Reversals

This guide details how to reverse or refund transfers using Moov’s flexible reversals endpoint.

The reversals POST endpoint offers a robust solution for returning funds to a cardholder, regardless of the current state of the transfer. When possible, the reversals endpoint cancels the transfer, reversing the authorization and swiftly returning funds. If settlement is in progress or completed, a refund is issued instead. Canceling a transfer offers certain advantages over refunds, such as reducing processing costs and expediting returns to cardholders.

Guidelines

  • A reversal cannot exceed the original transfer amount
  • Once requested, reversals cannot be canceled
  • Avoid requesting a reversal for a payment disputed by the cardholder to prevent a potential double charge
  • If a reversal request fails, you can initiate it again for the same transfer

Initiate a reversal

Use the reversals POST endpoint to initiate a reversal. This endpoint dynamically orchestrates one of two actions based on the settlement process:

  • Cancels the transfer (reverses the authorization) if it hasn’t yet settled
  • Initiates a refund if the transfer is already in the process of settlement, or has been settled

The request body is optional and its behavior is as follows:

  • No amount specified: Moov first attempts to cancel the transfer. If settlement is in progress or complete, a full refund is initiated.
  • Partial amount specified: Moov immediately initiates a partial refund, as partial cancellations aren’t supported. The cardholder will see a full debit followed by a partial credit. The amount is required to process a partial refund.
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curl -X POST "https://api.moov.io/accounts/{accountID}/transfers/{transferID}/reversals" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Idempotency-Key: UUID" \
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curl -X POST "https://api.moov.io/accounts/{accountID}/transfers/{transferID}/reversals" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Idempotency-Key: UUID" \
  --data-raw '{
    "amount": 1000 // $10.00
  }'
For immediate error correction, we recommend requesting a full reversal and creating a new transfer to create a smoother cardholder experience.

You can also initiate a reversal through the Moov Dashboard.

Initiate a cancellation

While a reversal will cancel the transaction if possible, you also have the option of requesting a cancellation directly with the cancel a transfer POST endpoint.

If you request a cancellation, but the card network has already settled, you’ll receive an error. Please use the reversals or refunds endpoint instead. If you request a cancellation, but the card network has already settled, you’ll receive an error. If the cancellation window has passed, use the reversals or refunds endpoint instead.

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curl -X POST "https://api.moov.io/accounts/{accountID}/transfers/{transferID}/cancellations" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Idempotency-Key: UUID" \

You can get the details of a cancellation using the cancellation details GET endpoint.

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curl -X GET "https://api.moov.io/accounts/{accountID}/transfers/{transferID}/cancellations/{cancellationID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "X-Idempotency-Key: UUID" \

Settlement status

Moov automatically checks the settlement status to determine if a transfer can be canceled. A successful request updates the transfer status to canceled, reversing the pending authorization. If settlement has already begun, a refund is initiated, which you can monitor using the cancellation or refunds as well as the cancellation or refunds GET endpoints.

Moov provides a synchronous response to inform you of the reversal outcome, including relevant details based on whether a cancellation or refund occurred.

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{
  "cancellation": {
    "cancellationID": "UUID",
    "createdOn": "2024-08-24T14:15:22Z", 
    "status": "completed"	
  } 
}

A cancellation typically completes instantly. However, if there’s an error with the card network response, a pending status is returned until a confirmation is received.

A 4xx error after reversal initiation signifies a decline from the card networks or a processing error. Retry the request with a new idempotency key. See our reversal API documentation for further information on HTTP error codes.

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{
  "refund": { 
    "refundID": "ec7e1848-dc80-4ab0-8827-dd7fc0737b43", 
    "createdOn": "2024-08-24T14:15:22Z",
    "updatedOn": "2024-08-24T14:15:32Z", 
    "status": "pending",
    "amount": {
      "currency": "USD",
      "value": 1204
    },
    "cardDetails": {
      "status": "confirmed",
      "confirmedOn": "2023-09-10T18:23:56Z"
    }
  }
}

A refund will have a pending status while waiting for authorization, or a failed status if it was declined by the card networks. The refund’s cardDetails.status will update with one of the following detailed rail specific statuses:

Rail-specific status Description
initiated Refund has been initiated by the user
confirmed Refund has been accepted by the card network
settled Refund has been settled
completed Refund has completed
failed Refund has failed

If the refund status updates to failed, the cardDetails object will update with a failure code.

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{
  "refund": { 
    "refundID": "ec7e1848-dc80-4ab0-8827-dd7fc0737b43", 
    "createdOn": "2024-08-24T14:15:22Z",
    "updatedOn": "2024-08-24T14:15:32Z", 
    "status": "failed",
    "amount": {
      "currency": "USD",
      "value": 1204
    },
    "cardDetails": {
      "status": "failed",
      "failureCode": "suspected-fraud",
      "failedOn": "2023-09-10T18:23:56Z"
    }
  }
}

If a transfer has a refund or cancellation in any status, we’ll also include that information in the transfers response itself.

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 "transferID": "UUID",
  "createdOn": "2024-08-24T14:15:22Z",
  "status": "canceled",
  "cancellations": [
    {
     "cancellationID": "UUID",
     "createdOn": "2023-09-09T14:15:22Z",
     "status": "completed"
    }
  ],

Webhooks

Subscribe to the following webhook event, which will provide you with relevant reversal updates:

  • transfer.updated notifies you once the reversal status changes to any of the following:
    • canceled
    • source.canceled

Subscribe to the following webhook events, which will provide you with relevant cancellation updates:

  • cancellation.created notifies you when the cancellation was successfully created
  • cancellation.updated notifies you when the cancellation was updated
    • pending
    • completed
    • failed

Subscribe to the following two webhook events, which will provide you with relevant refund updates:

  • refund.created notifies you when the refund was successfully created
  • refund.updated notifies you once the refund status changes to any of the following:
    • pending
    • completed
    • failed
Summary Beta