Refunds
Understand how refunds work with Nkwa Pay’s mobile money payment processing system.
Refunds
Automatic Refunds for Failed Disbursements
If a disbursement request fails, you will be automatically refunded the full amount of the disbursement (amount + fees) to your Nkwa Pay account balance. This ensures that no funds are lost due to failed transactions.
Refund Process
The refund process follows these steps:
- Failed Transaction: When a disbursement fails due to reasons such as invalid phone numbers, network issues, or recipient account restrictions
- Automatic Detection: Nkwa Pay automatically detects the failed transaction
- Account Credit: The full amount (including any transaction fees) is credited back to your Nkwa Pay account balance
- Notification: You will be notified of the refund
Refund Timeline
Refunds are typically processed immediately when the system receives a failed status from the Mobile Network Operator (MNO). However, in cases where the MNO systems experience degradation, reconciliation might take longer (usually within 24-48 hours).
Refund Scenarios
Common scenarios that may trigger automatic refunds include:
- Invalid recipient phone number
- Recipient’s mobile money account is inactive or restricted
- MNO service disruption during the disbursement process
- Recipient’s account exceeding maximum balance limits
- Regulatory restrictions on the recipient’s account
Checking Refund Status
You can check if a refund has been processed by:
- Monitoring your webhook endpoint for payment status updates
- Using the Get payment endpoint to check the status of the original disbursement
- Reviewing your account balance and transaction history in the Nkwa Pay dashboard
Best Practices
- Maintain accurate records of all disbursement attempts for reconciliation
- Implement proper error handling in your application to detect and process failed disbursements
- Configure webhooks to receive real-time notifications about payment status changes
- Validate recipient phone numbers before initiating disbursements to reduce failures
For more information about disbursements, please refer to our Disbursement Guide.