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Home>Issuing Refunds

Refunds FAQ

Find answers to common questions about refunding payments with Square.

Watch the YouTube video below to learn how to issue refunds via the Square Point of Sale app.

How long after accepting a payment do I have to issue a refund?

Payments processed through Square can be refunded within one year of the original transaction date. Once this window has passed, you must issue refunds outside of Square.

Learn more about processing refunds with Square.

How long does it take for refunds to process?

It can take up to 2–7 business days to process a refund with Square. Once the refund is processed and sent to your customer’s card issuing bank, it can take another 2–7 business days (depending on the bank’s processing speeds) for the refund to post to your customer’s account.

In total, it can take up to 4–14 business days for your customer to receive their refund.

Can I cancel the refund that I accidentally processed?

Once you process a refund, you cannot cancel it.

What happens to the processing fee when I issue a return?

When you refund a payment, your customer is refunded for their full payment amount, but the processing fees for the payment are not refunded.

Is there a limit on the number of refunds I can process with Square?

There isn’t a limit, but we don’t allow refunding as a way to accept security deposits or pre-authorization charges, for example: rental bonds.

Will my customer be notified when my refund is completed?

Customers will not receive a notification regarding their refund unless the refund is manually resent.

If the original sale was made with Cash, Check, or the Other Tender option, the customer won’t receive a notification. If they need proof of the refund, they can contact you directly to send a refunded payment receipt.

Customers can also check their card statement to see if the refund has processed. Refunds from Square will show on a statement as SQ*, followed by the Square seller’s name or business name, and business type.

How do I know when a refund is complete?

You will not receive email notifications for cash, check or other tender refunds, as these complete automatically. For card refunds, you will receive an email notification once a refund is requested as well as when the refund completes.

What happens if a refund request is declined?

You and the customer will automatically be notified about the decline. In this case, you will be instructed to issue an alternative form of payment to the buyer to complete the refund, such as cash, check, or gift card credit.

What happens if a refund was sent to a cancelled payment card?

A few things can happen:

  • If a new card was activated with the same card issuer, the refund is usually credited to the new payment card.
  • If the account was closed recently (last two months), the refund may post and the card-issuer usually contacts the buyer directly to notify them of any next steps.
  • If the account has been closed for some time, the credit will fail. In this case, we’ll notify you, the Square seller, of the failure and you’ll need to refund the customer outside of Square via another method.

Next Steps: Have your customer reach out to their card issuing bank to locate the refund. If they’re unable to find their credit after talking with their bank, contact Square Support.