Complete guide: installing and configuring Global Payments on WooCommerce

Accepting online payments has never been easier! Thanks to Global Payments, merchants of all sizes can collect secure payments directly from their WooCommerce site. Whether you sell physical products, services or subscriptions, this step-by-step guide shows you how to install, configure and test your Global Payments plugin for Woocommerce with the support of GeasyPay, official partner in Canada.

Why choose Global Payments on WooCommerce?

Global Payments is one of the world’s most reliable providers of payment solutions. It enables Canadian businesses to accept all major cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Interac) as well as digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Integrated with WooCommerce, the Global Payments Gateway plugin transforms your WordPress site into a true virtual payment terminal, compliant with PCI DSS standards and compatible with the MEV Web in Quebec. In other words: a complete, fluid and secure payment system, directly linked to your store.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have :

• A working WordPress site (version 5.6 or higher).
• Have an active SSL certificate and PHP 8.0
• WooCommerce plugin installed and activated (version 5.0 or higher).
• An active Global Payments merchant account in Canada
• Your API credentials: merchant ID, API key, shared secret, environment ID (for sandbox and production)

Step 1 – Installing the Global Payments plugin on WooCommerce

There are two ways to install the Global Payments plugin:

Method A: Installation from the WordPress directory

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard
2. Navigate to Extensions > Add
3. In the search bar, type “Heartland”.
4. Click on Install on the Global Payments plugin on WooCommerce
5. Once installation is complete, click on Activate

Method B: Manual installation

1. Download the plugin ZIP file from the official website
2. Log in to your WordPress dashboard
3. Navigate to Extensions > Add > Upload an extension
4. Click on Choose a file and select the downloaded ZIP file
5. Click on Install now
6. Once installation is complete, click on Activate plugin

Step 2: Basic configuration

After activating the plugin, you need to configure the basic settings:

1. In the WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments
2. You will see “Heartland” in the list of available payment methods.
3. Click on Finish configuration

Step 3: Configuring API identifiers

In the same configuration page :

1. Choose the environment :
   • Sandbox for testing (strongly recommended before going into production)
   • Production for real transactions
2. Enter your Global Payments API credentials :
   • Merchant ID: your unique identifier provided by Global Payments
   • API key: your authentication key for the API
   • Shared key: used to secure communications
   • Environment ID: identifier specific to the selected environment

Step 4: Setting up payment options

Configure the following options according to your needs:

1. Accepted card types: select the cards you wish to accept (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc.).
2. Capture mode:
   • Authorization and capture: the amount is debited immediately
   • Authorization only: the amount is reserved but will be captured manually later.
3. Recurring payments: activate if you offer subscriptions
4. 3D Secure: configuration for additional authentication (strongly recommended)
5. Payment page:
   • Integrated: payment is made directly on your site
   • Redirection: the user is redirected to a Global Payments payment page

Step 6: Testing and validation

Before going into production, test your :

1. Switch to Sandbox mode in Settings
2. Use the test cards supplied by Global Payments:
   • Test visa: 4242 4242 4242 4242
   • Test Mastercard: 5555 5555 5555 4444
   • Future expiration date (e.g. 12/26)
   • CVV: 123
3. Run several test commands to check :
   • Successful transactions
   • Refused transactions
   • Refunds
   • Manual captures (if configured in “Authorization only” mode)

Step 7: Global Payments go live on WooCommerce

Once the tests have been passed :

1. Go back to the plugin settings
2. Switch environment from Sandbox to Production
3. Update your API credentials with production ones
4. Save changes
5. Make a real test order with a small amount to confirm that everything works.

Common troubleshooting about Global Payments installation on WooCommerce

Transactions systematically fail

• Check that your API credentials are correct
• Make sure the merchant account is active
• Check for geographic or currency restrictions

Blank page at checkout

• Check for conflicts with other plugins
• Increase the PHP memory limit in your wp-config.php file
• Activate logging and check for errors

3D Secure does not work

• Check that your merchant account is set up for 3D Secure
• Test with 3D Secure cards supplied by Global Payments
• Check that your SSL is correctly configured

What you need to know about Global Payments on WooCommerce

• The plugin supports tokenization of saved cards for subscriptions (save cards / WooCommerce Subscriptions) if the function is enabled on the merchant account.

• It offers the possibility of making partial captures or refunds directly from the WooCommerce interface without going through the Global Payments back-office.

• During installation, it may be necessary to explicitly add your domain (and sub-domain) to the “list of secure domains” in the Global Payments back-office for notifications to work correctly.

• The plugin integrates with a wide range of payment methods (cards, digital wallets, multiple currencies) and provides advanced fraud management tools (3-D Secure, AVS, detection rules).

You have now successfully installed and configured the Global Payments plugin on WooCommerce. Don’t forget to update the plugin regularly to benefit from the latest features and security patches. For technical assistance, please contact Geasy Pay support.