--- title: "Braintree Gateway" source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/braintree-gateway/" description: "Braintree is credit card processor that doesn’t charge any fees for your first $50k of donations. This article will help you install and configure this Add-on s…" vertical: "Software" area: "Give" date: "2015-05-25" last_modified: "2026-07-02" --- # Braintree Gateway Braintree is credit card processor that doesn’t charge any fees for your first $50k of donations. This article will help you install and configure this Add-on so you can accept donations with the Braintree Gateway quickly and easily. **Having Trouble?** [Review our Braintree FAQs here](#faqs) # Compatibility with Visual Donation Form Builder The Braintree add-on is fully compatible with the **Visual Donation Form Builder**, meaning you can easily set it as a payment gateway for any forms you create. To enable Braintree for your forms, follow these steps: 1. Navigate to **GiveWP > Settings** 2. Scroll to the **Visual Form Builder** tab 3. **Enable Braintree**: Look for Braintree in the list of payment gateways and check the box next to it under **Enabled**. 4. Update the **Label** (Optional): You can customize the label that appears on your forms for Braintree. 5. **Save** your settings. Once activated, Braintree will be available as a payment option for all forms created with the Visual Donations Form Builder. To learn more, click [here](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/visual-form-builder-blocks/). ## Getting Started with Braintree To accept payments with Braintree using GiveWP you will need an active Braintree account (sign up at [their website](https://apply.braintreegateway.com/).), the Braintree Add-on for GiveWP, and the Core GiveWP plugin installed and activated. [See here for instructions](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/how-to-install-and-activate-give-add-ons/ "Add-ons") on installing and activating GiveWP Add-ons. After your Braintree Add-on is activated, go to **GiveWP > Settings** and click on the **Payment Gateways** tab. You will see the default Payment Gateways (PayPal Standard, Test Payment, and Offline Donations). You should also see **Braintree** as an option as well. Click on that to enable Braintree as your payment gateway for your website. ## Braintree Gateway Configuration To start processing transactions with Braintree you must first have an account setup. Got that? Good! Next, let’s collect the following information to insert into the Payment Gateways settings: 1. Merchant ID 2. Merchant Account ID 3. Public Key 4. Private Key To find this information, log in to your Braintree account and click Account > My User. Next, scroll down until you see an “API Keys” link. From this screen you will be able to get the Merchant ID, Public and Private Keys: ![Braintree API Keys](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/braintree-api-keys.png)Braintree API KeysCopy this information to a safe place. Now let’s get your Merchant Account ID. **To obtain your Merchant Account ID click on Account > Merchant Account Info and scroll to the middle of the page:** ![Braintree Merchant Account ID](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/braintree-merchant-account-id.png)Braintree Merchant Account ID## Braintree Gateway Sandbox Configuration If you are not ready to accept live payments or you just want to test the donations with test mode disabled, you can use sandbox credentials. The first step you need to follow is to create a sandbox account [here](https://www.braintreepayments.com/sandbox) and then log into your account [here](https://sandbox.braintreegateway.com/login). You’ll need 4 things: - Merchant ID - Merchant Account ID - Public Key - Private Key To find this information, login to your Braintree sandbox account and click on the gear icon on the right top corner > API: ![an image of Braintree's sandbox menu where people can find the API credentials](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/api-menu.jpg)When you click on that, a new page will show up and if you don’t have an API key, then you will need to click on Generate New API Key: ![The page where the user can create the API Keys](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/branitree-api-keys-page-1024x390-1.png)Now that you have the API Key, you will need to click on the View link under the Private Key column and a new page will open and will contain your API credentials. Make sure to copy the Public Key, the Private Key, and the Merchant ID. Next, you will need to get your Merchant Account ID. To do so, navigate to the right top menu and click on the gear icon > Business: ![The Business menu for Braintree](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/business-menu-braintree.jpg)If you do not have a Merchant Account, then click on New Sandbox Merchant Account and then create a Merchant Account ID and fill the required fields. Save it and now you will have all the necessary information to connect your Braintree sandbox account. ## Configuring GiveWP and Braintree # Configuring Braintree in GiveWP Now that we have collected the necessary information, you’re ready to integrate your Braintree account with GiveWP. Copy each field from the previous steps into the appropriate fields within the Payment Gateway settings. To enter your Braintree keys, go to your WordPress admin dashboard. Next, navigate to **GiveWP > Settings** and click on the **Payment Gateways** tab. Scroll until you see a section called **Braintree Settings**. Paste each key into its respective field, then hit save: ![](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AD_4nXcCjShirXR_Jm1-cFQ0ajh9cwY2B0f_KhdSG_gbZ2-SL1kD_clbI_BRABSlpRybD2KUGxS-IjuROsJspRWp2BvMy7gM2QYtW4VHVNrLD3aWL5ddXzCEWfbfohjuq0_FwHTtOzBQRRQcd7aBH7G7cfqpi9qn.png)That’s all there is to it. Now when your donors come to your site, they’ll be able to use credit cards to donate to you directly in your country’s currency and not have to be redirected to another site. # Compatibility with Recurring Donations The Braintree add-on is now fully compatible with our Recurring Donations add-on, to help you create a steady, predictable flow for your fundraising efforts. To use this feature, you’ll need to create your donation forms using the Visual Donation Form Builder. Only forms built with the Visual Donation Form Builder can accept recurring donations through Braintree, ensuring a seamless and efficient donation process for your supporters. An important step when integrating Braintree with GiveWP for recurring donations is configuring webhooks. Webhooks allow real-time transaction updates, ensuring your site is synced with Braintree for accurate donation tracking. In order to configure webhooks, your user’s role must include the Manage Webhooks [role permission](https://developer.paypal.com/braintree/articles/control-panel/users-roles/role-permissions#permission-manage-webhooks-addeditdelete) on Braintree. To create a webhook: 1. Log into the [Control Panel](https://www.braintreegateway.com/login) 2. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner 3. Click API from the drop-down menu 4. Click on the Webhooks tab 5. Click the Create New Webhook button 6. Provide your [destination URL](https://developer.paypal.com/braintree/docs/guides/webhooks/create#destination-url) 7. Select all the events available 8. Click the Create Webhook button And that’s it! Once the webhook is configured, your transactions will automatically update whenever a subscription occurs. ## Frequently Asked Questions These are questions we often get about the GiveWP Braintree add-on which are more general or broader than the steps above. ## FAQs