Let PayPal Express Checkout verify the Address

Question

We are using PayPal Express checkout (it's API) to let customers checkout products in our shop and add the delivery address at the same time.

We only ship to Germany and when a customer checks out, returns to our page and we get to know vie the PayPal API his address is not in Germany, we don't capture the authorized payment. Sometimes however, customers try to trick us and write AT-1234 in the zip field, to indicate they want shipping to austria. They let the country field with the "Germany" value.

Is it possible to let PayPal validate the Address during Express Checkout, such that invalid zip codes cannot be added?

Answer 1

You could the AddressVerify API to check the postal code and postal address. You can find more on this in the developers guide at https://www.x.com/sites/default/files/pp_nvpapi_developerguide.pdf on page 25. Another option that I have seen merchants implement is the Callback API along with Express Checkout. Information on this is found in the same guide on page 55. This allows you to update the PayPal Review page with shipping options, insurance, and tax information during the checkout. You can also generate a message that gets displayed that states you do not ship to that location. Some merchants will also tie this in with 3rd party shipping provider API, so that they can calculate real time shipping charges based on the type of shipping the buyer selected.

Hope this helps you out!