Appearance
Requirements
Before you install Zoho Payments for WHMCS, take a minute to confirm your server and your Zoho account are ready. Most WHMCS hosts already meet the software requirements, so this is usually a quick check rather than a setup chore.
Server and software
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| PHP | 8.2 or newer (runs on 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5) |
| WHMCS | 8.13 or newer, or 9.x |
| ionCube Loader | 13.0.2 or newer (see below) |
| PHP extensions | curl, openssl, json, and mbstring enabled |
| SSL certificate | Required for the webhook endpoint |
| Zoho account | A Zoho account with Payments API access |
| License | An active Zoho Payments license |
The four PHP extensions are all standard and almost always enabled on a working WHMCS server: curl and openssl handle the secure calls to Zoho, json parses the responses, and mbstring keeps text handling correct. If any is missing, your host can enable it from your control panel.
The ionCube Loader
Zoho Payments for WHMCS ships as an ionCube-encoded build, so your server needs the ionCube Loader — a small, standard PHP extension that runs protected commercial software. It is the same loader WHMCS itself requires, so a server already running WHMCS almost always has it and you rarely need to install anything new.
You need ionCube Loader 13.0.2 or newer. The exact version tracks your PHP version — WHMCS on PHP 8.2 uses 13.0.2, PHP 8.3 uses 14.4.0, and newer 15.x loaders work too. One encoded build runs on every supported PHP and loader version, so there is nothing to match up.
Zoho Payments will not run without ionCube
If the ionCube Loader is missing or older than 13.0.2, the encoded gateway files won't run — activation fails and no payments are processed. Enable ionCube Loader 13.0.2 or newer for your PHP version (your host can do this in seconds) and try again.
Why a Zoho account with Payments API access
The gateway talks to Zoho on your behalf: it opens the embedded widget, verifies each payment against the Zoho API, and refreshes its access automatically. To do that it needs a Zoho account that has Payments API access, plus an OAuth app (Client ID and Client Secret) and a refresh token you generate once during setup. You configure all of this while walking through the Zoho OAuth setup guide.
The SSL certificate matters for the same reason: Zoho delivers Payment Link notifications to a webhook on your domain, and that endpoint must be reachable over HTTPS for those updates to arrive and be verified.
Why a license
Your license is what enables payment processing. With an active license the gateway accepts and records payments normally; without one, new payments are turned off until you renew or re-enter the key. See Licensing for how the Leased and Lifetime options differ and where the key lives.
How to check
- PHP and extensions: in WHMCS, open Utilities → System → PHP Info and confirm the PHP version and that
curl,openssl,jsonandmbstringare loaded. - ionCube: the same PHP Info page shows the ionCube Loader and its version.
- SSL: load your WHMCS URL over
https://and confirm the certificate is valid. - Zoho account: sign in to your Zoho account and confirm you can reach the developer console for your data centre (India or US).
Related pages
- Installation — upload, activate, and configure
- Zoho OAuth setup — app, refresh token, and webhook
- Configuration — walk through every gateway field
- Licensing — Leased vs Lifetime and your key