Updates to Square's Refund Policy

The title of this thread has been edited by a Square Moderator from the original: "So now (After April 11) Square gets to keep their fee if we refund, but we lose our money?"

 

I just read an email from Square that I got last night about an update to their TOS.  Effective April 11, 2023 "processing fees will no longer be refunded to your account when you issue full or partial refunds to your customers".

 

So let me get this straight...  We issue a refund (effectively no sale happened) and we give back/lose that sale and that revenue, BUT Square still makes their money off of us?  This seems totally wrong.

 

The email says, "[we] may wish to update [our] return policy for [our] customers in order to account for this policy change."  All I can do is shake my head.  I guess I'll have to rethink how I do my refundable deposits....  Thanks Square...

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Square Community Moderator

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Hi all 👋 Thanks for reaching out to the Seller Community. I can certainly provide some additional information on the recent Refund Policy update.

Square has incurred network costs from many of our payment partners for these refunds over the years but has covered those costs on your behalf. As we continue to invest in new payment offerings and improve the payment experience for you, the processing fees for each payment will ensure a high-quality experience for you and other sellers.


You will still be able to issue a refund for any purchases within a year of the original transaction. When you issue a full or partial refund, Square will debit your account for the amount of the refund and send that amount to your customer. If the amount of the refund is not available in your Square account then your linked bank account will be debited for the necessary amount. You can find more information about the refund process here.


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 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 or ACH Transfer. 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.


I hope this information is helpful but please do let me know if you have any additional questions 🙂

 

cc: @rivas8409 @Candlestore @PartyManiaMD @SnomoGirl 

Violet
Community Moderator, Square
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26 REPLIES 26
Square Champion

I really don't know what to do about this. We are still having an issue with inventory counts "sticking" so a lot of our refunds are due to actually not having the product on hand which is a square issue.

Dina
Co-Owner Amityville Apothecary
www.shopamityvilleapothecary.com
Instagram | TikTok @AmityvilleApothecary

Podcast: Apothecary After Dark (YouTube & Spotify)
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Square Champion

Sadly this is "standard" practice across the board and the reasoning is that Square isn't getting a refund on the fees paid by Visa, Mastercard, etc. 

I think your wording sounds petty and unprofessional. This is a part of doing business. And BTW you're not "getting charged twice". You get charged the CC fees when the customer pays, you aren't being charged "again" with a refund.

My Girlfriend's Wardrobe est. 2012

Preston & jayne est. 2023


Downtown York Pa


Square user since 2012
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Message 23 of 27
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Is there a way within Square to charge a restock fee / surcharge for returns? I would like to process the return on one line, and the fee on a second line.

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Square Champion

@dearness Most of the time I have seen you can refund either the item or an amount, and restocking fees look like 10-20% usually depending.  At worst case temporarily, you could do this and just do a quick manual calculation of ticket total *.90 to get the refund amount.

Donnie
Multi-Unit Manager
Order Up Cafe/Tombras Cafe/Riverview Cafe/City County Cafe
Roddy Vending Company, Inc.
www.OrderUpCafe.com

Using Square since July, 2017
Square Champion
Breaker of Things

"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment."

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Message 25 of 27
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For Bakery and Cafe's, this policy is a slap in the face.  The only refunds we have are from our employees making a mistake on the register.  And that unfortunately happens a few times a day.  So now we are very literally paying for our mistakes.  

 

Is the swipe fee refunded?  Or is it just the percentage we don't get back? 

 

Marcia

Crossroads Bake Shop

Doylestown, PA 

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Square Community Moderator

Hi there, @MarciaDurgin 👋

 

When you refund a payment, your customer is refunded for their full payment amount, but the processing fees for the payment are not refunded.


I hope this information is helpful but please do let me know if you have any additional questions.

Violet
Community Moderator, Square
Sign in and click Mark as Best Answer if my reply answers your question.



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