When can I initiate a refund?
Standard payments (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay): You can issue a refund at any time within 180 days of the payment.
ACH (US) and PAD (Canada): Refunds can only be initiated 60 days after the payment has successfully gone through. This is a security delay that cannot be bypassed.
Payments older than 180 days: Refunds can no longer be processed through Zeffy. You will need to return the funds to the donor manually (for example, via bank transfer or check).
UK accounts (important): You can initiate a refund at any time (within the 180-day window), but only if your available Zeffy balance is sufficient to cover the value of the refund.
If your Zeffy balance is $0, the refund will remain pending. This is because Stripe UK cannot debit your bank account to cover refunds. The refund will only be processed once your balance has sufficient funds
It's important to note the additional amount made to Zeffy will not be refunded automatically if you refund the donor's payment.To refund a contribution to Zeffy, you or your donor can reach out to us directly to process the refund! To see how you can reach our team click here!
What happens when I issue a refund?
The refund process depends on whether you have sufficient funds available in your Zeffy balance (you can check this under Finances in your account).
If you have funds in your Zeffy balance
When you initiate a refund, it is processed immediately through our payment processor, Stripe. Your donor will receive a confirmation email with the refunded amount, and the funds will be returned to their original payment method within 5 to 10 business days.
If you do not have sufficient funds in your Zeffy balance (balance is $0 or lower than the refund amount)
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🇺🇸🇨🇦 In the US and Canada
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If your balance is insufficient at the time of the refund, we first need to retrieve the necessary funds from your bank account before completing the refund.
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This process includes initiating the transfer, receiving the funds, and confirming that the transaction was successful. Because a bank debit can sometimes appear as successful but fail a few days later, we allow up to 7 business days to securely confirm the funds.
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Once the funds have been confirmed, the refund is processed through Stripe. Your donor will then receive a confirmation email, and the funds will be returned to their original payment method within 3 to 5 business days.
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🇬🇧 In the UK
- UK Stripe accounts are not configured to debit your bank account when your balance is insufficient.
- This means that if you issue a refund without enough funds available, the refund will remain pending until your Zeffy balance has sufficient funds to cover it.
If the card your supporter used to make the payment is no longer active or expired, the funds will still reach them. Their bank will reroute the funds to their account.
Here is how to issue a refund:
1. Go to the ''Payments'' tab under in your left menu and locate the transaction you want to refund.
2. Hover over the payment and click "view." The transaction details will open to the right of your screen.
3. Click "More" in the top right corner and select "Refund payment"
