WooCommerce

WooCommerce – what the plugin does

If your online store runs on WordPress with WooCommerce, the Merchant360 for WooCommerce plugin lets that store take credit and debit cards through your Merchant360 account, so your online sales land in the same place as the rest of your payments, with the same receipts, refunds, and reporting.

Here's the important safety part in plain terms: your customer types their card into a small, secure Merchant360 window, not into your website. The card number never touches your store's server. That keeps your business in the simplest, lowest-burden level of card-security (PCI) compliance, and it means a problem with your website can never expose a card.

If your account also has gift cards turned on, the same plugin can sell gift cards, let shoppers pay with a gift card, and turn a refund into store credit. You do not need a second key or a second setup for any of that; it rides on the same connection.

1. 1You'll do four things, in order: install the plugin, connect it to your Merchant360 account, test the connection, then choose how the card window appears at checkout. The next few sections walk through each one with pictures.
2. 2You need: a WordPress site with WooCommerce active, and your Merchant360 login. That's it.

WooCommerce – works with every checkout, every way

WooCommerce has two kinds of checkout: the original "Classic" checkout (also called the shortcode checkout) and the newer "Block" checkout. Merchant360 works with both – you don't have to change your store or know which one you have.

You also get to choose how the secure card window appears to your shopper. There are three styles, and all three work on both checkouts: Inline (the card fields sit right inside your checkout), Modal (a secure card window pops up over your checkout), and Hosted page (the shopper goes to a secure Merchant360 page and comes right back). You pick the one you like in the plugin settings.

If you add a surcharge to card payments, it works in every one of these combinations: the shopper sees the surcharge itemized before they pay, and the order total is reconciled automatically so your books match what was charged.

WooCommerce – step 1: install the plugin

A WordPress plugin is just an add-on for your site. You install the Merchant360 one the same way you'd install any other plugin: by uploading a small file we give you (a .zip), or by finding it in the plugin directory.

1. 1Log in to your WordPress admin (usually yoursite.com/wp-admin).
2. 2In the left menu click Plugins, then Add New Plugin, then the Upload Plugin button at the top.
3. 3Click Choose File, pick the merchant360-for-woocommerce.zip file, and click Install Now.
4. 4When it finishes, click Activate Plugin. The plugin is now installed and turned on.
5. 5You'll now see Merchant360 in your Plugins list. Click its Settings link (or go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments → Merchant360) to open its settings – that's where the next step happens.

WooCommerce – expert install (optional, for developers)

Most people should use the upload steps above – you can skip this section entirely. But if you or your developer has command-line (SSH / WP-CLI) access to the site, the plugin can be installed or updated in one line, straight from Merchant360's hosted copy. The --force flag overwrites any existing copy, so you never have to delete an old version first.

This always pulls the latest published plugin, so it's also the fastest way to update when a new version ships.

wp plugin install https://www.merchant360.net/integrations/woocommerce/merchant360-for-woocommerce.zip --force --activate

WooCommerce – step 2: connect to Merchant360

Connecting links the plugin to your Merchant360 account so your store's payments go to you. There are two ways to do it. The easy way (one click) works for almost everyone. The manual way is a fallback if your store can't be reached from the internet.

The easy way: on the plugin settings, click Connect with Merchant360. You'll be sent to Merchant360 to sign in and approve – that sign-in is what proves the store is yours. Merchant360 then sets up the key and the payment notifications for you and sends you back. You do not copy or paste anything.

The manual way (only if the easy way can't reach your store): in Merchant360 go to Account → Integrations, and on the WooCommerce card click Generate a key. It's shown once – copy it, paste it into the plugin's API key box, and save. Treat that key like a password: it's secret, so don't email it or post it anywhere.

1. 1Easy way: click Connect with Merchant360 on the plugin settings.
2. 2Sign in to Merchant360 if you're asked, and click Approve. You'll be returned to your store and it will say you're connected.
3. 3Manual way (fallback): in Merchant360 open Account → Integrations → WooCommerce, click Generate a key, copy it, paste it into the plugin's API key field, and Save.

WooCommerce – step 3: confirm and test

Once connected, the settings show a green "Connected to Merchant360 as [your business]" line. Click Test connection to confirm everything is talking correctly – you'll get a success message.

While you're here, set the two things your customer sees: the Title (the name of the payment option at checkout, like "Credit / debit card") and the Description (a short reassuring line under it). Then make sure Enable Merchant360 payments is checked so it appears at checkout.

1. 1Click Test connection. A success message means you're good to go.
2. 2Set the Title and Description your customers will see at checkout (the defaults are fine).
3. 3Check Enable Merchant360 payments to turn the card option on at checkout.
4. 4Save changes.

WooCommerce – step 4: choose how customers pay

The plugin gives you three ways to present the secure card window at checkout. Pick whichever fits your store under the Card entry setting. In all three, Merchant360 processes the payment and your customer gets the normal WooCommerce order confirmation and email – the only difference is where the card box appears.

Inline (most popular): the secure card fields appear right inside your checkout page, so the shopper fills them in without ever leaving. It looks like a normal part of your checkout, but the card box is actually Merchant360's secure window embedded in the page.

1. 1Open the plugin settings and find Card entry.
2. 2Choose Inline to embed the fields in the page (recommended for most stores).
3. 3Save. Place a test order to see it in action before you go live.

WooCommerce – payment style: Modal (pop-up)

Modal shows the card window as a pop-up layered over your checkout page – similar to how PayPal or Apple Pay open a small window. The shopper pays in the pop-up and it closes back to your store when they're done. Choose this if you like keeping the checkout page clean and opening payment as a distinct step.

1. 1In the plugin settings, set Card entry to Modal, and Save.
2. 2At checkout the shopper clicks Place order; the secure card window opens over the page.
3. 3After they pay, the window closes and the order completes on your store.

WooCommerce – payment style: Hosted page (redirect)

Hosted page sends the shopper to a full, separate Merchant360 payment page to enter their card, then brings them right back to your store's order-received page. It's the most traditional flow and is handy if you want the payment step completely off your own page.

1. 1In the plugin settings, set Card entry to Redirect, and Save.
2. 2At checkout the shopper is taken to the Merchant360 pay page.
3. 3After paying they're returned to your store's normal thank-you page, order complete.

WooCommerce – accept gift cards at checkout

If your Merchant360 account has gift cards enabled, you can let shoppers pay with one. Turn on Accept gift cards in the plugin's Gift cards section. A "Have a gift card?" box then appears at checkout.

The Gift cards section only shows up in the plugin settings if your Merchant360 account is set up for gift cards. If you don't see it, your account doesn't have gift cards yet – ask us to turn them on and it'll appear (reconnect once after we do).

When a shopper enters their gift card, its balance is applied to the order and their credit or debit card is only charged for whatever is left. If the gift card covers the whole order, no card is charged at all. The gift card's balance is drawn down when the order is paid.

1. 1In the plugin settings, open the Gift cards section and turn on Accept gift cards, then Save.
2. 2A store connected before this feature launched should click Disconnect, then Connect again once, so the gift-card permissions are granted. (Nothing else changes.)
3. 3At checkout the shopper enters a gift card in the Have a gift card? box; the balance comes off the total automatically.

WooCommerce – sell gift cards as products

You can sell gift cards as ordinary products in your store. First turn on Sell gift cards in the plugin's Gift cards settings. Then edit any product, and in the Product data box check “This is a gift card”.

That checkbox is the whole trick: when it's checked, that product IS a gift card. When a customer buys it, Merchant360 activates a real gift card for the product's price and emails it to the customer (or to a recipient they name at checkout) – automatically, with no extra step from you. It's best to also mark the product Virtual, since nothing physical ships.

The buyer can name a recipient and add a short message right on the product page, so it arrives as a proper gift.

1. 1In the plugin's Gift cards settings, turn on Sell gift cards.
2. 2Go to Products → edit (or add) a product, set its price, and mark it Virtual.
3. 3In the Product data box, check “This is a gift card”, then Update.
4. 4When someone buys it, the card is issued and emailed to the customer automatically – you don't do anything else.

WooCommerce – refund to store credit

Instead of sending money back to a customer's card, you can hand out store credit. Turn on Refund to store credit and you'll get a Store credit box on each order screen. Enter an amount and the customer's email, and Merchant360 issues a brand-new gift card and emails it to them – keeping the value with your business.

1. 1In the plugin's Gift cards settings, turn on Refund to store credit.
2. 2On an order, use the Store credit box (amount + the customer's email) to issue an emailed gift card.

WooCommerce – refunds, voids, and saved cards

Refunds and voids happen where you'd expect: on the WooCommerce order screen. When you refund an order, that instruction goes to Merchant360 and is processed on your account. If the sale hasn't settled yet it's reversed (a void, no fee); if it has settled it's refunded. You'll see a note on the order confirming it.

Because a Woo order should stay in sync with your books, refund a Woo sale from WooCommerce, not from the Merchant360 transactions screen. In Merchant360 those Woo sales show a small "Refund in WooCommerce" note instead of a Void/Refund button, to steer you to the right place.

Saved cards: logged-in shoppers can save a card during checkout and reuse it next time (they manage them under My Account → Payment methods). And if your account runs a credit-card surcharge, it's shown clearly on the card window and added to the order total.

1. 1To refund: open the order in WooCommerce → Orders, click Refund, enter the amount, and confirm. It processes through Merchant360.
2. 2To give store credit instead of a card refund, use the Store credit box on the order (see the previous section).