⚠️
Note:
We are currently in the pilot phase for this product.
If you are interested in participating in the next stage of our pilot, email [email protected]

An unreferenced refund is a payment process where you use the funds from your MultiSafepay account balance to process a refund. This allows you to return funds to a customer without referring to the original transaction.

Activation

To enable unreferenced refunds for your MultiSafepay account, email [email protected] with the following details:

Required Details
Merchant ID
Reason for using unreferenced refunds
Product or service requiring unreferenced refunds
Expected amount of unreferenced refunds per day
Maximum amount per unreferenced refund

Payment flow

You initiate an unreferenced refund.
The customer presents their card.
The card details are sent to MultiSafepay.
We forward the details to the card scheme for authorization, which can be accepted or declined.
Once we receive an authorization response, we forward it to the device. The result is displayed on the screen.
If the authorization is successful, MultiSafepay processes the refund immediately.
No additional action is required. For more information, see Payment statuses.

Successful unreferenced refunds can be viewed in your MultiSafepay dashboard under Transactions > Transaction overview.

This diagram shows the flow for a successful transaction. Click to magnify.

---
config:
  theme: default
  themeVariables:
    mainBkg: "#3fa9f5"
    actorTextColor: white
    actorBorder: "#d2dae3"
    noteBkgColor: "#faebbf"
    noteBorderColor: "#faebbf"
    labelBoxBkgColor: "#f2f7fc"
    labelBoxBorderColor: "#d2dae3"
  sequence:
    messageFontFamily: "mulish extralight"
    messageFontWeight: normal
    messageFontSize: 12
    actorFontWeight: normal
    actorFontFamily: "mulish"
    actorFontSize: 16
    noteFontFamily: "mulish"
    noteFontSize: 12
---
sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    participant Customer
    participant Device
    participant MultiSafepay
    participant Scheme

    Customer->>Device: Presents their card
    Device->>MultiSafepay: Sends card details
    MultiSafepay->>Scheme: Handles the authorization request
    Scheme->>MultiSafepay: Sends an authorization response
    MultiSafepay->>Device: Forwards the authorization response
    Device->>Device: Displays result of the response
    Device->>Customer: Refund is processed successfully

⚠️
Note:
When processing unreferenced refunds, ensure that:

Your MultiSafepay account balance has sufficient funds.

The refund amount does not exceed your available account balance.

User guide

Amount limits

Minimum refund amount: 0,01 EUR
Maximum refund amount: 60 EUR

Maximum amounts can be adjusted. Send a request to [email protected]

How it works

SmartPOS

Prerequisites

On your device:

Enable the unreferenced refunds feature:
1. From the MultiSafepay Payment app main screen, go to Features > Settings > Payment.
2. Click the Unreferenced refunds toggle switch and enter your PIN.
3. Unreferenced refunds are now enabled on your device.
For Cloud POS payments, additionally enable Cloud mode.

Check the general flow below:

You create an unreferenced refund using one of the following solutions:
- Manual Input
- Cloud POS
- On-same-device third-party applications
The customer presents their card.
The card details are sent to MultiSafepay.
The details are forwarded to the card scheme for authorization, which can be accepted or declined.
Once we receive an authorization response, we forward it to the device. The result is displayed on the screen.

To learn how to process unreferenced refunds for each solution, see the steps below:

Cloud POS

Create an unreferenced refund order. See Cloud POS payment: Unreferenced refunds.
The device displays the amount set in the order.
The customer presents their card at the device to complete the transaction.

Example request

curl --request POST \
--location 'https://api.multisafepay.com/v1/json/orders?api_key={terminal_group_api_key}'\
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Accept: application/json' \
--data '{
    "type": "unreferenced_refund",
    "order_id": "order_id_example",
    "gateway": "",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "amount": 100,
    "description": "Example order description",
    "payment_options": {
        "notification_url": "https://www.example.com/client/notification?type=notification",
        "notification_method": "POST"
    },
    "customer": {
        "locale": "nl_NL",
        "phone": "031123123123",
        "email": "[email protected]"
    },
    "gateway_info": {
        "terminal_id": "00000ABC"
    }
}'

Example response

{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "order_id": "example_order_id",
        "session_id": "1045QwhsVpUeasAwdaQWGSACAafascdsa1y",
        "payment_url": "https://payv2.multisafepay.com/connect/fsadfwa4234qdejtcadx/?lang=nl_NL",
        "events_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJleHAiOjE3NTU5NDc4MzUsImdydCI6WyJtYnVzOnNlc3Npb24ub3JkZXIiLCJtYnVzOnNlc3Npb24ucXIiXSwicGlkIjoiMTA0NVF3aHNWcFVeasfd21lR3UXVKYlZBRUZXd1N3bllDMXkiLCJzdWIiOiJwciJ9.bo7saa1rHZoAcdI7DXH0skVx4EMFm7-EM1P1WfoPCJA",
        "events_stream_url": "https://api.multisafepay.com/events/stream/"
    }
}

Web applications

Create an unreferenced refund order from your web application. The URL must contain the refund parameter:

  msp://?amount=1&callback={$callback_url}order_id={$order_id}&refund

The customer is redirected to the payment app, where the amount is displayed.
They present their card at the device to complete the transaction.
They are redirected to your web application.

Traditional (CTAP) terminals

The steps to process an unreferenced refund may vary from one terminal model to another. Check the general flow below:

You initiate the refund by introducing the amount on the CTAP terminal.
The customer presents their card.
The card details are sent to MultiSafepay.
The details are forwarded to the card scheme for authorization, which can be accepted or declined.
Once we receive an authorization response, we forward it to the terminal. The result displays on the screen.

Cancellation

You can cancel an unreferenced refund only when its status is reserved. See payment statuses for more information. To cancel an unreferenced refund, follow these steps:

Log in to your MultiSafepay dashboard .
Go to Transactions > Transaction overview.
Click on the relevant unreferenced refund.
Click Cancel. The status changes to void.

Payment statuses

Check the table below to learn more about the different statuses:

Description	Status
The transaction is initiated	`initialized`
The transaction is processed. In this status: • You can still cancel the refund via your MultiSafepay dashboard. • The refund is guaranteed (unless the account has insufficient funds or the refund is cancelled).	`reserved`
The transaction is completed. The refunded funds are then settled to the customer's account according to the receiving bank's processing times.	`completed`
The transaction was declined	`declined`
The transaction was cancelled.	`void`

Visibility

Once the unreferenced refund is completed:

The refunded funds are settled according to the receiving bank's processing times.
Depending on the issuer, the amount may not appear immediately on the customer's account. We recommend the customer contact their issuer if they have questions about settlement.

Updates

Check the table below to learn more about how to receive updates for unreferenced refunds:

Device	How to handle notifications
SmartPOS	To receive order updates, set up a webhook . For cloud mode, you can also subscribe to our event notifications.
CTAP	Make a Get order request. Retrieve the details from the response.

You can also set up a webhook for your transactions.

Receipt

You can retrieve the details of the unreferenced refund by making a Get receipt request.
The response includes information such as:

The transaction amount and currency
The transaction and authorization identifiers
Card details (the payment method, last four digits, and issuer country)
Terminal details
The completion timestamp