Refunds FAQs

Find answers to common questions about refunding payments with Square.

Do I have to pay a fee for issuing refunds?

No. When you refund, your customer is refunded their full payment amount, and you’re refunded any processing fees.

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-authorise charges. The ability to collect security deposits and pre-authorise charges aren’t currently available through Square.

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

Refunds processed through Square on a mobile device must be requested and completed within 120 days of the original transaction. Payments refunded via your online Square Dashboard can be refunded within one year of the original transaction date. Note: Payments accepted before October 2018 must be refunded within 120 days.

Once this window has passed, you must issue refunds outside of Square.

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, cheque or the Other Tender option, the buyer 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 posted. Refunds from Square will show on a statement as SQ*, followed by the merchant’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 or Other Tender refunds, as these are completed automatically. For credit card refunds, you will receive an email notification once a refund is requested as well as when the refund is completed.

What happens if a refund was sent to a cancelled credit 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 2 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 merchant, 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 us.