# Refunds

> Returning money to a customer through Ozow.

Source: https://hub.ozow.com/payment-products/refunds/

A refund returns money to a customer for a payment they made you through Ozow.

You can refund from the Ozow Dashboard with no development work, or through the API if you refund
regularly or in volume. Either way the money goes back to the account the customer paid from; you
don't need to ask them for banking details.

Refunds are not the same as [payouts](https://hub.ozow.com/payment-products/payout/payout-to-bank.md). A refund is tied to a specific
transaction that came in through Ozow. A payout is money sent to anyone, unconnected to any payment.

## How a refund works

1. You find the transaction and submit a refund, in the Dashboard, or through the API.
2. Ozow checks that your float has enough to cover it.
3. Ozow returns the money to the account the customer originally paid from.
4. The refund status updates as it moves through processing.

## 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 is empty, refunds won't process.

Top up ahead of when you need it, clearing takes time, and a customer waiting on a refund is not a
customer who waits patiently. See [Float top-up](https://hub.ozow.com/payment-products/settlements-and-float/float-top-up.md).

> ⚠️ **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.

> ℹ️ Need a different arrangement? Speak 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.

## Things to know

**Refunds come out of your float.** Not out of the original payment, and not out of your next settlement.

**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.

**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 dispute 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](https://hub.ozow.com/payment-products/payin/card.md).

**Refunds can be returned.** If the account the customer paid from has since closed, the refund
comes back. You'll need to contact the customer and arrange another way to pay them.

**The Dashboard 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](https://hub.ozow.com/integration-methods/statuses.md).

## Integrating refunds

**From the Dashboard**: find the transaction, refund it. No development required, one refund at a time.
→ [Refunds from the Dashboard](https://hub.ozow.com/integration-methods/no-code/refunds.md)

**API**: refund a single transaction or submit a batch, list your refunds, and receive webhooks when
a refund completes. Supports idempotency keys, so a retried request won't refund twice. → [Refund a
payment](https://hub.ozow.com/integration-methods/apis/refunds/refund-a-payment.md)