Refund Eligibility

Overview

What it means and why it exists

Refund eligibility is the set of conditions under which a customer, transaction or purchase qualifies for a return of paid value under a merchant's terms and applicable rules.

How it works

The business evaluates the order status, payment evidence, refund window, previous refunds, ownership of the request and legal obligations. It decides whether to refund the entire amount, a part, or nothing. For a crypto refund it separately selects the refund asset, amount basis, network, destination and approval procedure.

Technical details worth understanding

Blockchain irreversibility does not remove consumers' contractual or statutory refund rights. A merchant may have to issue a new outbound transfer to fulfill a refund. Customer requests should reference the actual order and verified payment rather than an untrusted screenshot or an arbitrary blockchain input address.

What can go wrong

A fraudulent refund request can redirect money if support assumes the original transaction's sending address belongs to the customer. Volatile asset prices create disputes about whether reimbursement should equal original token units or original fiat value. Policies need clarity before an exceptional case arises.

Practical checks

Document the window, eligible reasons, amount calculation and evidence before receiving the first dispute. Confirm that an order was paid and not already refunded. Use a verified refund destination instead of assuming that the transaction's sender address is controlled by the buyer, especially when funds came from an exchange.

Related concepts

Crypto Settlement, Crypto Payout, Settlement Reconciliation.

Further reading

Bank for International Settlements — Payment and Market Infrastructures.