Connect WooCommerce PayPal Payments to WhatsApp and AI Chat
Yes. AeroChat works directly with WooCommerce stores that use PayPal Payments. It reads the order and its refunds through WooCommerce’s REST API and the PayPal payment behind it through PayPal’s REST API, and it sends the order’s pay-now link, on WhatsApp, Instagram, web chat and every other channel your shoppers use.
If your WooCommerce store takes PayPal, Pay Later, Venmo or cards through the WooCommerce PayPal Payments plugin, your shoppers still ask the questions that come after checkout: did my PayPal payment go through, where is my refund, can you send the payment link again. AeroChat answers them from the WooCommerce order and the PayPal transaction recorded on it. WooCommerce is a built-in store platform in AeroChat, so your catalog and orders are already connected. See WooCommerce in AeroChat. You describe the workflow in your own words, AeroChat builds it, and WooCommerce and PayPal stay the places your team checks.
What you can do with PayPal Payments and AeroChat
- Answer “did my PayPal payment go through?”. AeroChat reads the WooCommerce order and the PayPal capture behind it, and tells the shopper whether it is completed, pending, declined or failed.
- Explain a payment that is on hold. When PayPal shows a capture as pending, for example an eCheck that has not cleared or a payment under review, AeroChat says so in plain words and that the order ships once it clears.
- Resend the pay-now link for an unpaid order. When an order is still pending payment, AeroChat sends the link to its payment page on your store, where the shopper can pay with PayPal again.
- Take an order in chat and send the pay-now link. AeroChat creates the order in WooCommerce as pending payment and sends its payment page link. The shopper pays with PayPal on your store, and the order is marked paid.
- Answer “where is my refund?”. AeroChat reads the refunds on the WooCommerce order, checks whether each one was sent to PayPal, and reads its status in PayPal: completed, pending, failed or canceled.
- Cancel an unpaid order when the hold ends. If you hold stock for a limited time, AeroChat cancels the order in WooCommerce when it is still unpaid at the end, and tells the shopper.
- Pass refund and dispute requests to your team with a note. AeroChat adds a private note to the order with the reason and hands the conversation over, so your team starts with the facts.
Prefer payments built in? Airwallex is built into AeroChat, so payment links work without an API setup. See how it works.
What it looks like on WhatsApp
Customer: I paid for order 4821 with PayPal an hour ago. Did it go through? (example)
AeroChat: Yes. Your PayPal payment of US$64.50 for order 4821 is complete, and the order is being prepared. You’ll get a shipping email once it leaves.
In WooCommerce and PayPal: nothing changes. AeroChat read the order, then the PayPal capture with the transaction ID on it: status completed.
Customer: The PayPal window closed before I paid for order 4830. Can I still pay? (example)
AeroChat: Yes, order 4830 is still waiting for payment. Here’s the link to pay for it on our store: payment link (example). You can choose PayPal again or pay by card.
In WooCommerce: nothing changes until the shopper pays. Then PayPal Payments marks order 4830 as paid.
Works on every chat channel
Your shoppers message you wherever they already are. The same WooCommerce and PayPal connection and the same workflows run on each of these channels.
| Channel | What your shoppers can do |
|---|---|
| Message your WhatsApp Business number to check a PayPal payment, get the pay-now link again or ask about a refund. Voice notes are transcribed, so a spoken request works too. | |
| Send the same requests by direct message. A comment on your post can get an automatic reply that moves the conversation to a DM. | |
| Facebook Messenger | Send the same requests to your Facebook Page. Comments on your Page posts can get an automatic reply too. |
| Telegram | Send the same requests to your business on Telegram. |
| Web chat | Ask from the chat on your WooCommerce store, without leaving the page. |
| Write to your Gmail or Office 365 address and get the same answer the chat gives. |
How the connection works
PayPal Payments is the plugin that takes PayPal on your WooCommerce checkout. It records the PayPal payment on each WooCommerce order, sends refunds you make in WooCommerce to PayPal, and syncs refunds made on paypal.com back to the order through PayPal webhooks. AeroChat uses two documented APIs: WooCommerce’s REST API, documented at woocommerce.github.io/woocommerce-rest-api-docs, and PayPal’s REST API, documented at developer.paypal.com. Each workflow uses only what its recipe asks for.
- What AeroChat reads: from WooCommerce, orders with their status, payment method, transaction ID, date paid and order key, and the refunds on each order with whether they were sent to the payment gateway. From PayPal, the capture for that transaction with its status and pending reason, and refunds with their status.
- What AeroChat writes: to WooCommerce only. New orders taken in chat, status changes to cancel unpaid orders, and private notes on orders. It does not create or refund payments in PayPal.
To connect WooCommerce, go to Settings, Advanced, REST API in WooCommerce and add a key with read and write access. To connect PayPal, log in to the PayPal Developer Dashboard with the same PayPal business account your store uses, open Apps and Credentials, create a REST app in Live mode, and copy its client ID and secret. Enter both sets of keys in the AeroChat dashboard when AeroChat asks. They never pass through the conversation. You can test the whole flow first with a PayPal Sandbox app.
The pay-now link is your order’s own payment page on your store. For a guest order it opens without a login. For an order assigned to a registered customer, WooCommerce asks that customer to sign in first.
Selling outside your store, with a PayPal invoice for a quote or a booking? That works too. See PayPal in AeroChat.
Workflows to copy
Seven ready-made workflows for WooCommerce stores that use PayPal Payments. Copy one into AeroChat, add your keys, and it runs on every channel.
1. Answer “did my PayPal payment go through?”
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks whether their PayPal payment went through, ask for their order number and the email they ordered with. Find the order in WooCommerce and check the email matches. If the order is processing or completed, confirm the payment, the amount and the date. If it is on hold or pending, read the PayPal capture for the order’s transaction ID and tell them what PayPal shows. If the payment failed, send the link to pay for the order again. Never share another customer’s order. Reply in the customer’s language.
2. Explain a payment that is on hold
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer’s order is on hold and the PayPal capture is pending, read the reason PayPal gives. If it is an eCheck, say the payment is still clearing and the order ships once PayPal completes it. If PayPal is reviewing the payment, say it is being checked and we will confirm in this chat. Do not ask them to pay again. If it has been pending for more than 7 days (example), hand the conversation to our team with the order number.
3. Resend the pay-now link for an unpaid order
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks how to pay for an order, or says PayPal closed before they paid, find the order in WooCommerce and check the email matches. If the order is pending payment or failed, send the link to the order’s payment page on our store with the total. Tell them they can pay with PayPal or another method we offer there. If the order is already paid, say so. Never create a second order for the same items.
4. Take an order in chat and send the pay-now link
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer wants to buy in the chat, confirm the products, options, quantities and delivery address, and read back the total with shipping. Ask for their name and email. Create the order in WooCommerce with status pending payment, then send the link to its payment page. Once the order shows as processing, thank them and confirm the order number in the chat.
5. Answer “where is my refund?”
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks about a refund, verify their order. Read the refunds on the order in WooCommerce. If a refund was sent to the gateway, read its status in PayPal. Completed: give the amount and the date. Pending: say PayPal is still processing it. Failed or canceled: hand the conversation to our team. If the refund was only recorded in WooCommerce and not sent to PayPal, or there is no refund, do not promise anything and hand the conversation to our team.
6. Cancel an unpaid order when the hold ends
Copy this into AeroChat
When we hold stock for an order taken in chat, tell the customer it is held for 2 hours (example) and send the payment link. If the order is still pending payment when the time is up, set it to canceled in WooCommerce, add a private note “Unpaid, canceled in chat”, and tell the customer the hold has ended. Offer to start a new order if the items are still in stock. Never cancel an order that is paid or on hold.
7. Pass refund and dispute requests to your team with a note
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks for a refund, says they were charged twice, or says they opened a case with PayPal, do not promise a refund. Verify the order, ask what happened and collect any photos. Add a private note to the order in WooCommerce with the reason and the date. Then hand the conversation to our team and tell the customer someone will reply in this chat.
Who uses it
WooCommerce stores that sell to buyers who prefer PayPal, often across borders, use these workflows for the payment questions that follow checkout. These recipes fit a store that takes payment by link:
- Payment links in chat for online stores
- Refund requests and refund status in chat
- Payment links for custom orders
What stays in WooCommerce and PayPal
WooCommerce stays the record of every order and refund, and PayPal stays the record of every payment. Shoppers pay on your store’s own payment page through PayPal Payments, so their PayPal login and card details go to PayPal and never to AeroChat. AeroChat does not process or hold any money. Refunds, disputes and payouts stay with your team in WooCommerce and PayPal.
AeroChat handles the conversation. It reads what the recipe needs, writes orders and notes in WooCommerce where you set that up, and leaves the rest to your team.
WhatsApp workflows that use PayPal Payments
These end-to-end WhatsApp workflows run with your WooCommerce store and PayPal behind them. See them all in the WhatsApp workflows library.
- WhatsApp Payment Links That Confirm the Order When Paid
- WhatsApp Payment Reminders
- WhatsApp Returns and Refunds Checked Against Your Policy
Questions
Does AeroChat work with WooCommerce PayPal Payments?
Yes. It reads your WooCommerce orders through the WooCommerce REST API and the PayPal payments on them through PayPal’s REST API, with keys you create in each. AeroChat is not a PayPal or WooCommerce product, and AeroChat has no partnership with either.
Can AeroChat refund a PayPal payment?
The recipes on this page do not. Your team refunds in WooCommerce with the Refund via PayPal button, as it does today, and AeroChat tells the customer where the refund stands.
Does AeroChat see PayPal logins or card numbers?
No. Shoppers pay on your store’s payment page through PayPal Payments. AeroChat only reads the order and the payment status.
Do I need to write any code?
No code is needed. You create a WooCommerce REST API key and a PayPal REST app, paste in the keys, describe the workflow, and switch it on.
Which plan do I need?
On the PayPal side, you need the PayPal business account your store already uses, and PayPal’s fees apply as usual. On the AeroChat side, workflows via Skills are on every plan, with a 7-day free trial. Choose by message volume: Starter covers 500 AI responses a month, Growth 2,000 and Advanced 5,000. See plans.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Connect PayPal Payments to your chat
Add your WooCommerce key and a PayPal Sandbox app, pay a test order with PayPal, and ask your own number whether it went through.
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.
Sign up for an annual plan on Growth or above and we’ll set up your workflows and connect WooCommerce and PayPal for you, free. See plans.