Payments & Sales

Refunds FAQs

Find answers to common questions about refunding payments with Square.

How do I refund a payment?

Learn how to issue a refund through Square here. 

Can I refund part of the original payment amount?

Yes! Learn how to process a partial or itemised refund.

How long does it take for refunds to process?

Refunds can take 9-14 business days to complete. 

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 completes? 

If your customer used a credit or debit card to make the initial purchase and received a digital receipt, they’ll get a message when you initiate the refund.

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.

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

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: Ask your customer to contact their card-issuing bank to locate the refund. If they’re unable to find their credit after talking with their bank, contact us.