How does a refund work, and why does this take time?
Have you ever returned a product that you’d bought online or requested a refund for other reasons and wondered why it takes so long before you get your money back?
After your refund is approved by the online store that owes you money, it needs to go through a number of steps before it is completed. As a result, it can take some time before the money reaches your bank account.
Here is a brief explanation of the individual steps that every refund needs to go through, for you to get a better understanding of how it works and why it takes the time it takes:
- The online store owner requests a refund, and the request is sent to Clearhaus (us).
- Clearhaus processes all refunds at 21.00 in the evening.
- Then the money goes through Visa or Mastercard, depending on which card you used to pay for the order.
- Next is the processor of your bank. This is a step before the money reaches your bank.
- After that, your bank receives the money.
- And finally, the money is transferred to your bank account. Please be aware that it is your bank that chooses when to transfer the money to your bank account.
This whole process can take up to 10 days. Therefore it could take some time before you can see the money on your bank account.
Unfortunately, the process cannot be sped up, but you can ask the owner of the online store to give you an ARN number that is stated on your refund (ARN number is available the day after a refund is requested). You can give this number to your bank, which can use it to track the money.
