PayPal is retiring the legacy connection that powers PayPal Standard and PayPal Express Checkout, and replacing it with PayPal Complete Payments (PPCP). We are currently implementing support for PPCP on Rainmaker Platform. Even before PPCP rolls out to Rainmaker Platform, you can start determining the impact of this change on your site, by hiding PayPal from your memberships through the transition, and planning how to approach existing PayPal subscribers.
Does this affect you?
This PayPal change affects you if:
- You sell recurring memberships through MemberPress with PayPal (Standard or Express Checkout) as a payment option. You can check under Settings > Conversion > Payment Gateways.
- If you have a custom WooCommerce subscription integration, updates will be required. Please contact support@rainmakerdigital.com for guidance with this custom configuration. If you only use PayPal for one-time WooCommerce purchases, no action is required. Single orders will continue to work through the transition. If PayPal is not enabled on your site at all, you can ignore the rest of this email.
Timeline
- By September 30, 2026: Rainmaker Platform will release the PPCP gateway. We will email you two weeks prior to publication and again on the release date so you can take action.
- Before December 31, 2026: Connect PPCP and move subscribers over to the PPCP gateway (details below).
- January 2027: PayPal is expected to stop accepting new subscriptions on the legacy gateway technologies. PayPal has not published a final date, but industry partners including MemberPress are expecting end-of-life in January.
What you need to understand
PayPal does not allow existing subscriptions to be moved from the legacy gateway to PPCP. Each member paying for a recurring subscription through PayPal will need to re-subscribe through the new gateway once it is live to avoid access disruptions. Rainmaker Platform will keep processing legacy renewal transactions for as long as PayPal accepts them, but eventually those renewals will fail, and subscribers on the old gateway will see failed payments or cancellation notices.
What to do now?
- Confirm whether your memberships accept PayPal (see above).
- Count your active PayPal members you’ll need to manage. If you want help pulling that list, contact support@rainmakerdigital.com and we’ll help you generate a member list.
- Define the best method and messaging to invite members to re-subscribe: an email, a login notice, a limited-time incentive, whatever fits your audience.
- Consider adding a second gateway. Stripe or Authorize.net are both fully integrated with Rainmaker Platform and many platforms and customers are using this PayPal update to reduce their dependence on a single gateway.
Optional: Hide PayPal on Active Memberships
Consider hiding the PayPal gateway on your active memberships until PPCP is live. If you offer another gateway such as Stripe, consider removing PayPal as an accepted payment method on your membership signup forms for now. Every subscription created on the legacy gateway between now and the release is one more you will need to move later. To hide a payment gateway on a Membership, open the membership, scroll down to the Membership Options.
- Check (enable) the “Customize Payment Methods” option.
- This will open a list of configured gateways.
- Uncheck the PayPal gateway options
- Update your membership
Please do NOT ask existing members to re-subscribe to PayPal yet. Until PPCP is live, any new PayPal subscription still lands on the legacy gateway and nothing is gained. The goal for now is simple: keep new legacy subscriptions on PayPal to a minimum, and leave existing ones alone until our release announcement.
What happens next
Over the next several weeks, Rainmaker Platform will be rolling out the new PayPal Complete Payments (PPCP) gateway and publishing guidance for the transition to the new version.
If you have questions or want help confirming which gateway your site uses, contact us at support@rainmakerdigital.com.
Thank you for trusting Rainmaker Platform with your business.
Best Regards,
Ed Bardwell
President
Rainmaker Digital Services
