PCE supports two refund workflows: Sale Referenced Refunds, which link directly to an original transaction for maximum security and reconciliation, and Adhoc Refunds, which act as standalone payouts when no original reference exists. This page details when and how to use each method, plus guidelines for full and partial refund operations.

Prerequisites

• Merchant account with refund permissions
• PCI DSS Level 1 compliance for linked refunds
• Adhoc refunds require explicit activation and KYC checks
• Sale referenced refunds need a valid original transaction reference

Compliance / Regulation Mandates

Sale Referenced Refunds

Sale referenced refunds link a reversal directly to its original sale transaction. This ensures you don’t refund more than the captured amount and provides automated reconciliation checks.

When to use

• Product returns (online or in-store)
• Partial refunds for out-of-stock items
• Service cancellations with prorated refunds

Workflow

1. Identify the original sale transaction ID.
2. Send a refund request with the parent field set to the transaction’s id or externalId.
3. PCE validates that the refund amount ≤ original capture and queues the refund.
4. Refund processes once the parent transaction reaches COMPLETED status.

Validations

• parent must be the correct id or externalId of the transaction.
• Refunds can be initiated when parent is in PROCESSING, APPROVED, or COMPLETED, but will only execute once COMPLETED.
• Sum of all refunds for a transaction ≤ original capture amount.

Adhoc Refunds

Adhoc refunds (non-referenced) create standalone credit transactions not tied to any prior sale. They require additional risk controls and are disabled by default.

When to use

• Goodwill gestures (customer service credits)
• Promotional payouts or cashback rewards
• Error corrections without original transaction reference
• Insurance or claim payouts directly to card

Security note

• Requires KYC verification and explicit feature enablement
• Bypasses closed-loop protections of referenced refunds

Full Refunds

Refund the entire captured amount in one request.

Workflow

• Send a refund API call referencing the original capture.

API Reference: Refund Transaction

Partial Refunds

Issue refunds for a portion of the captured amount; you may perform multiple partial refunds until the full amount is returned.

Use cases

• Customer returns one item from a multi-item order
• Prorated service cancellations

Workflow

• In your refund request, specify the partial amount to return.
• Repeat until total refunded ≤ original capture.

API Reference: Refund Transaction

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Validations

• Make sure the parent field uses the original transaction’s id or externalId—that’s how we know which payment to refund.
• You can request a refund when the original transaction is PROCESSING, APPROVED, or COMPLETED, but we’ll only process it once the transaction reaches COMPLETED.
• Your refund amount must be less than or equal to the original transaction amount for sale-referenced refunds.
• If you’re issuing multiple refunds on the same transaction, the combined refund total can’t exceed the original payment amount.