Introduction

With Payrails, you can refund payments to customers either in part or in full, via the API or the Payrails Portal. You can perform multiple partial refunds on a payment, as long as their sum doesn’t exceed the captured amount.

Requirements

• The payment you want to refund must have been captured or have a capture in progress
• Have notifications set up if you wish to receive them for refund results

Refund a payment via API

1. Get the execution ID

To refund a payment, you’ll need the ID of the execution. You can find the ID:

• In the capture notification for the payment, with the key execution.id
• In the Payrails Portal on the payment’s Payment Details page under Reference details, accessed by searching for the payment in the Payments section

2. Make a POST request

Make a POST request to the Refund a payment endpoint, where executionId is the ID from the previous step.

In your request, include:

• amount.value: The decimal amount of the major currency unit, in any precision
• amount.currency: ISO 3-letter currency code

For example:

{
  "amount": {
    "value": "12.50",
    "currency": "EUR"
  }
}

3. Receive the refund response

If the capture was successfully requested, you’ll find the following in the response:

• actionId: The unique identifier for this capture execution
• links: Links to the next possible actions that can be taken

For the complete response schema, refer to the Refund a payment API reference.

4. Wait for refund notification

Successfully requested payment refunds will be processed asynchronously. If you have notifications set up, you’ll receive a notification once the processing is complete, informing you whether the capture was a success or failure.

Example notification for a successful refund:

{
  "action": "refund",
  "actionId": "9b413f20-f361-4ff3-8267-637251eb88b4",
  "amount": {
    "currency": "EUR",
    "value": "24.00"
  },
  "execution": {
    "holderReference": "customer123",
    "holderId": "9d113e2a-35a0-40e1-828b-35a18ac35b41",
    "id": "f8c36786-008d-4352-a0cf-b799955dbfc2",
    "merchantReference": "order_3573894940903",
    "workflowCode": "payment-acceptance"
  },
  "paymentComposition": [
    {
      "operationType": "Refund",
      "amount": {
        "currency": "EUR",
        "value": "24.00"
      },
      "integrationType": "api",
      "operationResult": "Success",
      "operationProviderReference": "provider-reference-example",
      "providerId": "5eb08624-ecce-4cbc-9a8a-61d484172815",
      "providerConfigId": "1e308624-e5ce-4cvc-9a8a-61d482172817",
      "paymentId": "c9e1a8ea-a0de-42bd-bcfd-46d3f437b5fe",
      "paymentInstrumentId": "a4a7ed2d-bdcc-46a3-a9f2-701b5d7924b0",
      "storeInstrument": true,
      "paymentMethodCode": "card",
      "success": true,
      "paymentInstrument": {
        "tokens": [
          {
            "type": "psp",
            "reference": "provider-token",
            "meta": {
              "holderReference": "provider-customer-reference"
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "success": true
}

Example notification for a failed refund:

{
  "action": "refund",
  "actionId": "e1822606-987e-49ac-a24b-e27c7f97a0d3",
  "amount": {
    "currency": "EUR",
    "value": "0.00"
  },
  "errors": [
    {
      "detail": "Cannot refund a refunded execution",
      "id": "3dc44fbc-2ade-4e19-9eac-ca54e698ab7d",
      "title": "action.not-allowed"
    }
  ],
  "execution": {
    "holderReference": "customer123",
    "holderId": "9d113e2a-35a0-40e1-828b-35a18ac35b41",
    "id": "f8c36786-008d-4352-a0cf-b799955dbfc2",
    "merchantReference": "order_3573894940903",
    "workflowCode": "payment-acceptance"
  },
  "success": false
}

📘

Note that a refund will not be possible in all cases, for example if the captured amount is zero or negative, or already fully refunded. In such cases, refer to detail in the errors object for an explanation of why the action failed. Below are the most common reasons:

5. Fetch the execution status

In addition to waiting for a refund notification, you can fetch the status of an execution at any time via the Get an execution by ID endpoint, where executionId is the ID from step 1 above.

Refund a payment via the Portal

1. Search for the payment

Click on Payments in the Payrails Portal sidebar, and search for the payment you want to refund using any of the following:

• Execution ID
• Merchant reference
• Payrails payment ID
• PSP reference

2. Review the Payment Details page

On the Payments page, click on the payment to access its details and the actions that can be taken.

3. Refund the payment

Refund the payment by clicking on "Refund" at the top right of the page.

The refund amount will be pre-filled with the captured amount for the payment. Make a full refund by proceeding with this amount, or change it to a smaller amount for a partial refund.

4. Review payment status

You can review the status of the payment by returning to its Payment Details page at any time.

5. Receive refund notification

If you have notifications set up, you’ll also receive a notification once your refund has been processed, informing you whether it was a success or failure.