Refund issued to customer, customer says they didn't receive refund

Shopify Discussion
1

Hello, I’m reaching out for assistance with a refund issue.

On August 13th, I processed a refund for a customer through Shopify’s built-in refund service. The system confirmed the refund was completed, with the message “€XX was refunded using Visa ending XXXX via Apple Pay”.

However, the customer recently emailed me stating they haven’t received the refund. Despite my assurance that the refund was processed successfully according to our system, the customer insists they haven’t received it.

I’m having trouble finding a way to independently verify the refund transaction. Given Shopify’s notification system, I’m surprised if there were an issue, it would have been flagged.

Are there any additional methods to confirm whether a customer has received a refund?

I’d appreciate any support to resolve this issue without making assumptions about this customer.

2

Hey @zamil_uk,
Thanks for bringing this Question to Shopify community.
It’s rare that the customer don’t receive the refunded amount even the same amount deducted from your account.
Maybe the refunded payment should be in processing or due to technical issue it maybe in processing.
For instance you can share the screenshot of the Refunded Status or you can advice him for wait.
If this was helpful mark as Solution and like it.
Thanks

3

Hi,thanks for the reply.

How long does a refund process usually take with Shopify ?

I issued the refund to the customer on the 13th so I would presume it would have been completed by now, or does it depend on the bank, location etc?

I have taken a screenshot of the refund transaction completion status to send to the customer.

4

Hi there,

When a refund is issued in Shopify, the funds are automatically sent back to the customer through the same payment method they used. However, depending on the payment provider and bank, it can take up to 10 business days (sometimes longer for international cards) to appear on their statement.

A few steps you can take:

  1. Check the order timeline in Shopify – If the refund status shows “Refunded,” it means Shopify successfully processed it on your end.

  2. Confirm the payment provider – For Shopify Payments, refunds are automatic. If you used PayPal or another gateway, log into that account and confirm the refund transaction went through.

  3. Provide proof to the customer – You can send them a screenshot of the refund confirmation or transaction ID, which they can share with their bank.

  4. Advise patience (politely) – Let them know processing times vary and that they should keep an eye on their bank/card statement.

If the refund still doesn’t appear after 10 business days, you can contact your payment provider directly with the transaction ID for further investigation.

If you’d like, I can walk you through checking your payment provider logs step-by-step to make sure everything is aligned correctly.

for more detains you can get back to me

5

This kind of situation is tricky but pretty common, sometimes refunds take longer than expected to show up.

Here’s what I’d recommend you do:

  • Double-check the order timeline in Shopify to confirm that the refund status is marked as “successful” and not “pending” or “failed”.

  • Ask the customer to check both their Apple Wallet and the original card used (especially if it was a virtual card or if they’ve changed cards recently).

  • Sometimes refunds via Apple Pay don’t appear as a new line item but are reflected as an adjustment on the original charge, this can be easy to miss unless they check carefully or ask their bank.

  • If it’s been more than 10 business days, you can suggest they contact their bank directly with the refund reference number (Shopify support might be able to provide one if needed).

Unfortunately, there isn’t a way for merchants to see exactly what’s happening on the customer’s side but if you’ve done everything right on Shopify, then you’re usually in the clear. If it’s still unresolved, it might be worth looping in Shopify Support so they can take a closer look or provide you with a refund transaction ID to pass on to the customer.

Hope this helps a bit!
If it does, feel free to mark it as a solution so others can find it too :blush: