Common questions about issuing refunds and troubleshooting tips

Why was the refund I issued taken out of my bank account?

If you don’t have enough money in your balance with PayPal to cover the refund, we’ll withdraw the entire amount from your bank. When you issue a refund, we’ll confirm where the money is coming from. This process can take up to 5 business days to complete.

Even if the refund status says complete in your PayPal account, it could still take a few days for the bank to process (every bank’s processing times varies).

Will I get my transaction fee back?

You won’t pay any fees to refund a payment for goods or services, but we won’t return the fees you originally paid as the seller.

My buyer says they haven’t received their refund. Why?

If the buyer used their bank account to pay you, the refund can take up to 5 business days to complete. The buyer will see an estimated clearing date in their refund details.

If the buyer used their credit or debit card to pay you, the refund usually takes 2 business days to complete, but can take up to 30 days depending on the card company.

If the buyer used PayPal Credit to pay you, they’ll see the amount refunded to their PayPal Credit account.

Can I cancel a refund?

You can’t cancel a refund once you’ve sent it.