I am using the Paypal Express Express option in Magento.
(I do not use the express check buttons, it is simply because I had a problem with the refund from the Website Payment Standard).
In the payment settings for the Paypal website, I set the "Contact phone number" field. I also made a number of changes on the Magento side to make the phone number optional (according to this post ).
However, the Phone Number field is still displayed during Paypal verification and is required. Obviously, this could potentially cause customers to decline the transaction.
The initial answer from Paypal support is that the phone number is always mandatory, that the preference parameter only determines whether the value is returned to the seller to the seller - this does not sound right to me, since it makes the setup pretty much useless.
Given that Magento usually requires a phone number, I wonder if something in the Magento Paypal API call is possible overriding the default setting?
Should there be some way to make the phone number optional?
Edit:
After additional contacts with support and some additional digging, it is possible that, despite the description of the parameter, Paypal will always insist on the contact number for accounts other than Paypal (i.e. directly paying by credit card). This applies to the standard website payment and express verification, at least, possibly more. The Phone Number Off option then determines whether the phone number in the vault will be entered.
That seems silly to me. If I’m on a check somewhere and ask for a phone number, it doesn’t really matter if he asks for Paypal or the seller, I won’t be happy about this and it’s quite possible to interrupt the transaction, especially if it’s for a site that I haven’t bought before. I don’t even understand why Paypal needs a number - if there is an offer from someone fraudulently using my card, I expect a call from my card company, not Paypal. I would probably hang up if one of me called from Paypal.
Plus, given that this is how it works, they could make it much clearer by indicating that the "Phone Number Off" field has only been applied for some time.
/ recitation