In order to automatically initiate recurring donations via PayPal - not asking the donor to go through PayPal every time - you need to have Reference Transactions enabled by PayPal for your account. Here are the ways you can do it:
Email Application
- Log into your PayPal account.
- (Quick Access Method for Email Contact): Click this link to go directly to the Email Contact Form.
- Choose the Topic: PayPal Credit.
- Choose topic: My Account.
- Choose sub-topic: Update my information.
- Skip to Step 4
- Dashboard Method for Email Contact (Do this if Step 2 doesn't work)
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Contact.
- Select PayPal Credit.
- Select My Account.
- Select Update My Information.
- Scroll to the bottom and select Email Us.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Contact.
- Copy and paste the message below, inserting your PayPal email address and name.
Example Message to send to PayPal
Hello,
Could you please enable Reference Transactions on my PayPal account (email: paypal@example.com)?
I need this feature to enable the recurring donation option with MobileCause (https://www.mobilecause.com/).
Kind regards,
Your Name - Wait for a reply.
- If it is an autoresponder message, like the one below, you need to respond before your request actually goes to Paypal:
Respond to the AutoresponderPayPal may send you a response using an auto-response message with links to documentation.
In this auto-response is the following:
If we haven’t answered your question, please reply to this email and our team will answer you as soon as possible.
As that says, you also need to respond to the auto-response before your support ticket will be submitted with PayPal
- If it is an autoresponder message, like the one below, you need to respond before your request actually goes to Paypal:
Phone Call
The simplest way to begin the process of having PayPal enable Reference Transactions is to call PayPal Support. You can find the phone number listed here.
When you call the number, specifically tell PayPal that you are calling to turn on “Reference Transactions” on your account so that you can be transferred to a PayPal Specialist.
PayPal has set requirements that need to be met before they will enable Reference Transaction support on your account. They do not publish these requirements and the requirements may be different for different organizations.
Enable Your Recurring Payments in MobileCause
Once you have enabled Reference Transactions through PayPal, you need to add the functionality to your MobileCause account.
Go to the account Settings.
Select Payment Methods and click on Enable Recurring Payments on the PayPal line.
Then confirm on the window that appears, by:
- Reading the information
- Putting a check in the box, stating that you have enabled it with PayPal
- Click the Enable Recurring Payments button.
Your PayPal line in your Payment Methods section should now be complete to accept both one time and recurring gifts.