If you came to this article for the instructions on how to add Wipay to your WordPress website then you have come to the right place! Here are the prerequisites for the instructions in this article. You’ll need:
- A WordPress.org installation of WordPress. This is the self-hosted variant where you are able to upload your own plugins.
- A Wipay business account.
- Your Wipay account needs to be verified.
- Woocommerce installed on the website.
Wipay is now also available for other platforms, however, we at Pellau Media specialise in WordPress development, so that is what will be covered.
Installing Wipay’s plugin into your WordPress website.
This plugin allows businesses in Trinidad and Tobago to accept credit card payments on their websites. You’ll need to download the plugin here: https://wipayfinancial.com/downloads/woocommercecreditcard-v204.zip
Navigate to the Dashboard of your website then scroll to plugins, add new and then upload plugin. (see screenshots below)
Configure the Wipay plugin
From your Dashboard please navigate to Woocommerce settings. Click on Payments. Click Manage Credit Card (via WiPay) payment option.
Here are the settings to change:
- You’ll want to check Enable Plugin.
- In Platform you can choose the currency you want to accept payments in. (please note this depends on your wipay set up. You can only accept the currencies your account is set up to work with).
- Uncheck Sandbox Mode in order to accept live payments.
- Autocomplete depends on the way you plan to use Woocommerce to manage your orders.
- Currency, again, this depends on your wipay account.
- Fee structure. Some merchants want to charge the client the processing fee. Some would want to split the fee 50/50. Others like myself absorb the fee because…shouldn’t you have built processing fees into your final price?
- Image size. I personally like this to be set to small but its up to you.
- Your live credentials. This is the step that many clients ask for my help with so I’ll go into detail in the next section. Essentially, just add your account number and API key here.
See the screenshots below.
Set up your wipay API key
You’ll have to login to your Wipay account at: wipayfinancial.com then click on your profile icon on the top right of the dashboard. Click Developer.
If this is the first time doing this (I suspect it is) then you’ll have to add your website then Generate API key. (see screenshots below). Please note: you cannot change the website so please only do this step when you are ready to move forward. Enter your business URL (business.com).
You’ll be presented with your Account number, Registered Website and API Key. You can enter these in the configuration page of the wipay plugin on your website. (the step above)
Verifying the wipay integration was successful
In my experience, once you completed the above steps then there isn’t anything left to do. At this stage, you should add a product to cart and follow the steps until you get to your Checkout Page. If everything worked then you will see a Credit Card option for customers to pay.
How do you get access to payments through wipay?
Credit card payments go to your wipay balance. In order to access the funds you will need to withdraw to a bank account. Usually this process takes about 7 days.
Alternatives to wipay
Another local provider, Paywise, also allows you to accept credit cards. Funds from transactions are deposited into your business bank account within 12-24 hours after the transaction is complete.
PayPal, 2checkout and Stripe are viable alternatives to accept credit cards on your website, however, there may be some hoops to jump through for businesses in Trinidad and Tobago.
