Refund and Cancel Payments Fresh

Cancel a payment before it's completed at no cost, or refund all or part of a completed payment.

Stripe's processing fees from the original transaction are not returned when issuing a refund.

Cancel before completion

Cancel a PaymentIntent that hasn't been confirmed yet:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents/pi_123/cancel \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -X POST

Issue a full refund

Via API

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/refunds \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d payment_intent=pi_Aabcxyz01aDfoo

const refund = await stripe.refunds.create({
  payment_intent: 'pi_Aabcxyz01aDfoo',
});

Via Dashboard

1. Go to Payments in the Dashboard
2. Click the overflow menu next to the payment
3. Select Refund payment
4. Select a reason, click Refund

Issue a partial refund

Specify an amount in the smallest currency unit (cents for USD):

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/refunds \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d payment_intent=pi_Aabcxyz01aDfoo \
  -d amount=1000

const refund = await stripe.refunds.create({
  payment_intent: 'pi_Aabcxyz01aDfoo',
  amount: 1000, // $10.00
});

You can issue multiple partial refunds against a charge, but the total can't exceed the original charge amount.

Bulk refunds

The Dashboard supports bulk full refunds. Select multiple payments using the checkboxes, click Refund, and select a reason. Partial refunds must be issued individually.

Refund destinations

Refunds go back to the original payment method — you can't redirect a refund to a different card or bank account.

• Expired/canceled cards — the card issuer typically credits the customer's replacement card, or delivers via check/bank deposit
• ACH/SEPA — if the customer closed the account, the bank returns the refund as failed
• Other methods — refund handling varies by bank

How refunds appear

Successful refunds appear on the customer's bank statement. Stripe emails refund notifications to customers when:

• The original charge was created on a Customer object with an email address
• You've enabled "Email customers for refunds" in Dashboard settings

Failed refunds

In rare cases, a refund can fail. When it does, Stripe returns the funds to your Stripe balance. Check the refund's status field:

Status	Meaning
pending	Refund is in progress
succeeded	Refund completed successfully
failed	Refund failed (funds returned to your balance)
canceled	Refund was canceled

Refunds on Connect platforms

Refund behavior depends on the charge type:

• Direct charges — Stripe debits the connected account directly
• Destination charges — Stripe debits your platform; reverse the transfer to recover from the connected account
• Separate charge and transfer — same as destination charges

Refund API reference

# Create a refund
POST /v1/refunds

# Retrieve a refund
GET /v1/refunds/:id

# Update a refund (add metadata or reason)
POST /v1/refunds/:id

# List refunds
GET /v1/refunds