If a customer paid with a Square Gift Card, does the refund go back to the Gift Card?

[RetailOne]

If a purchase is refunded and the original payment was a gift card - will the refund go back on the gift card?

Can you look up transactions with the gift card number / swipe?

The title of this post has been edited from the original: Purchase with Gift Card as payment....what happens if return/refund?

[VanKalkerFarms]

That's an interesting question.  I would assume that it would not go back on the gift card, but that it would be paid out of the register in cash.

[Sean · Accepted solution]

@RetailOne - Any refunds will go back to the gift card. 👍 

PS) If my answer solved your problem, would you mind marking it as "Best Answer"? That'll help the rest of the community find what they're looking for. If not, just write back, and I'll continue to help. Thanks!

[JillV]

Sean,

We just tried to do a Partial refund of something that was paid for with a Gift Card and got and error every time. With the new method of refunding, we tried to select the line item for the refund and got an error, then just tried to a dollar amount refund and got an error as well. Thoughts?

[lilychiang]

Hi @JillV - Which payment are you trying to refund? Was it originally paid via a Gift Card? 

[giggleblossom]

This is a flaw, if the refund goes back to the SAME gift card.  Think about the scenario- If the customer pays with the gift card originally, and the entire balance is used, the gift card is forfeitted (or thrown away) being there is no balance remaining on the card.  The customer then comes back 2 weeks later to return the item and the only option is to refund the amount to the same gift card that was given up or thrown away 2 weeks ago?? There needs to be an option to issue a credit to a NEW gift card. This has come up on 2 occasions in my shop so far, and I'm sure we will see more of it going into gift giving season.

[claas8401]

This is the exact problem I just had & am looking for answers to . . . I just had a customer come in to return a sweatshirt bought with a gift card & credit card.  Square refunded $25 back to the original (USED and discarded) gift card which I cannot locate.  I just had to credit a new gift card, but am now trying to find if I kept this gift card.  Frustrating.  I agree.  Wish there was a way to choose the gift card I can issue that credit back on.

[crystalimages]

I agree with this line of thinking. I just received a promotional email about refunds and using gift cards. It took me a little investigating to find my answer. The promotional email seemed to imply you could "refund" a purchase to a gift card instead of cash or back to the card, but it didn't say that directly. (unless I skimmed too quickly)

Good news! You can! After entering the amount of the refund you can refund by orignal payment, cash, or gift card.

However......

There's no option to refund to an eGift Card. If you're not using physical cards, this does no good. As far as I can tell. If I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.

It would be AWESOME if refunds could be added to an eGift card. 

I'm on the fence about ordering the physical plastic cards. I don't really have a place to showcase them as I operate out of a kiosk that can't be locked down at the end of the day. And honestly, the cost... if customers don't respond to them, it's a waste of money to buy a bundle. I know it's not a lot, but we're a small mom-n-pop and everything counts. 

Just had a thought I'll try. Can you set up an eGift card and apply a refund to that card number? I assume you can't create one without adding a dollar amount initially. This might be an option. If anyone knows, let us know, or I'll try it out and respond back.

I know the eGift Cards are relatively new and I'm sure more features will be added. I just hope this is one that is addressed soon.

[Tom]

Thanks for bringing this up, @crystalimages. You're correct—the ability to return to an eGift Card isn't available at this time. Our Point of Sale team is tracking this request, but I wasn't able to uncover a specific timeline for when it may become available.

Appreciate you taking the time to share why physical gift cards would be a challenge to sell at your kiosk. I'll be sure to surface your post to the appropriate product team members for further insight. We are actively making improvements based on seller feedback. Please keep in touch for updates!

[Lulupoke325]

Oh my gosh I'm literally going thru this dilemma right now n honestly even putting it in to Google i struggled how to word this but u get me..u really really get me.  Ugh... so is there any good news on this question?

[jacdzg2]

I too am so frustrated!  I had a customer purchase a item partial with gift card and partial with her credit card.  When she came back in to return and get a store credit  (which I only do store credits - I do not do refunds) it put the money she purchased with her card back on her credit card and the amount she has on gift card  back onto a gift card that was thrown away.  Any ideas how I put both charges on a gift card?  I am out the money now.  This is so confusing and so frustrating.  Square HAS to figure out how to solve this problem.