OpenCart payments in Armenia: install, connect, go live

An OpenCart store in Armenia usually needs the same three things at checkout: bank cards, Idram and Telcell. Wiring each one up separately means a separate contract, a separate integration and a separate set of callbacks to maintain. The Paynet extension for OpenCart replaces that with one install and one connect click, and then lets you switch payment methods on and off from your Paynet dashboard without touching the store again.

This guide walks through the whole path: which version of the extension you need, how to install it, what the Connect button actually does, how to test without moving money, and what has to be true before you can take a real payment.

One extension, three OpenCart generations

Paynet publishes a separate build for each OpenCart generation, because the extension system changed between them. All three are free, and all three behave the same way once installed.

• OpenCart 2: for stores on OpenCart 2.3.x, PHP 7.0 or newer. Packaged as an OCMOD extension.
• OpenCart 3: for stores on OpenCart 3.0.x, PHP 7.0 or newer. Installed through the built-in Extension Installer.
• OpenCart 4: for stores on OpenCart 4.0.x, PHP 8.0 or newer.

If you are not sure which one you are running, the version is printed at the bottom right of the OpenCart admin dashboard. Download the matching archive from the Paynet plugins page, or install it from the OpenCart extension marketplace. It is the same extension either way.

Before you install

Two things are worth having ready.

A domain in Paynet. Buyers can only pay on a domain you have verified. The Connect flow below does this for you, so you do not need to add DNS records by hand, but it helps to know that the store's public domain is what gets linked.

Your own provider accounts. Paynet does not sell you an acquiring contract. You bring the accounts you already hold: an ARCA card gateway through your bank, an Idram merchant account, a Telcell merchant account. You add those credentials once in Paynet, and every store you connect can use them.

If you have neither yet, install the extension anyway and connect it. Everything works in test mode from the first minute, so you can build and check the whole checkout while the bank paperwork is still in progress.

Installing the extension

OpenCart 2

1. In the OpenCart admin go to Extensions, then Extension Installer, and upload the .ocmod.zip file.
2. Go to Extensions, then Modifications, and click Refresh.
3. Under Extensions, then Payments, find Paynet and click Install, then Edit.
4. Click Connect and approve the popup. The store links to your Paynet account.
5. Set the status to Enabled and save. Your checkout now offers the payment methods you connected in Paynet.

OpenCart 3

1. In the OpenCart admin go to Extensions, then Installer, and upload the .ocmod.zip file.
2. Go to Extensions, then Extensions, choose the Payments filter, find Paynet and click Install.
3. Click Edit to open the plugin settings.
4. Click Connect and approve the popup.
5. Set the status to Enabled and save.

OpenCart 4

1. In the OpenCart admin go to Extensions, then Installer, and upload the .ocmod.zip file.
2. Press Install on the uploaded archive.
3. Go to Extensions, then Extensions, then Payments, find Paynet and click Install, then Edit.
4. Click Connect and approve the popup.
5. Enable the extension and save.

On OpenCart 3 and 4, if the Paynet entry does not appear under Payments right after the upload, clear the admin cache and reload the page. OpenCart caches the compiled admin templates aggressively.

What the Connect button does

Every Paynet plugin uses the same Connect flow, and it is the part most worth understanding, because it replaces the usual copy and paste of API keys.

Clicking Connect opens a small Paynet window. If you already have an account, you sign in and approve. If you do not, a free Paynet account is created on the spot. You then confirm that the store domain is yours. Paynet records the store, verifies the domain automatically because the request came from the store itself, and hands the extension a connect token.

That token is what the extension authenticates with. It is bound to that one store domain, and it is not an API key: your secret keys stay out of the store's database entirely. If you later want to write your own code against the API, you create a key separately in the dashboard, and the store keeps using its token.

There is nothing to paste, no configuration file to edit, and no DNS record to add.

One checkout option per payment method

After connecting, the extension asks Paynet which providers are turned on for that domain and renders one checkout option for each. If you have ARCA cards and Idram enabled, the buyer sees two radio buttons with the provider names, not a single generic "pay online" option that hides the choice until later.

This matters in Armenia, where wallet users often decide by the logo they recognise on the checkout page. It also means you control the list from Paynet, not from the store. Turn Telcell on for a domain in your dashboard and it appears at that store's checkout without a redeploy.

The buyer picks a method, lands on the hosted checkout or goes straight to the provider, pays, and comes back to your success page. Card details are entered on the licensed processor's page and never pass through your OpenCart install.

Test the whole thing before real money moves

Do not take a real card as your first test. Paynet ships a Sandbox provider that works inside the CMS plugins, so you can run a genuine storefront order end to end.

Add the Sandbox provider from Providers in your dashboard, turn it on for the store's domain, and it appears at the OpenCart checkout like any other method. No bank is contacted, no money moves, and nothing is counted against your balance.

On the test checkout the card number decides what happens:

• 4111 1111 1111 1111 is approved
• 4000 0000 0000 0002 is declined by the issuer
• 4000 0000 0000 0069 fails for insufficient funds
• 4000 0000 0000 0119 times out at the processor
• 4000 0000 0000 0101 fails 3-D Secure

Expiry, CVV and the cardholder name are not checked, so type anything. Any other sixteen digit number is approved.

Run at least the approved case and one declined case. What you are checking is not that Paynet works, it is that your OpenCart order status changes correctly in both directions: paid on success, still awaiting payment on decline, with the stock and the confirmation email behaving the way you expect.

Test orders appear under the Test tab in your Paynet dashboard, so they never mix with your real sales figures.

Going live

Three conditions have to be met before a buyer can pay you for real.

1. Your business is verified. Live payments open once Paynet has reviewed your business documents, normally within one to two business days. Until then everything runs in test mode.
2. A real provider is connected and turned on for the domain. Your own ARCA, Idram or Telcell credentials, saved in Paynet and activated for that store.
3. The store's domain is verified. The Connect flow handles this.

Then switch the extension status to Enabled in OpenCart if you have not already, and place one small real order yourself before you announce anything.

Fiscal receipts

Armenian sales need a fiscal receipt from an electronic cash register registered with the tax service. If you connect your e-HDM in Paynet, receipts are issued automatically for every successful payment, including the ones that come from your OpenCart checkout, and the verification QR code is stored so you can show it again later. Nothing extra is needed in the store.

What it costs

The extension is free and there is no monthly fee. Paynet charges 20 AMD per successful live payment. Payments under 500 AMD are free, failed payments cost nothing, test payments cost nothing, and refunds are free. Every new account starts with 200 free transactions and 500 free receipts, and what you buy never expires. The full breakdown is on the pricing page.

Your bank and wallet providers charge their own acquiring fees separately, on their own contracts, and settle directly to your account. Paynet never holds your money.

What to do next

1. Check your OpenCart version in the admin dashboard, then download the matching archive from paynet.am/en/plugins or install it from the OpenCart marketplace.
2. Install it, open the Paynet settings and click Connect.
3. Add the Sandbox provider, turn it on for your domain, and place one approved and one declined test order.
4. Submit your business documents for verification, and add your real ARCA, Idram or Telcell credentials while you wait.
5. If you also need to drive payments from custom code, the API reference covers creating payments, reading their status and refunds.

Idram, Telcell, ARCA, OpenCart and the bank names mentioned here belong to their respective owners. Paynet is an independent payment gateway.