Refunds
Returning money to a customer through Ozow.
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A build package is every page for one task, with the API operations they use. Copy the prompt into a coding assistant, or hand it the package itself: slim links to each page, full inlines all of them in one document.
- Refund a paymentEverything needed to refund a completed payment through One API, in full or in part, and to handle the statuses a refund moves through.
Refunds enable businesses to return funds to customers quickly and conveniently. Businesses can offer it as an efficient way to process refunds, helping meet customer expectations, improve the overall customer experience and build long-term customer loyalty.
You can refund from the Ozow Portal with no development work, or through the API if you refund regularly or in volume. Either way, the refund goes back through the customer's original payment method, and the same rules apply to every refund.
Refunds are not the same as payouts. A refund is tied to a specific transaction that came in through Ozow. A payoutPayout Money sent from a merchant to a bank account. Unlike a refund, a payout is not tied to a payment anyone made you, so you can pay anyone with a bank account. Payouts draw on your float rather than on your incoming payments, and they are not self-service: they need approval from Ozow and testing in staging first. is money sent to anyone, unconnected to any payment.
How a refund works
- You find the transaction and submit a refund, in the Ozow Portal or through the API.
- Ozow checks that the refund is allowed: the transaction can be refunded, the amount is still available to refund, your floatFloat The balance held with Ozow that payouts and refunds are paid out of. Both draw on it, and neither will process while it is empty. Payins do not need one, so if you only take payments you never meet it. can cover it, the refund is going to the right destination, and it isn't a duplicate.
- If any check fails, the refund is not processed.
- If all checks pass, Ozow returns the money through the customer's original payment method.
- The refund status updates as it moves through processing.
Where the refund goes
The customer's original payment method decides where the refund is sent. You can't change this, even if the customer asks to be refunded a different way.
| Original payment method | Where the refund goes |
|---|---|
| Pay by bankPay by Bank The payer authorises the payment inside their own banking app or online banking, and the funds move from their bank account. No card is involved and no card details are entered. | The customer's bank account linked to the original payment |
| PayShap RequestPayShap Request The request side of PayShap. Rather than the payer pushing money, the payee asks for it: the payer receives a request and approves it in their own banking app, and the funds move once they do. Enabled by Ozow on request rather than by default.payshap.co.za | The customer's bank account linked to the original payment |
| Card Payments | Back to the card |
| Apple Pay and Google Pay | Back to the card linked to the wallet |
| Voucher Redemption | Back through the voucher provider |
| Crypto Payments | Back to the customer's crypto wallet linked to the original payment |
| Buy now, pay later | Back through the buy now, pay later provider, so they can adjust what the customer owes |
Why can't a card payment be refunded to a bank account?
A card refund must go back through the card system so it's linked to the original transaction. If the money was refunded by EFTEFT A transfer between two bank accounts. Used here for the standard kind, which takes one to two business days, as against Real-Time Clearing, which moves the funds immediately. A payout or refund is one or the other, and which you choose is the difference between a customer waiting minutes and waiting days. instead, the original card payment would still be open, and the customer could raise a chargebackChargeback A completed card payment reversed by the customer's bank after a successful dispute. The funds come back out, and the process runs between the banks rather than through Ozow, so it is not something you can approve or refuse. Your transaction records and delivery confirmations are what it is decided on. and be refunded twice, hence Ozow blocks this functionality.
How much you can refund
You can refund up to the lower of:
- The amount still available to refund on the transaction (the original amount, minus any successful refunds already made), and
- Your available float balance
| Still refundable | Available float | Maximum refund now |
|---|---|---|
| R1,000 | R300 | R300 |
| R300 | R5,000 | R300 |
Partial refunds: You can make more than one partial refund on the same transaction until the full amount has been refunded. For example, on a R1,000 payment, a R250 refund followed by a R300 refund leaves R450 still available to refund.
Time limit for refunds
By default, you can refund a transaction up to 14 days after the original payment. If you need a longer refund window, contact support@ozow.com or reach out to your account manager. It can be extended to a maximum of 360 days.
How long the customer waits
How quickly the customer receives their refund depends on how it's sent:
| Refund type | When the customer receives it |
|---|---|
| Real-time clearingReal-Time Clearing Payments that clear immediately rather than waiting for a batch. A batch run settles at set times through the day; a Real-Time Clearing payment moves the funds between the two bank accounts as it is made, so the recipient can rely on them straight away.PayInc (RTC) | Immediately |
| Standard EFT | 1-3 business days |
You choose between RTC and standard EFT when you submit the refund.
When a refund can't be processed
Occasionally a refund can't be processed, for example if the details needed to return the money aren't available from the original payment. In these cases, contact support@ozow.com with the transaction reference.
Contacting support doesn't change the refund rules.
Whatever route a refund takes, it still goes back through the original payment method, still can't exceed the amount left to refund on the transaction or your available float, and still can't be sent to an account that isn't the customer's. A transaction that has been fully refunded, or that has a refund in progress, can't be refunded again.
Enabling refunds
Speak to your account manager to have refunds enabled on your account.
You'll also need a funded float. The money your customer paid you has already been settled to your bank account. When you refund them, Ozow pays that money back out of your float, not out of the original transaction. If your float doesn't have enough funds, the refund won't process.
Top up before you need to. See Float top-up.
Payments from your customers don't fund your float.
When a customer pays you, that money is settled to your bank account. Your float is separate, and you fund it yourself by transferring money to Ozow. A busy sales day doesn't give you more capacity to refund or pay out; only a top-up does.
Need a different arrangement?
contact support@ozow.com or reach out to your account manager if you'd like your incoming payments to flow into your float rather than being settled to your bank account. Ozow approves these at its discretion based on your use case; approval isn't guaranteed. Even with this arrangement, incoming payments can only be used for refunds once the funds have clearedClearing Moving funds between two banks so the recipient can rely on them. It is a separate step from a payment being approved: a payment can succeed and the money still be in transit. Real-Time Clearing is the immediate version., which isn't immediate.
Things to know
Refunds come out of your float. Not out of the original payment, and not out of your next settlementSettlement Ozow paying the money you have collected into your bank account. Payins arrive at Ozow first and are settled to you on a schedule, so what a customer paid you today and what has been settled to you today are different amounts..
A successful payment doesn't mean the refund will go through. A transaction can be refundable and the refund still fail, for example if your float is too low. Once the blocker is resolved, you can refund it.
A refunded transaction isn't marked as refunded. The original transaction keeps its Complete
status. If you need to know whether something has been refunded, check your refund records rather
than the transaction status.
Don't submit a duplicate refund. If a refund is still being processed, wait for it to complete or fail before trying again. Otherwise the customer could be refunded twice.
A refund is not a chargeback. A refund is something you choose to do. A chargeback is raised by the customer through their bank and follows a disputeDispute A customer challenging a completed card payment through their own bank. A successful dispute becomes a chargeback and reverses the funds. Distinct from a refund, which you initiate and control. process you don't control. If you receive a chargeback notification, contact Ozow Support: don't process a refund on top of it. See Card.
Refunds can be returned. If the account the customer paid from has since closed, the refund comes back. Contact support@ozow.com for help with next steps.
The Portal handles one refund at a time. There's no bulk upload for refunds the way there is for payouts. If you need to refund in volume, use the API.
Refunds have their own statuses, and they're returned as numbers rather than text. See Statuses.
Integrating refunds
From the Portal: find the transaction, refund it. No development required, one refund at a time. → Refunds from the Portal
API: refund a single transaction or submit a batch, list your refunds, and receive webhooks when a refund completes. Supports idempotencyIdempotency A request is idempotent when sending it twice has the same effect as sending it once. It matters most where a retry after a timeout could otherwise take a payment twice.IETF draft keys, so a retried request won't refund twice. → Refund a payment
FAQs
How can a customer request a refund? Customers can either call or email the business's support line. It is also recommended that a Refund button (handled through our Ozow Refund API) is added to your website for the payer to request it immediately.
How does a customer follow up on an existing refund query from the business? Customers can either call or email the business's support line.
What notifications are sent to customers? When the refund reflects, customers will receive a normal banking notification confirming a deposit into their account.
When are refunds processed? Refunds are facilitated by Ozow Monday to Friday, twice a day at 09:00 and at 12:00. Refunds requested before 12:00: the money will be reflected within 48 hours. Refunds requested after 12:00: the money will be reflected within 72 hours.
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