PayPal IPN Listener Conflict Resolution

The PayPal Recurring Payments system has a limitation in that it does not allow you to specify a notify_url parameter so you can tell PayPal to send instant payment notifications (IPNs) to a specific URL for each subscription product.

Instead all IPNs are sent to a default URL that you set up statically by logging into PayPal and make an amendment under your account’s Selling Preferences.

Primary IPN Listener

If you, like me, are selling multiple products and services, then you will need a script that handles the IPN processing for a range of products. In its normal mode of operation the SubscriptionBoss PayPal IPN listener does the following:

• Acknowledge receipt of IPN back to PayPal
• Save IPN to database
• Notify you by email of the IPN
• Process payment success/failure/cancellation/refund and apply to infusionsoft

This will work fine for most users.

Secondary IPN Listener

However, you may already have set up an IPN listener that is processing your subscription IPNs. In this case you may want to have SubscriptionBoss as a secondary IPN listener. This would works as follows:

• your existing script receives the IPN first
• it acknowledges receipt to PayPal
• it performs any custom processing you require
• only if you need to match the payment for that specific product with a bill on Infusionsoft then your script forwards the IPN to the SubscriptionBoss IPN listener

In this scenario the SubscriptionBoss IPN listener is set up IPN verification switched off by unchecking the box in SubscriptionBoss settings, shown below:

CheckBox to control whether the IPN Listener acknowledges receipt of IPNs