How do refunds work in PayPal and how can I request a refund?

If you changed your mind on a purchase or made a mistake you can cancel the payment or ask your seller or merchant for a refund. If you’re unhappy with your purchase or you haven’t received it, you can also communicate directly with your seller in Paypal’s Resolution Center.

How and when your money is refunded depends on how you made the original payment.

• If you paid with credit card or Paypal credit card you refund goes to credit card and refund will take 30 days and if the card you paid with is closed or invalid the money will still be refunded to your credit card account.
• If you had paid with bank account then the refund goes into your PayPal balance and you will get refund in 3-5 business days. You can spend the money in your balance or withdraw money from your PayPal balance to your bank account.
• If you paid with your PayPal balance the refund goes to Paypal balance and refund is same day.
• If you paid with  PayPal balance and credit card the refund goes to your card, and the remaining amount is sent to your PayPal balance where Card refund takes Up to 30 days and PayPal balance refund is Same day as the refund was issued.
• If you paid with debit card refund goes back to debit card and takes Up to 30 days and also if the refund can’t be applied to your debit card, it is refunded in your PayPal balance.

How can you request a refund?

You can request a refund of a completed payment by sending the seller an email. Ask the seller to go to the Transaction Details page for your transaction and click Issue a refund. You can request a refund up to 180 days after you pay for your item.

Here’s how to find the seller’s contact information to request a refund.

• On the Summary page select the transaction you want to cancel.
• Use the contact information to send the seller an email.
• If your seller doesn’t agree to refund your money, you may be able to open a dispute in the Resolution Center. You can open a dispute if you didn’t receive your item or you received something that doesn’t match the seller’s description. You have to open a dispute with PayPal within the timeframe noted in the transaction details.
• If you sent the payment using a Debit or Credit card, the refund will credit to the card used. It may take up to 30 days for the card to be credited. If you sent your payment using a bank account and the payment is canceled, it will be refunded to your PayPal balance within 3-5 business days.

How can you issue a refund?

You can issue a full or partial refund up to 180 days after you receive a payment.

Just Click Activity at the top of the page.

• Click the payment you want to refund.
• Click Issue a refund.
• Enter the refund amount, then click Continue.
• Review the information, then click Issue Refund.

You can refund payments that are Completed, Pending, Cleared, or Uncleared. To make sure the buyer isn’t credited twice for the same transaction you cannot refund a payment when there’s a credit card chargeback associated with this payment. When you refund a payment, Paypal will retain the fixed fee of your transaction fee. To learn more about variable and fixed transaction fees, click Legal at the bottom of any PayPal page, then click PayPal User Agreement.

If there’s not enough money in your PayPal balance to cover the refund, Paypal will issue the refund from your primary bank account.

How to refund Money Pool contributors?

Here’s how to refund a Money Pools payment:

• Click Activity near the top of the page.
• Click on the Refund button next to the appropriate transaction.

Because the money is sent from your balance, neither of you will pay a fee.  Also note that it’s your responsibility to coordinate and resolve disputes with contributors and PayPal does not arbitrate these disputes.

How to issue a full refund for a dispute?

• Go to the Resolution Center.
• Select Open Cases from the list and find the transaction.
• Click the Case ID in the Case column.
• Click Issue a full refund on the case details page.
• You can issue a refund within 180 days of receiving a payment. Issuing a full refund automatically closes a dispute.

How can you check the status of your refund?

You can view the status of your refund in your Activity.

• Click Activity at the top of the page.
• Select your date range located to the left of the search bar.
• Click Filters and select Refunds.
• Click the refunded transaction to view the details.

Here are a few common refund statuses:

• Pending: If your refund status is Pending, It could be because PayPal has not yet received the funds from the buyer’s bank for the Instant Transfer, or that the seller issued an eCheck that has not yet cleared from their bank. It usually takes 3-5 business days for the money to become available in your PayPal balance.
• Refunded or Partially Refunded: If your refund status is Refunded or Partially Refunded, it means that the refund is complete. The money should be back in your PayPal balance, on your credit card, or back in your bank account.
• Temporary hold: If your refund status is “held,” it means the transaction was refunded before it has cleared your bank. This process takes 3-5 business days to complete, and the refund will be credited to your balance once the process is completed.
• Completed: Your refund has been sent and completed on the seller or recipient’s side. You still may not see the payment in your PayPal available balance. It may take an additional 3 to 5 business days to process, even if it’s marked as Completed.

How your money is refunded depends on how you made the original payment?

If you paid with a credit card, the money is refunded to your card. If the card you paid with is closed or invalid, please contact the issuing bank, as the money will still be refunded to your credit card  account.

• If you paid with your bank, the money is refunded to your PayPal account balance and then automatically transferred to your bank account.
• If you paid with your PayPal balance, the money will be refunded to your PayPal balance.
• If you paid using a credit card and your PayPal account balance, the amount paid by the credit card is refunded to your card. The remaining amount is refunded to your PayPal account balance.
• If you paid using PayPal Credit, the amount is refunded to your PayPal Credit account.
• If you paid with a debit card, the amount is refunded to your debit card. If the refund cannot be processed to your debit card, it will be applied to your PayPal balance.

Note that refunds to credit or debit cards can take up to 30 days depending on the card company involved.