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I wonder if paypal payer_id is the same for two separate payments with the same credit card. This is obviously useful to detect possible fraudulent transactions.

Note that in the case of paypal account (that is, user logging in with email, not paying "on the go", I presume that the payer_id is always the same, even if user changes email, etc). My specific question is about credit card payments.

I will be using Express Checkout api.

Thanks

mcknz
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bustrofedon
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    Not sure why this question was closed..?? It seems to be a perfectly valid question to me, and definitely fits within the realm of PayPal, Express Checkout, and credit card processing. I answered his question accordingly, too. Seems like maybe you didn't understand what he was asking..?? – Drew Angell Dec 29 '12 at 22:02

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I ran some tests and according to the sandbox the PayPal system does create a unique Payer ID for each credit card used in the "guest checkout" system.

I went through Express Checkout the first time using Guest Checkout with a particular MasterCard. Upon checking GetExpressCheckoutDetails I do see that I get a Payer ID back, in this case it gave me DKG3GNSK44HV2.

I then did the same thing with a separate Visa card, and it gave me back a Payer ID of QXQGEYLFMBNY8.

Then I did the same thing again with the original MasterCard I used and I got the same Payer ID of DKG3GNSK44HV2 that I did the first time.

Finally, I tried the Visa again and got the same Payer ID of QXQGEYLFMBNY8 that I did the first time with it.

Based on those tests I would say that PayPal is indeed generating unique Payer ID's for any credit card used in their system.

It makes sense because they have limitations about how much money you can spend with any given credit card through Guest Checkout before they actually do force you to create an account, and they also won't let you use a credit card in Guest Checkout if that card is added to an existing PayPal account already.

Drew Angell
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  • We'll that's not my experience with Express Checkout. Even for user that pay with credit card, a payer_id is given. The question is, again, would two credit card payments with the same credit card have the same payer id? – bustrofedon Dec 28 '12 at 22:23
  • I just ran some tests and I stand corrected. I'll edit my answer accordingly. – Drew Angell Dec 28 '12 at 23:59
  • The point you made about limitations on money you can spend and the issue about about using credit card that already belongs to a paypal account makes me infer that in "production" paypal will have the behavior you describe in the sandbox – bustrofedon Dec 29 '12 at 18:02
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    Yes, the sandbox is intended to perform just like the production servers will. This is a pretty straight forward testing scenario and I'm certain the same would hold true in production. You could actually confirm with PayPal tech support, though. If you login to your PayPal account, go to Contact, then Phone, you should see 2 phone numbers; one for general support and one for technical support. If you call that tech support line you should get somebody that can confirm this for you. – Drew Angell Dec 29 '12 at 22:00