Reverse and Refund Payments
Customer payments might need to be paused, voided, or refunded for various reasons. The Payrix Pro platform enables flexible customer service options for users to:
Delay funds captured temporarily from approved payments.
Stop approved payments before funds are captured.
Refund previously captured or settled funds.
Understanding how each method works from a payment processing standpoint is important to know when to take which action. Each of these actions is available on the Payrix Pro portal on the Transaction Details page depending on the transaction’s status.
Cancel Approved Payments
Canceling an Approved payment prevents the transaction from being added to the Merchant’s settlement batch temporarily without voiding or refunding the payment. This canceled payment can be restored within the Transaction Capture Time Frame set by card brands and within three to five business days for eCheck banking institutions.
Because the transaction is only Approved, funds are not yet captured from the customer’s account. As a result, there is no impact on the Merchant’s settled account balance. However, the total of the entries shown as Pending in the Merchant’s Balance Details page will decrease by the amount of the canceled payment.
For example, if a payment is processed at 8:00 AM Eastern Time (ET), but the customer calls at 2:00 PM ET to request a delay of payment, cancel can be used because the day’s transaction batch for settlement has not closed, and the funds have not yet been captured. Several days later, contact the customer for confirmation, then restore the transaction to add it to that day’s settlement batch.
Canceling a transaction temporarily excludes it from the Merchant settlement batch for later restoration, while voiding permanently reverses authorization.
Void Approved Payments
Voiding an Approved payment permanently reverses the original authorization for the approved transaction before funds are captured, nullifying the payment and removing the pending charge from the customer’s statement. This is also called a reversal or a reverse transaction.
Because the transaction is only Approved, funds are not yet captured from the customer’s account. As a result, there is no impact on the Merchant’s settled account balance. However, the total of the entries shown as Pending in the Merchant’s Balance Details page will decrease by the amount of the canceled payment.
For example, if a payment is processed at 9:00 AM ET, but the customer calls at 1:00 PM ET to permanently cancel the service the same day, void can be used because the day’s transaction batch for settlement has not closed, and the funds have not yet been captured.
Voiding an Approved transaction permanently reverses authorization through a separate reverse transaction, while canceling an Approved transaction temporarily delays capturing funds.
Refund Captured or Settled Payments
Refunding a Captured or Settled payment issues funds previously captured or settled in a Merchant’s settlement batch through a separate refund transaction debited from the Merchant’s available balance and credited to the customer’s original account.
Because the transaction is Captured or Settled, the funds have already been taken from the customer’s account. As a result, the Merchant’s available balance will be decreased by the amount being refunded.
For example, if a payment is processed on Monday morning and the customer calls the following week to cancel before service fulfillment, issue a refund because the original payment funds have already been captured from the customer and settled.
Refunding a Captured or Settled transaction authorizes a separate refund transaction to debit the Merchant and credit the customer while canceling and voiding transactions delay or permanently stop an Approved transaction from capturing funds from the customer through settlement.
Important!
If a refund is created in error, it will need to be offset with an equal sale transaction from the same payment method.
Requirements
All successful transactions processed on the Payrix Pro platform start with an Approved status. Knowing when reversals—Cancel and Void actions—and Refunds are allowed during the transaction processing timeline is crucial for setting clear expectations with Merchants and their customers:
Cancel: Must be used when the transaction status is Approved.
Void: Must be used when the transaction status is Approved.
Refund: Must be used when the transaction status is Captured or Settled.
The associated Merchant’s available balance or pending transaction entries must cover the refund transaction amount. If the available balance and daily transaction funds are insufficient, the remaining amount will be deducted from their primary bank account.
Note
Terminal transactions are imported to Payrix Pro the day after they are processed. Until the transaction is imported, it can only be refunded or voided on the device it was originally processed from. You can verify a terminal transaction has been imported by searching the Payment History page.
Customer Refund Timeframe
When a card payment or eCheck transaction is refunded, an authorization code is immediately created to process the transaction refund amount in real time:
Credit Card: Three to eight business days.
eCheck: Four to eight business days.
These timeframes might extend beyond the general estimate depending on the policies of the customer’s bank. When the refund transaction reaches a Settled status, the funds are withdrawn from the Merchant’s available balance and deposited into the customer’s account.
Tip
If a refund transaction is showing as Settled in Payrix Pro but the customer hasn’t received their funds back yet, the customer is encouraged to reach out to their own bank before contacting Payrix Pro Support.