayPal payments globally.
• Environment Mode: Select Live Mode for real payments or Test Mode to test payments through the PayPal Sandbox.
• Default Currency: Set the default currency used for PayPal payments. Individual forms can override this value.
• PayPal Connection: Connect or disconnect your PayPal account for the selected environment.
• Save Settings: Save your PayPal configuration.

Notice: PayPal maintains separate connections for Test Mode and Live Mode. Connecting an account in one environment does not connect it in the other environment.

Test PayPal Payments

Test Mode uses the PayPal Sandbox to help you test your Contact Form 7 payment flow without processing real payments.

To configure PayPal Test Mode:

• Select Test Mode under Environment Mode.
• Review the Test Mode Activated notice.
• Click Connect to PayPal.
• Sign in with your PayPal Sandbox business account.
• Authorize the CF7 Apps connection.
• Click Save Settings.

Use a PayPal Sandbox personal account to complete test payments.

CF7 Apps identifies PayPal Sandbox transactions as Test transactions in Payment Logs.

Process Live PayPal Payments

Live Mode allows your website to process real payments through your PayPal Business account.

Connect PayPal in Live Mode

To connect PayPal in Live Mode:

• Enable PayPal Integration.
• Select Live Mode under Environment Mode.
• Select your Default Currency.
• Click Connect to PayPal.
• PayPal opens its authorization page.
• Sign in to your PayPal Business account.
• Grant the required permissions to CF7 Apps.
• Return to the CF7 Apps settings page.
• Confirm that the PayPal account connected message appears.
• Click Save Settings.

After you connect PayPal:

• The Connect to PayPal button changes to Disconnect.
• CF7 Apps uses the connected PayPal account for the selected environment.
• You can click Disconnect to remove the stored connection.

Use the Visit PayPal Dashboard link to manage your PayPal Business account and view transactions.

Notice: PayPal requires a Business account to accept payments. PayPal routes captured payments to the connected account.

Enable PayPal for a Contact Form 7 Form

After configuring the global PayPal settings, enable PayPal for the forms that should accept payments.

To configure PayPal for an individual form:

1. Navigate to Contact → Contact Forms.
2. Open an existing form or create a new one.
3. Scroll to the CF7 Apps settings panel.
4. Open PayPal under Payment Gateways.
5. Enable PayPal for this form.
6. Configure the payment settings.
7. Click Save Settings.

Notice: Only one payment gateway can be active on a form at a time. If Stripe or Square is already active, CF7 Apps displays a notice. When you enable PayPal and save the form, PayPal becomes the active payment gateway for that form.

Configure PayPal Payment Settings

Configure the information that CF7 Apps uses to create the PayPal order.

Setting	Description
Customer Email Field	Select the form tag that contains the customer’s email address, such as [your-email]. CF7 Apps uses this email to associate the payment with the form entry.
Currency	Select the currency used for the payment. CF7 Apps uses the global Default Currency by default.
Amount Field	Enter a fixed amount, such as 25, or use a form field tag such as [amount] to determine the payment amount dynamically.
Quantity Field	Enter a fixed quantity or use a form field tag such as [quantity]. CF7 Apps calculates the total using the amount multiplied by the quantity.
Product Name Field	Enter a fixed product name or use a form field tag such as [product-name].
Product Description Field	Enter a fixed description or use a form field tag such as [product-desc]. PayPal displays the description during payment approval.

Notice: PayPal requires the Success URL and Failure URL to use publicly accessible HTTPS URLs. CF7 Apps upgrades non-HTTPS URLs to HTTPS. PayPal Checkout may not return customers to websites running only on local development URLs.

Process a PayPal Contact Form 7 Payment

After you enable PayPal for a form, CF7 Apps follows this payment flow:

1. The visitor completes and submits the Contact Form 7 form.
2. Contact Form 7 validates the submission.
3. CF7 Apps reads the configured customer email, amount, quantity, and product details.
4. CF7 Apps creates a PayPal order using the selected environment.
5. CF7 Apps redirects the visitor to PayPal.
6. The customer signs in and approves or cancels the payment.
7. PayPal redirects the customer to the configured Success URL or Failure URL.
8. CF7 Apps captures the approved payment.
9. CF7 Apps records the transaction in Entries > Payment Logs.

Notice: When you enable a payment gateway for a form, the payment redirect takes priority over the normal Redirection flow.

Need Help?

If you have questions about configuring PayPal payments with Contact Form 7, open a support request.

You can also suggest new features.