For many WordPress stores, accepting PayPal has meant one thing at checkout: the familiar yellow PayPal button. It’s reliable, and shoppers know it well. 

But how people pay keeps evolving, and your customers want the freedom to choose how they check out. So we completely revamped the PayPal experience in Easy Digital Downloads.

With one connection, they can now use PayPal, Venmo, debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, plus PayPal Fastlane for faster guest checkout.

The result is a modern checkout that lets every shopper pay the way they prefer and move through faster. Here’s what you can offer and how to turn it on.

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What You Can Offer With PayPal in Easy Digital Downloads

This update changes what your WordPress checkout can offer.

A Full Set of PayPal Payment Methods

With PayPal connected, your checkout can present a full range of payment options to customers:

• PayPal: The classic checkout your customers already know.
• Venmo: Popular with younger buyers in the US.
• Debit and credit cards: Customers can pay by card without a PayPal account.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay: Fast mobile and browser-based payments.

Offering Venmo, cards, and digital wallets alongside PayPal means more buyers can complete a purchase the way they prefer.

Which methods appear depends on your country and your PayPal account eligibility. PayPal shows each customer the options available to them.

On top of these methods, Fastlane by PayPal speeds up checkout for returning customers and guests.

Faster Guest Checkout With PayPal’s Fastlane

PayPal Fastlane is PayPal’s fast guest checkout experience, built to move shoppers through payment quickly and effortlessly.

When a returning customer reaches your checkout, Fastlane recognizes them and fills in their payment details automatically. They confirm and they’re done, with no typing and no hunting for a card.

That speed pays off where it matters most. The quicker someone can pay, the smoother the path to a completed purchase, which means fewer abandoned carts. For digital products, where the buyer just wants their file or license fast, it’s an easy win.

Best of all, customers don’t need a PayPal account to use it. Fastlane works for guests, so it opens your checkout to people who might have left before.

A Checkout That Works for Every Customer

No matter which Easy Digital Downloads plan you’re on, your checkout can offer more PayPal payment methods and Fastlane.

The win is for your customers. They get to pay the way they already prefer, and Fastlane moves returning shoppers and guests through checkout in seconds.

There are two steps to unlock the additional options. The second one is easy to miss, so don’t skip it.

If you haven’t connected PayPal to your store yet, you can follow our guide on accepting PayPal payments or refer to our PayPal Setup documentation.

Step 1: Update Easy Digital Downloads

First, make sure you’re running the latest version of Easy Digital Downloads. The new PayPal payment methods ship with the update, so you won’t see them until your plugin is current.

Go to Plugins in your WordPress dashboard. If a newer version of your Easy Digital Downloads plugin is available, select update now. 

Step 2: Disconnect and Reconnect Your PayPal Account

⚠️ Important: The new PayPal payment methods are added for newly connected stores. If your store connected PayPal before this release, you need to disconnect and reconnect to turn them on. During this, some browsers may notify you that a popup was requested; be sure to allow it.

Go to Downloads » Settings » Payments » PayPal and select the Disconnect from PayPal option.

Then connect again using the same account.

PayPal will re-establish the connection with the list of PayPal-supported payment methods you can enable.

Select Save Changes.

Head to your checkout and confirm the new options appear. For full connection details, see the PayPal setup documentation.

FAQs: PayPal Payment Methods and Fastlane

Still have questions about the new PayPal payment methods and Fastlane? Here are quick answers to the most common ones about this WordPress PayPal update.

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Start Offering More Ways to Pay Today

Giving customers more ways to pay is one of the simplest ways to grow your sales, and now it’s built right into your store. With PayPal Fastlane and the new payment methods in Easy Digital Downloads, your checkout can offer the speed and choice shoppers expect.

Update Easy Digital Downloads, reconnect your PayPal account, and start offering Venmo, cards, digital wallets, and faster guest checkout today.

New to Easy Digital Downloads? Get started in minutes and set up a checkout that gives every customer a way to pay.

Learn more about this update in our Release Notes.

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