Overview
With new Paypal accounts it can happen that you as a merchant receive the error message "You don't have permissions to make this API call" during the transaction processing. This message signals that your account does not have the necessary permissions to make the call in question.
Cause
The error message "You don't have permissions to make this API call" is usually triggered when the necessary permissions for the PayPal APIs are not configured correctly. In order to fully use the PayPal APIs, merchants need to set the "Third-party permissions".
These permissions allow third parties (In this case Paygate) to access your PayPal account and perform transactions on your behalf. Without these permissions, the API call cannot be executed, resulting in the aforementioned error message.
Solution
To resolve the issue, please follow the steps below to set the necessary permissions for the PayPal APIs in your account:
Set third-party permissions: Log into your PayPal account and navigate to "My Profile". Under "My settings" you will find the option "Third-party approvals". Add the required third-party providers here.
Sandbox: test_paypal_api_api1.computop.com
Live: frank.arnoldt_api1.computop.com
Thereafter you can set specific permissions for the just added third party provider:
- Using PayPal Express for your payment transactions
- Initiate a refund for a specific transaction
- Authorise and collect your PayPal transactions
- Get information about a single transaction
- Search your transactions by specific criteria and view the search results
For more detailed instructions, you can access our official documentation: Enable PayPal API
If you still receive the error message after following these steps, please check that all permissions are set correctly or contact Computop Merchant Services.