How to pay affiliates via PayPal

Paying affiliates through PayPal is a common choice for many merchants because it is widely used and familiar to partners around the world. However, due to changes in requirements introduced by Shopify, the direct PayPal integration inside Affiliatly had to be disabled for Shopify stores. This means that PayPal payments are no longer processed automatically inside the app for Shopify users.

Even though the integration is no longer active, you can still pay your affiliates using PayPal in a simple and organized way. Affiliatly continues to track commissions and manage your affiliates’ earnings, while the actual transfer of funds is completed outside the platform through your PayPal account.

Shopify merchants can also use PayPal’s MassPay CSV option for bulk payouts if they prefer. Below you will find two practical ways to pay affiliates with PayPal while still keeping your payout records properly synchronized inside Affiliatly.

The payment process via  Paypal is not handled by Affiliatly itself which means that the payment has to be done manually outside of the app.

In the following, we explain the different ways on how this can be done and what the differences are:

1. With Pay the affiliate button

This method is useful when you want to pay one affiliate at a time and keep the payment process straightforward. The payout itself is completed through PayPal, while Affiliatly helps you keep accurate records of what has been paid.

Before using this option, make sure the following requirements are met:

• The payment method PayPal is enabled (Settings > Payment > Payment methods)
• The affiliates provided the PayPal email in their account

To start the payout process, go to the tab Affiliates in your admin panel and click the ⚙️ on the very right of the affiliate you want to pay out the commission. In the pop-up window go to the tab Earnings and scroll down to the section Affiliate's payment info. Enter the pay-out sum in the field Amount to be paid via Paypal and click the Pay the affiliate button. You will be taken to the PayPal website where you need to complete the actual payment. 

After you paid the affiliate, please go back to the same pop-up window (tab  Earnings) in Affiliatly and scroll down to Manually mark sum as paid. Here you need to fill out the following fields:

• Paid sum

  Enter the exact same sum you just paid to your affiliate

• For date (optional)

  Select for which date you are paying the commission or skip this field to leave today's date as the default

• Comments (optional)

  Leave your affiliate a note about payment details or the transaction ID

• Administrator comments (optional)

  Add a note with additional info which is only visible to you

2. With $ Make payments button

If you manage a larger affiliate program and regularly pay several partners at once, Affiliatly offers a bulk payout workflow that helps streamline the process.

• Verified and approved Paypal business account 
• PayPal API is set up (Settings > Payment)
• Enough funds on PayPal in the currency set in Affiliatly (Settings > General > Currency)

To start a bulk payout, go to the  Affiliates tab in your admin panel and click $ Make payments above the chart.

Click the button Pay the affiliates, confirm with Yes and the amounts paid will be automatically marked as paid and deducted from the affiliates' Unpaid earnings in Affiliatly.

To start a bulk payout, open the Affiliates tab in your admin panel and click the Make payments button located above the statistics chart.

You will see a list of affiliates who have unpaid earnings. Select the affiliates you want to pay and review the Amount to be paid column. If needed, you can adjust the payout amounts directly in this list.

Once everything looks correct, click Pay the affiliates and confirm the action. Affiliatly will process the payout request through PayPal and automatically mark the corresponding amounts as paid in the system. The paid commissions will be deducted from the affiliates’ Unpaid earnings.

Keep in mind the following:

Using PayPal together with Affiliatly gives you a reliable way to manage commissions, track affiliate earnings, and maintain accurate payout records while still relying on one of the most widely accepted payment platforms for transferring funds to your partners.