How do Refunds Work?

Refund Approval or Rejection

Important: Vendors handle refund requests entirely. Shopvana is not involved in any way in the process to accept or reject a refund request.

To Approve a Refund:

1. The vendor selects the "Approve" button on the Refund details screen (refer to Figure 5) to authorize the refund.
2. The refund status updates to "Initiated" in the Vendor Purchase History, and to "Refund Approved" in the User’s Purchase History.

The refund process will start, and the amount will be credited to the user.

Example: A user buys an item for $10 and pays online via card. After successful delivery, the user requests a refund. The refund amount is calculated as follows:

Item Price: $10.00

Discount Amount: $00.00

Processing Fee (2.9% + 30C): $0.59

Amount to be refunded: $9.41

The amount the User will be refunded will be $9.41 after deducting the Processing fee, Shopvana Commission (Currently not applicable).

Figure 5.

Stripe Refund Processing (After Vendor Approval)

• When the vendor approves the refund, Shopvana initiates a refund request to Stripe by sending a refund API request.

• Once a refund is initiated, Stripe submits the refund request to the customer's bank or card issuer. The customer can expect to receive the refund within 5–10 business days.

 

Possible Refund Issues (Handled in Stripe)

• If the refund was processed soon after the original transaction, it may show up as a reversal rather than a separate refund. In this scenario, the initial charge is removed from the statement, and no distinct credit entry is made. The user can verify this by reviewing their bank statements.

• If the customer's bank or card issuer doesn't process the refund, Stripe will credit the amount back to Shopvana’s Stripe account. This may take up to 30 days from the request date.

To Reject the Refund:

• The vendor selects the "Reject" button on the Refund details screen (see Figure 5) to decline the refund.

• The refund status updates to "Rejected" in the Vendor Purchase History and "Refund Rejected" in the User’s Purchase History.

5. Tracking Refund Status

• The refund status is updated in real-time and displayed in the Purchase History page.
• The Refund statuses include:
  • Requested – Refund request submitted, awaiting vendor approval.
  • Initiated – Refund request is approved by vendor and processing initiated.
  • Rejected – Refund request rejected by the vendor.