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This guide will help you obtain your PayPal credentials and connect PayPal as a data source in Payrails to ingest transaction, settlement, dispute and fee data. With the self-serve flow you configure the integration yourself in the Payrails portal. PayPal offers two integration types, and you can add either or both depending on which reports you need:
  • PayPal API — ingests transaction data via PayPal’s Transaction Search API.
  • PayPal SFTP — ingests the full report set (transaction details, settlement, disputes/chargebacks, fees, PayPal advantage) via PayPal’s reporting SFTP server.

PayPal API

Prerequisites

  • An active PayPal business account.
  • Access to the PayPal Developer Dashboard.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Create a REST API app in the PayPal Developer Dashboard

  1. Log in to the PayPal Developer Dashboard and go to Apps & Credentials.
  2. Select Create App, give it a name (e.g. Payrails Reporting), and click Create App.
  3. On the app details page, copy and store the Client ID and Client Secret.
  4. Use the Sandbox / Live toggle to generate credentials for each environment you need. Create a separate set of credentials for Live (production) and, if needed, Sandbox.

Step 2: Add the PayPal API integration in the Payrails portal (self-serve)

  1. Log in to the Payrails dashboard and open Settings → Integrations → Data.
  2. Click Add instance (top-right).
  3. In New instance, select provider: PayPal (API) and click Continue.
  4. On the Configure account screen, fill in:
    • Integration instance name — a unique label.
    • Start Date — the date of today or tomorrow (currently we can not backfill over the self-serve capability. In the need of backfilling, please reach out to your Payrails account manager).
    • Client ID and Client Secret — from the app created in Step 1.
    • (Optional) Additional data.
  5. Click Save account. The instance appears in the Data integrations list and Payrails begins ingesting data.

PayPal SFTP

Prerequisites

  • An active PayPal business account.
  • Ability to contact PayPal Customer Service to enable report access (this is not self-service on PayPal’s side).

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Request SFTP report access from PayPal

  1. Contact PayPal Customer Service (or your PayPal account manager) and ask to have your account enabled for report access. This is required before an SFTP user can be created.
  2. Allow up to 48 hours for PayPal to enable this. PayPal sends an email to your account’s primary address once it’s ready.

Step 2: Create an SFTP user

  1. Log in to your PayPal account and go to Account Settings → Reports → Secure FTP Users.
  2. Click Add to create a new SFTP user, and verify your identity when prompted.
  3. Choose and store a username and password for the SFTP account.
  4. Note the connection details:
    • Host: reports.paypal.com
    • Port: 22 (default)
PayPal provisions SFTP access per region. If you operate in multiple regions, repeat these steps for each region and create one Payrails integration instance per region.

Step 3: Add the PayPal SFTP integration in the Payrails portal (self-serve)

  1. Log in to the Payrails dashboard and open Settings → Integrations → Data.
  2. Click Add instance (top-right).
  3. In New instance, select provider: PayPal (SFTP) and click Continue.
  4. On the Configure account screen, fill in:
    • Integration instance name — a unique label (mention the region if adding more than one).
    • Start Date — the date of today or tomorrow (currently we can not backfill over the self-serve capability. In the need of backfilling, please reach out to your Payrails account manager).
    • SFTP Host, SFTP Username, SFTP Password — from the SFTP user created in Step 2.
    • SFTP Port — leave blank to use the default (22).
  5. Click Save account. The instance appears in the Data integrations list and Payrails begins ingesting data.
Last modified on November 13, 2026