Some venues let buyers pay with PayPal or Venmo at checkout, alongside a card. This page explains what that means for your venue and how it gets turned on: Noctern approves your venue first, then you turn it on.
Who turns it on
PayPal is off by default for every venue, and it takes two steps — both must be on before buyers see PayPal at checkout:
- Noctern approves your venue. This is a Noctern decision, the same way connecting your own Stripe account is. On your venue's Edit page, the PayPal card shows PayPal approved for this venue (Noctern) as On or Off; you cannot change it. To ask for approval, contact Noctern support.
- You turn it on. Once your venue is approved, use the Accept PayPal online at this venue switch on the same card. Turn it off any time to stop new PayPal sales.
Until both are on, buyers see only card payment. Turning your own switch off never affects PayPal orders already taken.
Who collects the money
Just like with Noctern-collected card payments, Noctern is the merchant of record for PayPal and Venmo sales — the same arrangement described in How your venue gets paid. A PayPal or Venmo sale is collected into Noctern's one PayPal account, and Noctern then owes your venue its share, exactly like a card sale:
- Noctern pays you per event, the same payout your card sales already go through.
- Your 1099-K situation is unaffected — Noctern receives it for these sales, same as for card sales.
- On a ticket's details, a PayPal or Venmo sale is labeled PayPal or Venmo so it's clear how the buyer paid, with a reference number support can use to look up the payment.
A venue on its own Stripe account (Stripe Connect) cannot accept PayPal or Venmo — those sales only work under Noctern-collected payments.
Refunds
A PayPal or Venmo sale refunds the same way a card sale does: you ask for the refund the usual way (from the ticket or the order), and Noctern sends it back to the buyer's PayPal or Venmo account. There's nothing different for your venue to do.
One thing to know: PayPal and Venmo have their own refund window. If a request comes in long after the sale, it's possible PayPal can no longer refund that payment — if that happens, the refund screen will say so plainly rather than silently failing.
If PayPal is turned off after a sale
If Noctern ever turns PayPal off for your venue — or off everywhere — that only stops new PayPal sales. Any PayPal order already taken is unaffected and still shows up on your reports; refunding it may just need to wait until PayPal is switched back on.