A void cancels a card sale before the batch settles, so that capture never funds. A refund is a credit you send after the sale has already settled, almost always to the same card. A chargeback is the issuing bank pulling the money with a reason code, usually after the cardholder went to their bank instead of (or after) asking you. The decision is the clock: still in today's open batch, void; already deposited, refund; already a case from the issuer, respond, do not blindly credit a second time.
Those three tools are not synonyms. Mixing them is how you eat the sale twice, plus a fee.
The line that matters: has the batch settled?
Authorization is a hold. Capture claims the sale. Batch close packages the day's captures and sends them for clearing. Settlement is when the networks move money between banks. Funding is the deposit into your checking account. A void lives before that close. A refund lives after it. A chargeback lives after the issuer has already treated the sale as posted.
If today's batch is still open, void or reverse the capture. The hold drops and nothing settles. If last night's batch already went, you cannot un-settle it. You issue a credit. Do not void and refund the same sale. Two credits on one ticket is how you manufacture a loss.
A void
A void (sometimes printed as a reversal or a cancel) tells the processor: do not deposit this capture. Visa Core Rules section 1.7.7 (18 October 2025 public edition) requires the acquirer to process a reversal when an online financial transaction is subsequently voided or cancelled, and forbids depositing a transaction that was reversed in full.
Use a void when the customer is still in front of you, the amount was keyed twice, or a pre-auth plus tip has not closed. Restaurants live here: authorize the tab, add the tip, then capture. If the batch is still open, void. If it already closed with the tip on it, you refund.
A void does not create a credit on the cardholder's statement. There is no sale to reverse later, and no chargeback of a sale that never cleared, unless a duplicate capture still went out. Void the extra entry. Do not refund a sale that should never have settled.
A refund
A refund is a new credit transaction. The original sale stays. The credit posts against it. The customer sees both lines. Visa Core Rules section 1.5.4.14 (18 October 2025 public edition) lets you write your own refund policy, but you must disclose it, and when you refund a prior purchase you must, to the extent possible, process that credit to the same payment credential used on the original sale. If the original credential is closed, lost, or declined, you may credit a secondary credential when you have proof of purchase. Cash, check, in-store credit, or a prepaid card is the fallback when there is no receipt, or when someone other than the cardholder is returning a gift.
Visa's Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024) puts the operational duty in plain language: disclose the policy at purchase, and deposit credit receipts as quickly as possible, preferably the same day you generate them. A credit you keyed in the terminal but never batched is not a refund the issuer can see. That gap is how a goodwill return becomes a dispute.
A refund is not an un-sale. Interchange and assessments already moved on the original capture. Some of that wholesale cost may come back on the credit, some may not, and your processor may add a credit or return fee of its own. None of those lines is a reason to skip the credit and hope the customer forgets.
A chargeback
A chargeback is not a customer-service ticket you control. The cardholder contacts the issuing bank. If a dispute right applies, the issuer sends the case to your acquirer, which researches it and, when the dispute is valid, deducts the amount from your merchant account (Visa, June 2024 merchant guidelines). You may accept it, or reject it and send evidence. Visa groups conditions into fraud (10.x), authorization (11.x), processing errors (12.x), and consumer disputes (13.x). Mastercard's Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition (27 January 2026) uses authorization-related, cardholder disputes, fraud, and point-of-interaction error. The reason code tells you which documents can answer the claim.
A chargeback costs more than the ticket. You can lose the goods already gone, the transaction amount, and a per-case fee your processor bills as markup. That fee is usually billed whether you win or lose. You will see it as its own line on a merchant statement, not folded into interchange.
The consumer's clock with the issuer is not your representment calendar. Under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.13 (CFPB), a billing-error notice must reach the creditor no later than 60 days after the first periodic statement that shows the alleged error, and the creditor must finish within two complete billing cycles, and in no event later than 90 days. Network filing windows against you are a different clock, set per condition. Your response window is whatever your acquirer printed on the notice. Miss it and the case defaults.
- You start it, usually after the customer asks you
- Void: cancel before the batch settles, so the sale never funds
- Refund: credit the same card after settlement
- No reason code and no chargeback fee
- A credit receipt is your proof if a dispute arrives later
- The issuing bank starts it, with a network reason code
- Funds are pulled from your merchant account
- A per-case fee usually posts even if you later win
- Your acquirer sets the deadline to send evidence
- Visa condition 13.6 is the credit-not-processed case
Worked example (illustrative)
Numbers below are illustrative. They show the three clocks, not a quote.
A $180 card sale, batch still open at 2 p.m.
| Path | What you do | What the cardholder sees | What leaves your account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Void | Cancel the capture before close | Hold drops. No posted sale. | $0 |
| Refund (next week) | Credit $180 to the same card after settlement | Original $180 sale, then a $180 credit | $180 out as a credit. Original processing may not reverse 1:1. |
| Chargeback | Customer files with the issuer | Issuer credits the card, often provisionally | $180 pulled, plus a $25 per-case fee (illustrative), and the goods if already gone |
Same $180. Three different nets. The void is free because nothing settled. The refund is the adult version of the same conversation. The chargeback is that conversation plus a fee and a deadline.
If you already refunded the $180 on Tuesday and a chargeback posts on Friday, the risk is a double credit. Send the acquirer the credit amount and the date. Do not refund it again.
When a refund becomes a chargeback
Visa condition 13.6, Credit Not Processed (June 2024 merchant guidelines) is the dispute you get when the cardholder has a credit or void receipt that never posted. The common causes in that guide are blunt: you did not issue the credit, you issued it too late to hit the next statement, or a ticket that should have been voided still settled.
How you answer 13.6 is equally blunt. If no credit is due, document the disclosed policy the cardholder accepted. If a credit is due and you have not processed it, accept the dispute. If you already processed the credit or reversal, send the amount and the date. If the cardholder has dropped the claim, send that in writing.
Prevention is same-day credits, a policy the customer saw at checkout, a billing descriptor they recognize, and a number that answers before they call the issuer. Visa (June 2024) tells card-absent merchants not to deposit the sale until the merchandise ships, and to cancel recurring billing on request. Those two habits kill a lot of 13.x cases before they start.
Which tool to use
Walk the clock, in order.
- Is today's batch still open? Void or reverse the capture. Confirm it did not reappear in the next batch.
- Did it already settle, and is the customer still talking to you? Refund to the same card. Partial refunds are a credit for less than the original amount, not a void of a settled sale.
- Did the issuer already open a case? Stop. Read the reason code. If you already credited, represent with the credit. If you have not credited and the claim is valid, accepting is often cheaper than fighting a case you will lose. If you have compelling evidence the sale was good, send it on the acquirer's calendar. Do not issue a parallel refund "just in case" unless the acquirer says that is the remedy.
A refund you control is almost always cheaper than a chargeback you do not. To see how a dispute fee sits next to interchange on a real statement, run it through the analyzer.
FAQ
What is the difference between a void and a refund? A void cancels the sale before the batch settles, so the customer is never billed for that capture. A refund is a separate credit you send after the sale has already settled. Same customer outcome on the card, different clocks and different fees.
Can I give a cash refund on a card sale? Visa Core Rules (18 October 2025 public edition) require you to credit the same payment credential as the original sale whenever you can. Cash, check, in-store credit, or a prepaid card is allowed when the original credential is gone, the credit is declined, there is no proof of purchase, or a gift-giver is returning the item.
If I already issued a refund, can the customer still chargeback? Yes. The issuer can still file, often as Visa condition 13.6, Credit Not Processed, when the credit is slow or the cardholder does not see it. Represent with the credit amount and the date you processed it. Do not refund a second time unless your acquirer tells you to.
Is a chargeback the same as a dispute? Visa's merchant guide uses dispute for the whole case. A chargeback is the money movement: the issuer pulls the sale from your merchant account, usually with a per-case fee. You still answer through your acquirer, with evidence matched to the reason code.
How long does a cardholder have to dispute a credit card charge? Under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.13 (CFPB), a billing-error notice to the card issuer must arrive no later than 60 days after the first statement that shows the alleged error. The issuer then has two complete billing cycles, and no more than 90 days, to finish its process. Network windows for the issuer to file against you are a separate clock and vary by condition.
Do I get the chargeback fee back if I win? Usually not. The sale amount can come back if representment succeeds. The per-case fee is processor markup, billed win or lose. Read the line on your statement. It is not interchange and not a network assessment.
Sources
Questions about how this applies to your business?
Talk it through