Merchant Processing Timeframes

overview instant refunds and instant exchanges have defined merchant processing timeframes to ensure financial reconciliation is completed within a reasonable period these timeframes apply once a returned item has been confirmed as delivered and help prevent returns from remaining financially open indefinitely approval timeframe after delivery once the return tracking number records a delivered status the retailer has 7 days to either approve or decline the return this timeframe applies to all instant refund and instant exchange returns you can view how many days remain via the days left column in the merchant portal you can use the needs attention tab at the top of the portal to quickly filter returns that require action if the needs attention tab is not visible, you can manually filter returns by resolution instant refund or instant exchange shipping status delivered what happens if no action is taken if no decision is made within the 7 day window, refundid will automatically perform a soft approve a soft approve closes the financial component only refundid invoices the retailer for the refund amount (or the exchange order value), the same as a full approval the return remains open in the merchant portal no inventory changes are made no operational or fulfilment workflows are affected this allows refundid to reconcile funds without interfering with the retailer's return processing processing after a soft approve even after a soft approve the return can still be processed normally the retailer can inspect and handle the returned item as usual the return is not marked as closed in the merchant portal if the retailer later decides the return should not be approved the return can be declined refundid will repay the retailer any funds that were invoiced any applicable fees will also be reversed the final resolution can be adjusted if required why this exists the 7 day processing timeframe exists to ensure financial reconciliation occurs within a predictable window prevent instant returns from remaining financially open indefinitely balance retailer operational flexibility with financial finality delivered returns that aren't actually delivered in some cases, a return may be marked as delivered but the item has not actually been received if this occurs, please reach out to refundid merchant support so we can assist this may happen if the return was sent to an incorrect return address the item was returned to sender the tracking number has lapsed and is now being reused for another shipment