Refund a Payment

This guide explains how to process refunds and cancellations for previously authorized payments using the Getnet Regional API. Depending on when the refund is requested, the system handles it differently: same-day refunds are processed as cancellations (voiding the transaction before settlement), while next-day refunds are processed as adjustments (after settlement has occurred).

Requirements

Before following the steps, you need to:

Create your account by contacting the Integration Support team to get your API credentials client_id and client_secret.
Generate your token with your credentials using the Authentication endpoint.
Have a previously authorized or captured payment that you want to refund.

Getnet provides a Postman Collection to help you to replicate these use cases locally. You can also test the API in sandbox using the API Reference available in the documentation.

Use Cases Specifics

When integrating any Getnet solution, market-specific requirements apply. Be sure to review the resources below before you go live:

You can also use test cards to simulate specific scenarios. More information about specific requirements for each country can be found in the Developer Resources section of the Getnet documentation.

Platform availability

Refund and cancellation support varies by country, card brand and payment method. For a complete reference of supported card schemes and specific rules for each market, see Cancellations and Refunds Availability.

Understanding Refund Timing

The Getnet Regional API handles refunds differently based on when they are requested relative to the original transaction:

Same-Day Cancellations (D+0)

When a refund is processed on the same day as the original transaction, before the daily cutoff time, it's processed as a cancellation. The transaction is voided before it enters the network settlement flow.

Characteristics:

Only full refunds are allowed (partial refunds not supported)
Transaction is voided before settlement
Faster processing as the funds never leave the customer's account

Important: Transactions authorized very close to the cutoff time may require 20 to 30 minutes for full confirmation. In such cases, make the cancellation request after the cutoff time has passed to ensure it's properly processed.

For country-specific cutoff times and availability, see the Core Cards reference.

Next-Day Refunds (D+1 or Later)

When a refund is processed on the day following the original transaction or later, after the daily cutoff time, it's processed as a refund/adjustment. At this point, the transaction has already been sent through the card network's settlement flow.

Characteristics:

Both full and partial refunds are allowed (subject to country availability)
Processed as a separate refund transaction through the settlement system
May take longer to reflect in the customer's account

For country-specific information about partial refund availability, see the Core Cards reference.

The diagram below illustrates the refund flow, showing the different paths for same-day cancellations versus next-day refunds:

Refund Payment Process

This section guides you through the process of refunding a payment transaction.

The table below lists the minimum fields you need to send:

Attribute	Type	Description	Example
`idempotency_key`	String	Unique identifier to prevent duplicate operations.	`63c7f8ee-51a6-470d-bb76-ef762b62bfb7`
`payment_id`	String	The payment identifier from the original transaction response.	`2c341d28-491b-4cf8-aec7-eeb60136b7a5`
`payment_method`	String	The payment method used in the original transaction.	`CREDIT`
`amount`	Integer	Value (less than or equal) of the purchase in cents.	`118708`

Partial Refunds: The amount field allows you to specify a partial refund amount (equal to or less than the original transaction). However, partial refunds are only available from D+1 onwards and availability varies by country. For country-specific information, see the Core Cards reference.

Step 1: Request the Refund or Cancellation

Despite the endpoint name, this endpoint handles both same-day cancellations and next-day refunds automatically based on the timing.

To process a refund or cancellation, use the Cancel Payment endpoint.

Request The following code block shows an example of a full refund request:

bash

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api-sbx.globalgetnet.com/dpm/payments-gwproxy/v2/payments/cancel \
  --header 'authorization: Bearer ' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "idempotency_key": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4789-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "payment_method": "CREDIT"
}'

bash

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api-sbx.globalgetnet.com/dpm/payments-gwproxy/v2/payments/cancel \
  --header 'authorization: Bearer ' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "idempotency_key": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4789-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "payment_method": "CREDIT"
}'

Example of a partial refund request (only available D+1 or later, subject to country availability):

bash

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api-sbx.globalgetnet.com/dpm/payments-gwproxy/v2/payments/cancel \
  --header 'authorization: Bearer ' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "idempotency_key": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-5890-bcde-fg2345678901",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "payment_method": "CREDIT",
  "amount": 50000
}'

bash

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api-sbx.globalgetnet.com/dpm/payments-gwproxy/v2/payments/cancel \
  --header 'authorization: Bearer ' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "idempotency_key": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-5890-bcde-fg2345678901",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "payment_method": "CREDIT",
  "amount": 50000
}'

Response Example of successful cancellation response:

json

{
  "idempotency_key": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4789-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "seller_id": "e0ed6f00-fdc5-46d6-9557-6a2cac641b09",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "order_id": "ORDER-10187383",
  "amount": 118708,
  "currency": "BRL",
  "status": "CANCELED",
  "reason_code": "00",
  "reason_message": "Cancellation successful",
  "canceled_at": "2025-10-31T14:30:25.166Z"
}

json

{
  "idempotency_key": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4789-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "seller_id": "e0ed6f00-fdc5-46d6-9557-6a2cac641b09",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "order_id": "ORDER-10187383",
  "amount": 118708,
  "currency": "BRL",
  "status": "CANCELED",
  "reason_code": "00",
  "reason_message": "Cancellation successful",
  "canceled_at": "2025-10-31T14:30:25.166Z"
}

Example of denied cancellation response:

json

{
  "idempotency_key": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4789-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "seller_id": "e0ed6f00-fdc5-46d6-9557-6a2cac641b09",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "order_id": "ORDER-10187383",
  "amount": 118708,
  "currency": "BRL",
  "status": "DENIED",
  "reason_code": "05",
  "reason_message": "Cancellation not allowed - transaction already settled"
}

json

{
  "idempotency_key": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-4789-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "seller_id": "e0ed6f00-fdc5-46d6-9557-6a2cac641b09",
  "payment_id": "053de7f9-3725-437b-bdfc-bbf3ed0acb75",
  "order_id": "ORDER-10187383",
  "amount": 118708,
  "currency": "BRL",
  "status": "DENIED",
  "reason_code": "05",
  "reason_message": "Cancellation not allowed - transaction already settled"
}

Step 2: Verify the Refund Status

To confirm that the refund was successfully processed, check the status field in the response:

CANCELED: The refund was successfully processed
DENIED: The refund was rejected

If the refund was denied, check the reason_code and reason_message fields for more details about why the refund failed.

You can also query the transaction status at any time using the Get Transaction endpoint. For real-time updates, it is recommended to use Webhooks to receive notifications for every status change.

Refunding Combined Payments

Combined payments require special handling when processing refunds:

Card Transactions

Cancellation is available for confirmed transactions made more than 1 day ago.

Credit Cards

Combined payments with credit cards can be cancelled through a request that includes the same number of payment objects as sent in the previous authorization request.
Depending on the authorization status of the current transaction, cancellation can be reversed on the same day (already confirmed) or within 7 days (already authorized).

To cancel a combined payment, use the Combined Payments - Cancel endpoint instead of the regular cancel endpoint.

Best Practices

When processing refunds, follow these best practices:

Be aware of the daily cutoff times for your market to understand whether your refund will be processed as a same-day cancellation or next-day refund.
Remember that partial refunds are only available from D+1 onwards and availability varies by country. Check the Core Cards reference for country-specific information.
Always use a unique idempotency_key for each refund request to prevent accidental duplicate refunds.
Use webhooks to receive real-time updates about refund processing rather than repeatedly polling the API.
Keep the payment_id, payment_method, and amount from the original transaction to facilitate refund processing.