[New] Square Refund Policy Update

[tranguyen]

Hi Sellers! 👋

We wanted to inform you of an upcoming change to Square’s refund policy which will be effective as of May 2, 2023. 

Occasionally, we update our policies and pricing for our products to better align to evolving costs from our network and payments partners. In these scenarios, we make pricing changes so that we can invest in our platform, create new features, and continue expanding the value Square provides to sellers like you.  

Processing fees will no longer be refunded to your account when you issue full or partial refunds to your customers.

We are making this change to reflect that Square incurs processing fees from our network and payments partners in instances of refunds, and to match current industry standards. You do not need to take any action and there will be no change in the experience for your customer. 

You may wish to update your return policy for your customers in order to account for this policy change. We recommend visiting our Return Policy Guide & Templates for guidance on how to create a return policy that works best for your business. You can also find additional information on the refund process through Square by visiting our Help Centre. 

In addition, we've modified language in our taxes and indemnities provisions in the Square General Terms of Service and Square Payment Terms related to our legal obligations.

Read more about the upcoming pricing and policy changes here ›

Thank you for selling with Square.

[CM2Balloons]

When we then process a refund will there be an option to minus this cost before issuing a refund?

or is this another cost that we have to take on the chin and lose out?

Because its all well and good saying that square gets charged for these services so this will cover your end, can we do the same? and if so can you walk us through how to do it as it comes into play in under 2 weeks?

[Breffni]

Hi @CM2Balloons, we understand that considering cost is an important part of your business and we are committed to providing you with fair and transparent pricing. If returns are not a frequent part of your business but do impact you, we recommend visiting our Return Policy article for suggestions on creating a policy that best suits your business. 

For example, you may consider a partial return or implementing a restocking fee to account for the cost of refunding your customers. If you experience refunds for cancellations related to an upcoming event, rental, or transportation, we recommend that you explore splitting payments by using Square Invoices. This will allow you to take a partial payment up front and limit the amount you will need to refund in the event of a cancellation.

[CM2Balloons]

Thanks for the reply, let’s say my charges are 1.75%, when giving someone a refund is there a way of giving them 98.25%? As I’m sure we just select the products being returned and there is no option to give a partial amount refund? Would need to be able to do this in store and regarding square online orders too.

obviously I would need to put these in our refund policies but want to know it’s possible 1st, hope the above makes sense.

[Laurie_]

Hey there, @CM2Balloons,

Thanks for your patience while we got back to you here!

You can certainly process partial refunds for both in-person and online transactions. Have a read-through of the linked article to view your options for selecting specific items or entering a specific dollar amount for the refund.

Regardless of whether you are issuing a full or partial refund, the card processing fee will not be refunded to your Square account.