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How the Checkout API works for shipping

The Checkout API supports all major shipping providers in the Norwegian market, including:

  • Bring/Posten
  • Postnord
  • Porterbuddy
  • Helthjem
  • Instabox

To see how this works, visit our demo store.

A provider is chosen by setting the brand property to one of the allowed string values. Consult the API spec for further details. This will set the logo and name of the provider.

Shipping provider logo example

If none of the providers fit your use case (e.g., indicating in-store-pickup), set the brand to "OTHER" for generic shipping. This will set a generic icon.

Shipping provider default logo

Enriching features​

For some of the providers we offer enriching features, including:

  • Pickup point
  • Home delivery

These features change the user interface to allow for more specific selection of delivery time or place, where some features require you (the merchant) to provide credentials. Credentials are provided in the logistics.integrations property at session initiation and are used to perform a "pre-booking" (i.e. reserve a time slot) for some shipping providers.

An enriching feature can be chosen by setting the type property on the logistics option. Refer to the API spec to see which features are available for each shipping provider.

Pickup point​

The pickup point feature is enabled by setting type: "PICKUP_POINT". The title will become {providerName} pick-up point (e.g. "Posten pick-up point"). The consumer will choose an available pickup point, based on the address. Vipps will relay the selected option as part of the content in the "session completed callback".

Pickup point animation

Home delivery​

The home delivery feature is enabled by setting type: "HOME_DELIVERY". The title will become {providerName} home delivery (e.g. "Porterbuddy home delivery"), by default. The consumer will choose an available delivery window, based on the address. Vipps relays the selected option as part of the content in the "session completed callback".

Home delivery animation

Pricing​

When it comes to shipping options, the amount-property sets the price. A friendly reminder: The complete checkout amount, including shipping, cannot be free (e.g. 0). If the shipping is free, the transaction amount must be 1 NOK or more. If the transaction amount is free (e.g. 0), shipping options must be 1 NOK or more. Please note that the amount property is required for a shipping option and cannot be null, except for Porterbuddy. If you're using Porterbuddy, the amount property is optional. If it's not provided, the amount will be calculated by Porterbuddy through dynamic pricing. You can adjust this in the Porterbuddy dashboard at porterbuddy.com.

When to provide shipping options​

Shipping options can be provided by the merchant either at session initiation or at a later stage.

If you want to charge a flat rate for shipping you pass shipping options to the logistics.fixedOptions property at session initiation.

If you want to dynamically determine the price of a shipping option based on the address of the customer you need to have an endpoint for receiving callbacks. Pass the URL to the logistics.dynamicOptionsCallback property. Vipps Checkout will call the endpoint with the address of the customer whenever they submit or update their address during a checkout session. The endpoint must return shipping options on the same format as for fixedOptions.

Please note: When using dynamic shipping we recommend that you define logistics.fixedOptions as a backup. If the callback does not resolve successfully within 8 seconds, returns null or an empty list the system will fall back to static options. If no fallback options are provided, the user will be presented with an error and will not be able to continue with the checkout.