How to Process Refunds with Square: Questions and Answers

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In this post we’re sharing some of the common questions around processing refunds with Square. If you have any additional questions about refunds please reply below. You can issue a refund from the Square app, Square Terminal or from your online Square Dashboard. Learn more about how refunds work.

How do I process a refund from the Square app?

Watch this video to learn how to process a full refund or an itemised refund from the Square app.

Here are the steps to issue a refund from the Square Point of Sale app:

1. Tap the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner to navigate to the menu.
2. Tap Transactions.
3. Select the payment you’d like to refund > tap Issue Refund.
4. Tap Select All Items to refund the entire sale, select the specific items you’d like to refund, or tap Amount to refund a specific pound amount.
5. Tap Next.
6. Select items to restock and choose a reason, or tap Skip Restock.
7. Tap Refund.

You can also process full, itemised or partial refunds from your online Square Dashboard. 

How do I refund a Square Online payment?

For payments made through your Square Online you can refund the payment and cancel the order, or you can refund the payment without cancelling the order. Visit Square Support for step-by-step instructions to cancel and refund Square Online orders.

Can I issue a refund to a Square eGift Card?

At this time it’s not possible to issue a refund to a Square eGift Card. You can refund the original payment for the eGift Card (to the customer who purchased the eGift Card) but please also note that you must also manually clear the balance of the eGift Card.

Is there a fee to refund a payment?

There is no fee to refund a payment. The full amount of the payment is refunded to the customer.

How long does a refund take to be processed? 

Refunds can take between 4 and 14 working days to be processed by Square and your customer’s card issuing bank. Learn more about how refunds work in this Square Support article.

Will my customer be notified when the refund has been initiated? 

If your customer paid by card and entered their email address or phone number to receive a digital receipt they will receive a notification when the refund is initiated. However, if your customer paid by cash or other tender they will not automatically receive a notification. 

Once you have refunded the payment you can send your customer an updated copy of their receipt. To resend a receipt: go to the Transactions section of your Square app or from your online Square Dashboard > select the transaction > select Issue Receipt.

Will I be notified when the refund has been completed?

When a refund to a card payment is initiated you will receive two email notifications - one when the refund is requested and another when the refund has been completed. 

You will not receive email notifications for cash or Other Tender refunds (e.g. cheque), as these types of refunds are completed immediately.

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When I try to refund a payment I see ‘Refund Error: Transaction can’t be refunded after 120 days from the original sale’

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.

Payments processed through your Square Online site are only eligible to refund within 120 days.

Do I need my customer's card to process a refund? 

You can process a refund from the app or from your online Square Dashboard without your customer’s card. The funds will be returned to their payment card.

My customer hasn’t received their refund yet, what should I do? 

Refunds can take up to 14 working days to be completed. Your customer should contact their bank or card issuer directly if they haven’t received their refund. If your customer has already reached out to their issuer please contact our Customer Success team directly.

How do I include my refund policy on my Square receipts?

You can customise your refund and return policy from the Receipt settings of your online Square Dashboard. Your policy will appear on email, text, and printed receipts. If a return policy is absent, it’s assumed there’s no policy. Be sure to clearly state if you don’t offer refunds or warranties.

For Square Online, you can include information about return policies in the Store policies section of your checkout page. Head to our Support Centre to learn how to manage checkout options.