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Refund on Debit card

MouldyOldDough
MouldyOldDough Posts: 2,935 Forumite
1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
in Credit cards
Why does it always take 3 days to get a refund on a card payment - but paying is instant ?

If I was half as smart as I think I am - I'd be twice as smart as I REALLY am.

Comments

  • DullGreyGuy
    DullGreyGuy Posts: 18,613 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Paying isnt instant... it may show leaving your account fairly quickly but that doesnt mean its arrived in the merchant's account straight away.

    The payment network is based on older mechanisms in the same way that BACS takes 3 days to go from end to end - its been broadly replaced by FasterPay 
  • MouldyOldDough
    MouldyOldDough Posts: 2,935 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    DullGreyGuy said:
    Paying isnt instant... it may show leaving your account fairly quickly but that doesnt mean its arrived in the merchant's account straight away.

    The payment network is based on older mechanisms in the same way that BACS takes 3 days to go from end to end - its been broadly replaced by FasterPay 

    OK so why can't fasterpay work in the consumers favour as well -  ie to get fast/instant refunds ?

    If I was half as smart as I think I am - I'd be twice as smart as I REALLY am.
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 22,264 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Sixth Anniversary Name Dropper
    MouldyOldDough said:
    Why does it always take 3 days to get a refund on a card payment - but paying is instant ?
    Card payments are not instant. Approval for a debit is, but is never fully taken straight away. 
    Credits do not need authorisation. So take the same timeframe as debits in the end.

    If you want it to work in the same way as faster payments, then you will have card debits hitting straight away, rather than the normal day or two..
    Card payment systems are totally different in the background to faster payments. 
    Life in the slow lane
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 38,850 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    MouldyOldDough said:
    DullGreyGuy said:
    Paying isnt instant... it may show leaving your account fairly quickly but that doesnt mean its arrived in the merchant's account straight away.

    The payment network is based on older mechanisms in the same way that BACS takes 3 days to go from end to end - its been broadly replaced by FasterPay 
    OK so why can't fasterpay work in the consumers favour as well -  ie to get fast/instant refunds ?
    It can, but the speed of refunds will generally be within the control of the merchant, so retailers will naturally often choose to be slower to lose money than to gain it, while blaming the banks....
  • Paul_01
    Paul_01 Posts: 413 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    MouldyOldDough said:
    Why does it always take 3 days to get a refund on a card payment - but paying is instant ?
    It doesn't always take 3 days. I have had a number of 'refunds' to my debit card that were instant.
  • MouldyOldDough
    MouldyOldDough Posts: 2,935 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Paul_01 said:
    MouldyOldDough said:
    Why does it always take 3 days to get a refund on a card payment - but paying is instant ?
    It doesn't always take 3 days. I have had a number of 'refunds' to my debit card that were instant.

    Laptopsdirect take 5 days

    If I was half as smart as I think I am - I'd be twice as smart as I REALLY am.
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 35,367 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    MouldyOldDough said:
    Paul_01 said:
    MouldyOldDough said:
    Why does it always take 3 days to get a refund on a card payment - but paying is instant ?
    It doesn't always take 3 days. I have had a number of 'refunds' to my debit card that were instant.

    Laptopsdirect take 5 days
    Two different things in play here, nothing can happen until a company actually inputs a refund into the system and some are very slow to do that.  Payments are automatically taken but refunds are often manual and require authorisation within the company.

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