This Refund and Cancellation Policy clearly defines the terms, turnaround times (TAT), and procedures governing transaction refunds, duplicate debits, and cancellations executed across the ClearFinTech Payment Gateway.
1. Failed or Interrupted Transactions (Auto-Reversal)
In situations where an end-customer’s bank account or card is debited, but the transaction fails to complete due to network timeouts, bank ACS outages, or gateway communication interruptions:
- Automatic Reconciliation: ClearFinTech’s automated reconciliation engine cross-checks pending transactions against upstream bank switches every two (2) hours.
- Reversal Authorization: If funds were collected without successful order fulfillment, ClearFinTech instructs the acquiring switch to initiate an automatic credit reversal back to the source account.
- Turnaround Time (TAT): As mandated by RBI guidelines, auto-reversals are credited back within T+2 to T+5 bank working days (excluding bank holidays and Sundays).
2. Merchant-Initiated Voluntary Refunds
When an institution or merchant grants a customer request to refund a completed fee payment, deposit, or order:
- Refunds are triggered securely via the Merchant Dashboard or ClearFinTech API.
- Original Source Rule: Refunds are strictly remitted back to the original payment source (the specific card, bank account, or UPI VPA used). ClearFinTech does not permit cash or third-party redirection of refunds.
- Processing Modes: Both full refunds and partial balance refunds are supported.
3. Refund Credit Turnaround Table by Payment Mode
| Payment Instrument | Expected Reversal Window | Reversal Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| UPI (GPay / PhonePe / Paytm / BHIM) | Instant to 24-48 Hours | Direct NPCI VPA credit |
| Domestic Debit Cards (RuPay / Visa / MC) | 2 to 4 Bank Working Days | Card network clearing file |
| Domestic Credit Cards | 3 to 7 Bank Working Days | Statement credit adjustment |
| NetBanking (SBI, HDFC, ICICI, etc.) | 2 to 5 Bank Working Days | Bank node NEFT / nodal credit |
4. Duplicate Charges
If an end-payer inadvertently clicks submit twice or encounters a dual debit for a single billing reference, the duplicate authorization is flagged by our anti-duplication engine and reversed automatically to the payer within 48 hours.
5. How to Track or Inquire About a Refund
If your refund does not reflect in your bank statement within the designated timeline, you can track the status or obtain the bank retrieval reference number (RRN / UTR):