VibeFox Braintree for WooCommerce — Help

Requirements

WordPress: 6.0 or later.

WooCommerce: 8.0 or later, installed and active.

PHP: 8.0 or later.

HTTPS: your site should use HTTPS.

Braintree account: you need the Merchant ID, Public Key and Private Key of your Braintree account. They are in the Braintree Control Panel (sandbox: sandbox.braintreegateway.com, live: www.braintreegateway.com) under the gear icon, API, API Keys. Sandbox and live accounts have different keys. 3-D Secure must be enabled for your Braintree merchant account, unless you set 3-D Secure to Disabled. No webhook is needed.

VibeFox license key: bought on vibefox.net. One key works on one domain.

Installation

1. In WordPress go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, choose the plugin ZIP file and click Install Now. You can also upload the wcp_braintree_gateway folder to /wp-content/plugins/ by FTP.

2. Click Activate.

3. Open the settings: WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > Braintree > Manage, or click Settings under the plugin name on the Plugins page.

4. Enter your VibeFox license key in the license block at the top of the page and click Activate.

5. Copy the Merchant ID, Public Key and Private Key from the Braintree Control Panel into the sandbox or live fields.

6. Turn on Enable/Disable. Keep Sandbox mode on and place a test order with a Braintree test card, for example 4111 1111 1111 1111 with any future expiry date. For 3-D Secure use Braintree's 3-D Secure test cards.

7. Untick Sandbox mode to take real payments with the live credentials.

Configuration

All settings are on one page: WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > Braintree. When the gateway is enabled but the Merchant ID, Public Key or Private Key of the selected mode is missing, the page warns you that the payment method is hidden at checkout until they are filled in. The page shows only the credential fields of the selected mode; both sets stay saved.

General

Enable/Disable: Enable Braintree card payments turns the payment method on or off. Default: off.

Title: the payment method name customers see at checkout. Default: Credit / debit card.

Description: the text shown above the card form at checkout. Default: Pay securely with your credit or debit card via Braintree.

API credentials

Log in to the Braintree Control Panel (sandbox or live), click the gear icon, then API and API Keys. The public and private keys are listed there, and the Merchant ID is shown on the same page.

Sandbox mode: Use the Braintree sandbox (test payments, no real money). Default: on. Untick it to take real payments with the live credentials. Refunds, captures and voids always use the environment the order was paid in.

Sandbox Merchant ID and Live Merchant ID: the Merchant ID of the sandbox or live account.

Sandbox Public Key and Live Public Key: the public key of that account.

Sandbox Private Key and Live Private Key: the private key of that account.

Sandbox merchant account ID(s) and Live merchant account ID(s): optional. Braintree charges in the currency of the merchant account. Leave empty to use your default merchant account, enter one ID (for example mystore_EUR) or one per currency: EUR=mystore_EUR, USD=mystore_USD. If the charged currency does not match the order currency, the transaction is voided automatically and the customer is not charged.

Payment

Transaction type: how the card is charged.

3-D Secure: 3-D Secure 2 (Strong Customer Authentication) is mandatory for most card payments in the EEA and UK. It must also be enabled for your Braintree account.

Advanced

Debug log: Also log API calls and payment steps (errors are always logged). Logs are in WooCommerce > Status > Logs, source wcp_braintree_gateway. They never contain API keys, card or customer data. Default: off.

Delete data on uninstall: Remove the gateway settings and logs when the plugin is deleted. Default: off.

Checkout

The customer chooses the payment method (by default Credit / debit card) and enters the card in the Braintree form on the checkout page. In sandbox mode the form shows SANDBOX / TEST MODE — no real money is charged. With 3-D Secure on, the customer completes the bank's verification when placing the order.

The plugin charges the one-time token through the Braintree API for the order total in the order currency, with the order number as the order ID. The order is marked paid only from Braintree's authenticated answer, after the charged amount and currency are checked against the order. If the payment is approved, the customer goes to the order received page. Card payments do not need a webhook: the result is known immediately.

If the payment fails, the order stays Pending payment, the reason is added to the order notes, and the customer sees a clear message, for example Your card was declined. Please use another card or contact your bank., 3-D Secure authentication failed. Please try again or use another card. or The card security code or billing address could not be verified. Please check your details and try again. The customer can try again at once. If the charged currency does not match the order, the transaction is voided and the customer sees This payment could not be processed in the currency of your order. Your card has not been charged. Please choose another payment method or contact us.

An order is never charged twice: a second submit while the payment is running shows This order is already being paid. Please wait a moment and check your e-mail before trying again.

The payment method works on the classic checkout, on the Checkout block and on the Pay for order page. It is compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS).

The plugin takes card payments only. It has no saved cards (vaulting), no WooCommerce Subscriptions or pre-orders, no PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH or local payment methods, no Braintree webhooks, and no Level 2/3 data, line items or Fastlane.

Orders and refunds

Order statuses

Pending payment: the payment has not been made yet or was declined.

Processing or Completed: the card was charged (Sale), or an authorization was captured. WooCommerce sets Processing, or Completed for orders with only virtual downloadable products. The order note shows the amount, the transaction ID and the 3-D Secure result. The transaction ID is the Braintree transaction ID, and on the order screen it links to the transaction in the Braintree Control Panel.

On hold: the funds are only authorized (Authorize only). An order is also put on hold when Braintree returns an unexpected transaction status, or when a charge in the wrong currency could not be voided automatically. The order note explains what to check in the Braintree Control Panel.

Cancelled: an authorization was voided with Void Braintree authorization.

Capture and void

For an order with an authorization, open the order and choose Capture Braintree payment or Void Braintree authorization in the order actions, then click the update button. Capture marks the order paid; void cancels the order and releases the held amount to the customer. If the action fails, the error is shown on the order screen and added to the order notes.

Refunds

Open the order, click Refund, enter the amount and click Refund via Credit / debit card (the button uses your payment method title). Full and partial refunds are supported. Braintree can only refund settled transactions, usually settled within 24 hours. Before settlement a full refund is done as a void; a partial refund then fails with a message to wait for settlement. The refund is sent to the environment (sandbox or live) the order was paid in. If Braintree does not accept the refund, WooCommerce shows the error and no refund is recorded. A successful refund or void is added to the order notes.

Disputes (chargebacks) and settlement declines are not synced to WooCommerce. Check them in the Braintree Control Panel.

License key

The plugin works with a VibeFox license key from vibefox.net. The license block is at the top of WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > Braintree. Paste the key into License key and click Activate. The block shows the status, for example the date the license is active until and your domain. Use Check now to check the status again, Change key to enter another key and Remove key to remove it from this site. The link Manage licenses and domains in your account opens your vibefox.net account.

One key works on one domain. Removing the key from a site does not free its domain slot. Free the slot in your vibefox.net account.

Without an active key, Braintree is not shown to customers at checkout. If a payment is started anyway, the customer sees This payment method is not available. Please choose another one. Logged-in store managers still see the payment method, marked (unlicensed — visible to admins only), so you can set up and test the plugin before you buy a key. A reminder appears on the Plugins page and on WooCommerce pages. Existing orders are not affected: captures, voids and refunds work.

When a license expires, the plugin keeps working, but updates and support need a renewal. The status is checked again automatically in the background.

Troubleshooting

Braintree does not appear at checkout: check that the license is active, Enable/Disable is on and the selected mode has a Merchant ID, Public Key and Private Key. The settings page shows a warning when a key is missing.

The payment went through, but the order stays Pending payment: card payments are confirmed immediately, without a webhook. If the order note says that the answer from Braintree was lost, check the Braintree Control Panel for a transaction with this order number before accepting another payment. Turn on Debug log and look at WooCommerce > Status > Logs, source wcp_braintree_gateway.

The card form shows Could not initialize payment form: the keys of the selected mode are wrong, or the merchant account ID does not exist in that account. Check the keys and the merchant account ID(s), then reload the page.

3-D Secure fails for every payment: 3-D Secure must be enabled for your Braintree merchant account. Contact Braintree support, or set 3-D Secure to Disabled (not recommended in the EEA and UK, where SCA is mandatory).

The customer is told the payment could not be processed in the currency of the order: Braintree charged in the currency of the merchant account. Enter the merchant account ID for the order currency in the merchant account field of the current mode.

A partial refund fails right after the payment: Braintree can only refund settled transactions, usually within 24 hours. Refund the full amount to void the transaction now, or make the partial refund after settlement.

The license block shows an error: follow the message in the block. For example, if the key is already used on another domain, free a slot in your vibefox.net account and click Check now. If the site address changed, click Check now to activate the key for the new domain. If the license server cannot be reached, the plugin keeps working on the last known status.

Uninstall

Deactivating the plugin keeps all data. To remove it, deactivate and delete it on the Plugins page. The license key and license status of this plugin are always removed. The gateway settings and the logs are removed only if Delete data on uninstall was on. Otherwise they stay for a later re-install. The Braintree data stored on orders is always kept, because it is needed for refunds after a re-install. Existing orders keep their payment notes and transaction IDs.

Braintree is a trademark of its respective owner. This plugin is not affiliated with or endorsed by Braintree.