Why does it take so long when an order is cancelled to get credit on a credit card (2024)

@Debbie1126Refunds have a lot to do with did you cancel it the same day or after the transaction had processed and posted. I assume it was probably the latter. Credits on credit/debit cards usually happen in 1-2 days. Think of it like this: You issue the refund, it processes that night in the batch and gets transmitted to the other financial institution. That bank then has it's own internal processes to post that money back on the customer's account. If any of this takes place on a banking holiday or on the weekend it can add 1-2 days to the whole process.

The key thing here is it is not under your control or the customers control. Some budget cards through marginal credit banks like credit one or some of those types can sometimes delay refunds an extra day or 2. I don't understand why they do that, where someone like capital one is pretty good about promptly posting those credits.

Here is the official information from Square:

"

Refund Timeline

Once a refund is initiated, the customer should see a pending transaction on their bank account for the refunded amount within 1-3 business days. This timeline to post the transaction ultimately depends on the card-issuing bank.

Note: Pending transaction notifications currently apply to payments made with Visa, Mastercard, or Discover. Pending transaction notifications will not apply for payments made with American Express or other card networks.

Square’s full refund time frame typically takes 2-7 business days. Once the refund is processed and sent to your customer's card issuing bank, it can take another 2-7 business days (depending on the bank's processing speeds) for the refund to post to the customer's account.In total it can take 9-14 business days for your customer to receive their refund."