Braintree and PayPal are beginning to roll out the Braintree v.zero SDK (Software Developer’s Kit) in the UK, following the earlier US launch.
This announcement marks the first UK integration of PayPal and Braintree, since the startup was acquired last year. PayPal say that the newly introduced SDK reenforces Braintree and PayPal’s commitment to UK startups, off the back of the launch of its London Start Tank programme.
With the Braintree v.zero SDK, developers are now able to integrate the Braintree mobile payment solution in under 15 minutes. It’s not just for websites either, developers can use the Braintree v.zero SDK for mobile web and native mobile applications (for in-app payments such as game purchases/upgrades/skins/additional features).
No more PCI compliance worries!
What it means for website owners and developers is that it will be easy to integrate and manage payments.
The v.zero SDK removes any need for merchants to worry about PCI compliance. The drop in User Interface (UI) literally means adding javascript to a webpage and then the whole card handling checking (correct number of digits, formatting etc) and processing is done for you. No credit cards are ever stored on your website – you don’t even see the card details. Plus PayPal is included as a payment option should you wish to enable it.
Secure repeat purchases
If you wish you can build a one click experience the way that the big companies offer payments to registered customers. When a customer first pays a token is generated and you with tokenisation you can build your own one click solution. For future payments, once a registered user logs in you can use their token as you would have used stored credit card details, but it’s secure as the details are never stored on your website.
Back end management
As well as not needing to ask for credit card details every time someone logs in, you can use the Braintree backend merchant site to manage subscriptions, tokenisation etc. If someone cancels or upgrades a subscription you can amend the monthly payment amount on the back end on the Braintree website.
Easily add/remove payment options
Your website developer doesn’t need to redo code every time you want to add a new feature, for instance if currently you only accept cards but you want to add PayPal as a new feature you can auto drop the new payment method into the UI. You might think this is just a ploy to push PayPal, but the ability to toggle payment methods on and off will also support any future payment methods Braintree offer – perhaps in a years time you’ll want to accept Bitcoins as a payment option.
One Touch is coming
Today’s release is V.Zero APIs which enable you to build your own UI. This does of course mean you need developer time but gives you the freedom to code exactly what the front end of your payments will look like. On the back end there are 10 lines of code to drop into the back end of your website.
In a couple of weeks time the next release will be a drop in UI. This will be a single line of javascript which you drop into the front end of your website and that’s all you need to do for the payments front end. Again you’ll need the few lines of code for the back end of your website.
A later release will add One Touch, the ability to accept payments from logged in customers with a single click.
Main Features
To signify it’s rebuilt from the ground up, the new toolkit has been named “Braintree v.zero SDK”. The three core features are:
- Pay with PayPal: merchants will now be able to accept payments through PayPal, with no need for separate integration. Developers will be able to tap into PayPal’s base of 152 million active customers and instantly scale their businesses with just a few lines of code
- Scalability: any future updates will be simple to add, meaning businesses and startups will always have easy access to the best in class platform and latest features, which is necessary with the constant flux of innovation and change
- Drop-in UI: the new SDK will provide a checkout solution that is simple to integrate and will make businesses ready to accept payments in minutes, without giving up any control over their user experience – which is essential to early-stage startups in particular.
As well as the UK, the Braintree v.zero SDK is also rolling out today in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden with more countries to follow shortly.
