How long do I have to process a refund?
You must process a refund within 90 days after processing the original payment, and no later than 7 days after check-out.
Guest credit card details will be deleted 7 days after check-out. This is in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
How long do I have to process a refund for a virtual credit card (VCC)?
If the payment was processed with a virtual credit card (VCC), you may have up to 90 days to refund the payment, however it depends on the channel’s policy of charging VCC’s. Please check with the channel directly.
Is there a fee to process a refund?
A small fee per transaction will apply (the same fee as processing a payment). Fees vary according to your country, the credit card payment network (MasterCard, Visa, etc), and the type of card (domestic, international, or premium) used for the transaction.
To see which fees are applicable to your property, refer to your SiteMinder Pay activation form.
Third-party payment gateways such as PayPal charge their own fees.
When will the guest receive the refund in their bank account?
Once you have refunded a guest using SiteMinder Pay, it can take up to seven days to be received in the guest’s bank account, depending on their bank and where they are located.
Once you have refunded a guest using SiteMinder Pay, it can take up to seven days to be received in the guest’s bank account, depending on their bank and where they are located.
If the guest is not seeing the refund on their bank statement:
If the guest is asking why they are not seeing the refund on their bank statement, this may be why:
The refund appears as a reversal — the original payment will be removed from their bank statement.
If the payment is refunded during its authorisation period — the original payment will be adjusted to either a lower amount (for a partial refund) or zero (for a full refund). The transaction may also be marked as ‘Pending’ on their bank statement.
How can I prove to a guest that a refund has been made?
If the refund was paid back to a MasterCard or Visa card, you can find an Acquirer reference number in the transaction details (Payments > Transactions). You can give this reference number to your guest, which they can give to their bank to check on the status of receiving the refund.
Can I cancel a refund?
Refunds cannot be cancelled or reversed.
Can I refund the guest a partial amount?
Yes, you can refund the guest a partial amount, for example, for any deposit paid. Once you click on the Refund button, you will need to enter the amount, which can be a partial amount, or the total amount. You will then need to click Process refund.
Can I refund an expired or cancelled credit card?
When you refund a guest, the refund will be automatically returned to the same payment card used for the original payment. If the original payment card has since expired or been cancelled, the refund can still be processed as the funds should instead be credited to the guest's new payment card (depending on their bank and card issuer) or their bank account.
Why was money deducted from my bank account for a refund?
If you make a refund but the Account balance in your SiteMinder Pay account doesn’t have enough funds to cover the refund amount, the amount may be automatically drawn from your bank account.
I am trying to make a refund but I get a failed to process “unavailable funds” message
If you are trying to refund a payment but get a failed to process “unavailable funds” or "insufficient funds” message, this means that your SiteMinder Pay account balance has insufficient funds to process any more refunds. You will be unable to process refunds as your account does not have available balance for refunding guests.
If you can’t refund a guest due to your account balance having insufficient funds, but you need to refund the guest urgently, you can:
Process additional payments to bring your account into a positive balance.
Send the funds directly to your guest if they are asking for an urgent refund.
Manually top up your account to cover the refund. To do this, click the “Top up account” button in the error message you receive when trying to make a refund, or please contact our support team.
To ensure you always have an available balance so you can process refunds in future, you can:
Activate auto top up (direct debit). If auto top up is enabled, then funds from your bank account will be automatically transferred to your account when your balance becomes negative.
Switch from a daily payout schedule to a weekly or fortnightly payout schedule. That way, the money will not be transferred immediately to your bank and you can accumulate more funds which you can then use for refunds. To do this, please contact our support team.
I have available balance in my SiteMinder Pay account but I still can’t process a refund as it says “unavailable funds”
If you have an available balance in your SiteMinder Pay account but still can’t process a refund due to “unavailable funds”, it may be due to a payout being in transit. Because the payout is currently being paid out, you will be unable to use the pending payout amount to process a refund.
Why can’t I see the option to process a payment or refund?
If you don't see the option to process payments in your SiteMinder platform, it's likely because you haven't activated SiteMinder Pay. If you do not see the option to process a refund, it could also be because there has been no payment processed through SiteMinder Pay, therefore no funds available to refund.
How do I set up a weekly or fortnightly payout schedule so there are sufficient funds in our account to cover refunds?
To change your SiteMinder Pay payout schedule (e.g. from daily to weekly or fortnightly), please contact our support team.
I have auto top up enabled but it has failed — why?
If an auto top up fails, you will receive an e-mail notification. If your auto top up has failed, it could be because:
There are insufficient funds in your bank account in order to process the amount for auto top up (direct debit).
Bank details are incorrect. To check your property’s linked bank account details, go to Payments > Payouts > Linked account column. If your bank details are incorrect, contact our support team.