How Does the Laravel Payment Gateway Integration Work?

For years, online purchases were impossible. Then came many methods, but none were entirely safe and convenient. Buyers and sellers noticed numerous security issues when it came to payment. Laravel payment gateway integration is a solution to such online platforms.

Laravel is an open-source PHP framework that allows the development of web-application. It makes the confirmation of authentication easy for payment gateways. A lot of businessmen invest a hefty amount in integrating it as it is very easy to use.

Stripe and PayPal are the two most trustworthy payment gateway that pairs well with this concept. In this article, we are about to briefly explain the concept and the steps to integrate Stripe and PayPal in Laravel. For obtaining all the important information, give a quick read.

What does Integrating Payment Gateway in Laravel mean?

With Laravel payment gateway integration, customers purchasing products and services online can pay for their items on the site that is linked with the bank and the e-commerce platform. As it is usually linked with companies like PayPal and Stripe, paying now becomes convenient.

Customers all around the world pay using credit cards. There are usually two ways how they do this. One, they type their credit card information on the e-commerce site to wait for the operator to transfer and adjust their balance. Sometimes, this method can be risky.

Two, they transfer the balance through third-party sites or applications; for instance, the bank’s website. Then, the customer must send proof of the transaction to confirm the purchase. For most buyers and sellers, the need to confirm the process is a hassle.

Laravel Payment Gateway integration will allow the e-commerce platform and the bank to share a common site. As a result, both parties will be aware of the purchase. Here, the gateway will ensure that all the information is passed and exchanged.

Similarly, the payment gateway refers to the fact that the entire process is online. As the gateway handles all the logistics, there are usually no fraudulent activities if everything is regularly monitored. It is mostly because the system will be purely automated.

The integration refers to the part where the bank and the e-commerce platform integrate their resources to create one common site. The site will contain the tools required for checkout and payment. Therefore, the point of this is to eliminate manual approvals of payment.

Steps for Integrating PayPal Payment Gateway in Laravel:

If you choose PayPal, it is important to learn how to integrate it into Laravel. Integration of it will prove to be highly useful; and no, you need no expert. I have mentioned the steps that you can follow to integrate the PayPal payment gateway in no time. Here are some easy steps:

• Step 1: Create your PayPal business account

First, it is mandatory to create a PayPal business account at developer.paypal.com. Fill all the spaces with accurate information. Activate your Sandbox account to access client details and passwords that are necessary for Laravel payment gateway integration.

• Step 2: Install the Laravel application to create a new project

Install the Laravel app and create a new project as it is a new project setup for integration. According to your specifications, create it and use the code- composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel-paypal-app –prefer-dist

• Step 3: Install a composer package

To install a composer package plug-in, use the command- composer require srmklive/PayPal. Laravel has built-in plugins, and one of them is a composer package. Purchase the latest PayPal package to ensure smooth operation.

To register your PayPal business account into the Laravel app, go to config/app.php and use the command-

providers’ => [

Srmklive\PayPal\Providers\PayPalServiceProvider::class

providers’ => [

‘PayPal’ => Srmklive\PayPal\Facades\PayPal::class

• Step 4: Enter your PayPal details from your Sandbox account

Next, you should look for the client_id and secret_key to copy and paste them into the .env file. Enter PayPal developer mode and you will find this information in your Sandbox account. After that, the account details will pop up on the screen.

• Step 5: Create routes for payments

There are three routes- Payments, Payment success, and cancellation. You need to clarify these routes and input these in routes/web.php file. Use the command- Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Two examples of routes are- :get(‘paywithpaypal’, array(‘as’ => ‘paywithpaypal’,’uses’ => ‘PaypalController@payWithPaypal’,)) and :post(‘paypal’, array(‘as’ => ‘paypal’,’uses’ => ‘PaypalController@postPaymentWithpaypal’,))

• Step 6: Create a controller

To create a controller to handle all the Paypal logistics, use the following code in the app/Http/Controllers/PayPalPaymentController.php file-

?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

use Srmklive\PayPal\Services\ExpressCheckout;

class PayPalPaymentController extends Controller

{

public function handlePayment()

{

$product = [];

$product[‘items’] = [

[

‘name’ => ‘Nike Joyride 2’,

‘price’ => 112,

‘desc’  => ‘Running shoes for Men’,

‘qty’ => 2

]

];

$product[‘invoice_id’] = 1;

$product[‘invoice_description’] = “Order #{$product[‘invoice_id’]} Bill”;

$product[‘return_url’] = route(‘success.payment’);

$product[‘cancel_url’] = route(‘cancel.payment’);

$product[‘total’] = 224;

$paypalModule = new ExpressCheckout;

$res = $paypalModule->setExpressCheckout($product);

$res = $paypalModule->setExpressCheckout($product, true);

return redirect($res[‘paypal_link’]);

}

public function paymentCancel()

{

dd(‘Your payment has been declend. The payment cancelation page goes here!’);

}

public function paymentSuccess(Request $request)

{

$paypalModule = new ExpressCheckout;

$response = $paypalModule->getExpressCheckoutDetails($request->token);

if (in_array(strtoupper($response[‘ACK’]), [‘SUCCESS’, ‘SUCCESSWITHWARNING’])) {

dd(‘Payment was successfull. The payment success page goes here!’);

}

dd(‘Error occured!’);

}

}

• Step 7: Add a blade view

Lastly, you need to compose a blade view. By doing this, all the information about payment and transactions will be a click away. To do this, copy and paste the following code into the product.blade.php file:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html lang=”{{ str_replace(‘_’, ‘-‘, app()->getLocale()) }}”>

<head>

<meta charset=”utf-8″>

<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>

<title>Laravel 7 PayPal Payment Gateway Integration Tutorial</title>

<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.5.0/css/bootstrap.min.css” />

</head>

<body>

<div class=”container mt-5 text-center”>

<h2>Laravel 7 PayPal Integration Example</h2>

<a href=”{{ route(‘make.payment’) }}” class=”btn btn-primary mt-3″>Pay $224 via Paypal</a>

</div>

</body>

</html>

How to Integrate Stripe Payment Gateway in Laravel?

To integrate the Stripe payment gateway in Laravel, you must follow the same steps as above. The codes you copy and paste will be different but the process will be the same. Here’s a summarization of the steps:

• Step 1: Install Laravel
• Step 2: Install stripe-php package via the composer package manager
• Step 3: Develop Stripe API Key and SECRET
• Step 4: Create a Controller file
• Step 5: Create Routes
• Step 6: Create Blade File

Is Stripe Better than PayPal?

Now that you know Laravel payment gateway integration works, you’ll have to choose between PayPal and Stripe. We have heard of PayPal and most people are aware of its features; is it really the best among all the other providers?

Here are some facts about PayPal and Stripe’s features and operations. Go through the comparison I’ve created using these five parameters to decide for yourself:

• Security

The security features are almost the same as they both meet the strict standards of the Payment Card Industry. Security is tight enough to ensure the entire security of credentials. They use highly optimized security-focused programs to ensure safety.

Stripe runs a program called Stripe.JS. It ensures that no information about credit and debit cards is saved on any server. Similarly, PayPal uses SSL encryption to ensure that all the information stored on their servers is encrypted.

• Data Portability

When customers shift from the payment processor to the PCI-compliant platform, there is a risk of losing customers. Without any restrictions on data portability, Stripe’s customers have no risk while shifting to the platform.

In contrast, customer credit card information cannot be sent via PayPal, which significantly disrupts the shifting process. Here, there’s a risk of losing many online customers.

• Customer Service

According to discussions in the forum, PayPal has improved in email and phone response. However, their customers often complain about unhelpful customer service that fails to offer helpful solutions. There is a lack of prompt customer service.

On the other hand, Stripe customer service offers quick responses; feedback includes solutions that solve real-time problems of the merchants and customers. Dedicated engineers and professionals await in the IRC channels for Laravel-Stripe problems.

• Service Fees

The transaction fee for PayPal and Stripe is 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. They accept payment only if each transaction is successful. Now, Stripe’s cost varies from country to country, but PayPal’s fees remain constant throughout all regions.

Additionally, with that 2.9% + 30¢, PayPal charges some extra fees per transaction. Overall, costs are slightly higher in PayPal.

• Payment Processor API

It is a no-brainer that Stripe has a better API in the payment process. It is because of its user-friendly interface, documentation, and language. It offers PHP, C#, Java, and Python to make the process easier for its users.

PayPal on the other hand uses Payment REST API. Due to Stripe’s advanced technology, PayPal has borrowed some elements from Stripe’s API. Although it meets all the required standards, it’s quite evident that Stripe is ahead of PayPal in many aspects.

Conclusion

Nevertheless, the payment gateway serves as an excellent opportunity for all online businesses. Whether it is Stripe or PayPal, you will safely receive payment directly from your customers on your app. Moreover, such integration is wise for positive customer reviews on your website.

Integrating it without help is difficult, but not with this guidance. So, I hope that this article has been helpful to you. Thank you for reading till the end, have a great day!

FAQs

• How does Web API work in a payment gateway?

Ans: First, the customer types all the necessary information about their debit or credit cards. Secondly, as the Web API collects the information, the merchant publishes the data to the payment portal. Thirdly, the transaction is confirmed after payment.

• What is API gateway in Laravel?

Ans: API is a smart proxy server that acts as a front face for applications to access functions. The server it operates in is shared between users and API services.

• What is Stripe in Laravel?

Ans: In Laravel, Stripe is a payment provider that handles transactions. It is similar to PayPal. In Laravel web projects, Stripe is one of the easiest applications to install. Overall, it allows e-commerce platforms to accept credit and debit cards online.

• Is the payment portal and payment gateway the same thing?

Ans: The word payment portal is synonymous with payment gateway. Both words refer to a form that requires customers to fill in information about their credentials. However, payment portals and gateway are not the same as payment processors.

• What are the different types of API?

Ans: As the use of APIs increased in most web applications, there are now four types of API. They are composite, private, public, partner, SOAP, REST, JSON-RPC, and XML-RPC. Furthermore, there are more types of APIs in these types- such as PUT, POST, and GET.

• Are there any free payment gateways?

Ans: No secured payment gateways are entirely free. However, PayPal is almost free. It is because there’s no monthly or annual subscription fee. It only charges around three percent or less per transaction.

• Is Laravel Cashier free for everyone?

Ans: Laravel Cashier is an interface that offers free open-source packages. However, it actively works with Strip and Braintree. The subscriptions or packages they provide are not free of cost.

• What is a possible disadvantage of payment gateways?

Ans: The most significant disadvantage of the payment gateway is the fixed subscription fees every month. On the other hand, a percentage of the transactions is deducted by the bank in the payment gateway that allows credit purchases. The merchant will bear it.

• Can I start my own payment gateway?

Ans: Yes absolutely. You can integrate your own payment gateway if you own one. Although it gives you many customizable features, you will have to develop it. Becoming a provider will also enable you to charge subscription fees to other online businesses.