A seller tells you the refund has been sent. You open PayPal and it says 'Pending'. Or it says 'Completed', and your bank shows nothing. Or days have gone by and you can't tell whether the seller, PayPal or your bank has the money.
Usually nothing has gone wrong. A refund has to pass through several hands, and it can wait with any of them. The status on the transaction tells you which one has it, and that decides who you should ask. All the time windows below come from PayPal's US help page 'Where is my refund?'. PayPal publishes separate pages by country, so check your own country's page if the wording differs.
Find the status first: it tells you who has the money
On the PayPal website, go to 'Activity', click 'Filters' and select 'Refunds' from the drop-down menu. Choose a date range, then click the refunded transaction to see its details. Then read the status against this list.
- 'Pending': the seller has issued the refund, but the money hasn't cleared their bank. Waiting on the seller's side.
- 'On hold': the seller refunded before your original payment had cleared your bank. Waiting on your original payment.
- 'Refunded' or 'Partially refunded': PayPal has sent the money back to your original payment method. Waiting on your bank or card issuer, if it hasn't arrived.
- 'Completed': PayPal says the refund is complete and the money has been returned to your original payment method.
- 'Canceled': PayPal was unable to process the refund. Nothing is on its way, so contact the seller.
- 'Refund Pending' on the Refund Tracker: this is a different thing from the 'Pending' status. Activity shows the tracker for full refunds of checkout payments funded by a bank or card and not split between payment methods, and this step means the refund is now pending with your card issuer or bank. Waiting on them, not the seller.
Where the refund goes and how long PayPal says it takes
PayPal says it sends all refunds back to your original payment method, so the way you paid decides both the destination and the wait. These are PayPal's published windows.
- Credit card: back to the card. Depending on the issuer, up to 1 to 2 billing cycles to appear on your statement. PayPal says a billing cycle typically lasts 28 to 31 days, so a refund that isn't on this month's statement is not yet late.
- Debit card: generally up to 5 business days, though PayPal says some refunds may take up to 30 days depending on your card company. If PayPal can't apply the refund to the debit card, it adds it to your PayPal balance.
- Bank account: transferred to your bank automatically. Usually up to 5 business days, and some up to thirty days depending on the status of the payment when the refund was issued.
- PayPal balance: back to your balance on the same day.
- Balance plus credit card: split the same way. The balance part arrives the same day and the card part can take 1 to 2 billing cycles. If you only look at your card, you may think part of the money is missing.
- eCheck refund from the seller: usually up to 5 business days to clear, sometimes longer, and it lands in your PayPal balance whichever way you paid. See the eCheck section below.
Cause 1: 'Pending' or 'on hold' means it hasn't left the starting line
'Pending' means the seller has issued the refund, but the money hasn't cleared their bank. Since it is still at the seller's end, your own bank is unlikely to be able to tell you anything yet. PayPal says it usually takes up to 5 business days, and that if it is still pending after 5 business days you should contact the seller for details.
'On hold' is the mirror image. The seller refunded before your original payment had finished clearing your bank. PayPal's help says that when the original payment clears, the refund will complete, so there is nothing for you to do at this stage except check that the original payment is going through at your bank.
Cause 2: The seller refunded you by eCheck
PayPal says some sellers can only send refunds with an eCheck issued by their bank. An eCheck has to clear the sender's bank before you can receive it. PayPal says that usually takes up to 5 business days, but in some cases longer, and that Saturdays, Sundays and holidays don't count as business days. So a refund issued just before a long weekend can look stuck when it is simply still inside the window.
The detail people miss is the destination. PayPal says an eCheck refund appears in your balance with PayPal. If you paid by card and you are watching your card statement, you may never see it there. Check your PayPal balance, and if you want the money in your bank, transfer it out from there.
If you are the seller, don't send a second refund to hurry things along. PayPal's help on issuing refunds says that once you send a refund, you can't cancel it, so you may end up paying twice.
Cause 3: It arrived somewhere else, or for a different amount
If PayPal says the money has been returned and you still can't find it, go through these before you assume it is lost.
- It went to your PayPal balance. PayPal says this can happen when it can't credit your original payment method or when you choose balance as the destination. Look there first.
- The card has been canceled, or it was a prepaid card. PayPal says it will still send the refund to a canceled or prepaid card, and that you should contact the card issuing company to access the money.
- Your bank account has since been closed. PayPal's refund page doesn't say what happens in this case, so ask the bank that held the account, and check your PayPal balance and Activity for a returned refund.
- The amount is smaller than you paid, and there was a currency conversion. PayPal says your refund may differ from the original payment amount because conversion rates change. Compare the amounts in the original currency before you assume money is missing.
- It is a partial refund. 'Partially refunded' means the seller only sent back part of the payment. Ask them about the rest.
What to ask the seller, your card issuer or your bank
Ask the right party, and take the details with you. For a checkout payment, PayPal says you can use the bank reference ID shown under Activity to track a refund with your card issuer or bank. If you can't find one, PayPal says you can refer to the original transaction instead, so have its date and amount ready.
- Status is 'Pending' past 5 business days, or 'Canceled': ask the seller on what date they issued the refund, whether it was funded from their balance, their bank or an eCheck, and what status they see on their side.
- Status is 'Refunded', 'Completed' or 'Refund Pending' on the tracker: ask your card issuer or bank, and quote the bank reference ID. Ask whether they have received the refund and when it will post to your account.
- Credit card: ask which statement the credit should appear on. Remember PayPal's window for credit cards is counted in billing cycles, not days.
- Canceled or prepaid card: ask the issuer how you can access the money, since it was sent to a card you can no longer use normally.
- The seller stops answering or never issued anything: PayPal's page 'How do I get a refund?' says to contact the seller first, and if that fails to open a dispute in the Resolution Center.
Prevent it next time
Dispute deadlines are the one thing that can make waiting expensive. PayPal sets a time limit for opening a dispute, so check its dispute timeframes page for your case. If a dispute stays unresolved, PayPal's refund help says you have 20 days to escalate it to a claim. So if a refund has been promised and nothing has been issued, don't let the weeks drift by.
If you are the seller, you can issue a refund from 'Activity' by selecting the payment and clicking 'Issue a refund', and PayPal allows a full or partial refund within 180 days of the payment date. Telling your customer which method you used and the date you sent it will save you most of the follow-up emails.
If you sell online
If refunds or holds on one account are holding up your business, it can help not to have all your money coming through one processor. A OneSol page on Pro can take payments through your own Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay or Square account, and OneSol takes no cut.