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★ Asteris Docs

PayPal API auto-batch

PayPal API auto-batch is the recommended payout method for most stores — you set the schedule once, and the plugin pays everyone over the minimum threshold automatically.

Prerequisites

  • PayPal Business account (free)
  • PayPal Developer credentials (Client ID + Secret) — see below

Get your PayPal credentials

  1. Sign in to developer.paypal.com
  2. My Apps & Credentials → Live → Create App
  3. App name: Asteris Affiliates
  4. Choose Merchant account
  5. Enable scopes: Payouts
  6. Click Create App
  7. Copy Client ID and Secret

Connect in WordPress

Affiliates → Settings → Payouts → PayPal API:

  1. Paste Client ID and Secret
  2. Environment — Live (or Sandbox for testing)
  3. Save + Test connection — confirms OAuth2 token exchange works

Schedule payouts

Settings → Payouts → Schedule:

  • Frequency — Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, Manual only
  • Day of week / month — when to run
  • Minimum threshold — $50 / $100 is standard
  • Currency — usually matches your store currency
  • Dry-run first — preview the next batch before it sends

The batch runs via WP-Cron. For larger stores, replace WP-Cron with a real system cron pointing at wp-cron.php.

Manually run a batch

Even on a schedule, you can trigger ad-hoc:

Payouts → Run batch now.

Encryption + security

Your PayPal Client Secret is encrypted at rest (AES-256-CBC) using a key derived from wp_salt('auth'). Never logged to PHP error log, never sent to our servers.

What happens during a batch

  1. Plugin queries PayPal /v1/oauth2/token for an access token
  2. Builds a single POST /v1/payments/payouts request with up to 15,000 recipients
  3. Receives a batch_id
  4. Polls PayPal for batch status (queued → processing → success/failed) and updates each affiliate’s commission status

Failed payouts

If PayPal rejects a recipient (e.g. unverified PayPal account), that single recipient is marked failed in Payouts → Failed. You can retry individually or switch them to bank transfer.

v1.2 — webhook listener

v1.1.0 polls PayPal for batch status. v1.2 adds the PAYMENT.PAYOUTS-ITEM.SUCCEEDED webhook listener for instant status updates without polling.