This guide explains how to issue full or partial refunds to your customers using your Card Machine, Teya App or Business Portal. It covers refund requirements, processing times, and how to check the status of a refunded transaction.
Before you start
- You must issue the refund to the exact same card used for the original purchase. Refunds cannot be processed to a different card.
- Customers do not need to be physically present. You can process refunds remotely via the app or Card Machine.
- You will need your Manager PIN (for Card Machines) or your app passcode/biometric login (for the Teya App) to authorise the refund.
How to refund transactions
- Tap the menu icon in the top-left corner of the screen.
- Select Transactions.
- Find the transaction you want to refund by browsing the list or using the available filters.
- Select the transaction, then Issue Refund.
- Tap Issue Refund.
- Choose the refund type:
- Full refund: Refund the entire original transaction amount.
- Partial refund: Enter the specific amount you want to return.
- Enter your Manager PIN to authorise the action.
- Tap Issue Refund to complete the process.
- Print the receipt if required.
- Open the Teya App and tap Sales in the bottom navigation bar.
- Tap Transactions at the top of the screen.
- Select the transaction you wish to refund. You can also search using the last 4 digits of the card, or filter by period, store, status, source, amount or device.
- Tap the transaction.
- Tap Issue refund.
- Enter the amount you want to refund, or select the full amount.
- Tap Continue.
- Tap Issue refund again to confirm.
To complete the refund, you’ll be asked to use your passcode or biometric authentication.
- Open the Business Portal and log in with your credentials.
- In the left sidebar, select Transactions under Sales.
- Select the transaction you wish to refund. You can also search using the last 4 digits of the card, or filter by period, store, status, source, amount or device.
- Select Refund Options.
- Choose between Partial or Full refund.
- Confirm the refund.
If you process a partial refund, the remaining amount of the original transaction stays available for future refunds if needed.
How are refund fees handled?
When you return funds to a customer, the following fee structure applies:
- No refund fee: Teya does not charge you an additional fee to process the refund.
- Original processing fees: The transaction fee taken for the original Payment is not returned to you.
Important: You can only refund the card used for the original Payment. You cannot send the refund to a different card.
Checking refund status and timelines
Refunds generally take between 7 to 10 business days to appear in your customer’s bank account. This timeline depends entirely on the processing speeds of the customer's bank.
You can verify the status of a refund in three ways:
- On the Card Machine: Go to Menu > Transactions and Refunds
- In the Teya App: Go to Sales and review the transaction list.
- On the Business Portal: Go to Sales and open the Transactions section.
Understanding refund statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Payment/Refund Approved | The transaction was successful. |
| Payment/Refund Declined | The transaction was not successful. |
| Payment/Refund Void | The transaction was cancelled by the merchant or automatically by the system. |
| Payment/Refund Pending | The transaction has been created but not yet processed by the banking system. It can still be cancelled. |
Why can’t I process a refund?
You may see this error on your Card Machine: “Your balance has reached its negative limit.”
This means your Account Balance is negative, so there are not enough settled funds available to process the refund.
To resume issuing refunds, your Account Balance must return to a positive balance. You can do this by:
- Accepting more payments: New settled transactions will reduce the negative balance.
- Contacting Support: If you are not currently taking payments, our Support team can help clear the balance.
Learn more about negative balances here.