Refund a Transaction

Audience: Citizen Developer

Skill Prerequisites: Tokens

The Refund a Transaction action integrates with Authorize.Net to refund a previously settled payment transaction. Use this when a customer requests a refund for an order, or you need to reverse a charge after it has been finalized. You must provide the transaction details and API credentials.

Typical Use Cases

• Refund a customer’s credit card or bank account payment via Authorize.Net.
• Automate refunds in response to form submissions or workflow triggers.
• Add refund capabilities to custom admin interfaces.

Related Actions

Action Name	Description
Charge a Transaction	Processes a payment transaction via Authorize.Net.
Void a Transaction	Voids a payment that has not yet been settled.
Display Message	Shows a message based on the result of the Authorize.Net transaction.
Send Email	Notifies users when a refund is processed.

Input Parameter Reference

Parameter	Description	Supports Tokens	Default	Required
API Login ID	Your Authorize.Net API Login ID. This authenticates requests.	Yes	empty string	Yes
Transaction Key	Authorize.Net Transaction Key. This authenticates requests.	Yes	empty string	Yes
Transaction Amount	The amount to refund. Must be the total, including all charges (no $ symbol, e.g., 8.95).	Yes	empty string	Yes
Transaction ID	The ID of the original, settled transaction to refund.	Yes	empty string	Yes
Go Live	If checked, uses Authorize.Net live mode. By default, false (sends requests to the sandbox/test server).	No	false	No
On Success	Action list to execute if the refund is successful. Useful for workflows, notifications, logging, etc.	—	—	No
On Error	Action list to execute if the refund fails. You can access [AuthorizeErrorMessage] and [AuthorizeErrorCode].	—	—	No

Example Input Parameter JSON

{
    "Title": "Refund a Transaction",
    "ActionType": "RefundTransaction",
    "Parameters": {
        "AuthorizeNetAPILoginID": "[Settings:AuthorizeNetLoginId]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionKey": "[Settings:AuthorizeNetTransactionKey]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionAmount": "50.00",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionId": "[Order:TransactionId]",
        "AuthorizeNetLiveMode": false
    }
}

Output Parameters Reference

Parameter	Description
AuthorizeTransactionId	The Authorize.Net transaction ID created for the refund.
AuthorizeResponseCode	Authorize.Net gateway response code.
AuthorizeResponseMessage	Message returned by Authorize.Net regarding the refund outcome.
AuthorizeAuthCode	Authorization code for the refund transaction.
AuthorizeErrorMessage	Error message, if any. Only available if the refund fails.
AuthorizeErrorCode	Error code, if any. Only available if the refund fails.

Security

Important:
Protect your API Login ID and Transaction Key—do not share these with untrusted users.
Limit user input for the Transaction Amount and Transaction ID fields to trusted values to avoid fraudulent refund attempts.

Examples

1. Basic Refund with Error Handling

Refund a transaction and send an email on success or error.

{
    "Title": "Refund a Transaction",
    "ActionType": "RefundTransaction",
    "Parameters": {
        "AuthorizeNetAPILoginID": "[Settings:AuthorizeNetLoginId]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionKey": "[Settings:AuthorizeNetTransactionKey]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionAmount": "[Form:RefundAmount]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionId": "[Form:OriginalTransactionId]",
        "AuthorizeNetLiveMode": true,
        "OnSuccess": [
            {
                "Title": "Send Email",
                "ActionType": "SendEmail",
                "Parameters": {
                    "To": "[User:Email]",
                    "Subject": "Refund issued",
                    "Body": "Your refund of $[Form:RefundAmount] has been processed. Refund ID: [AuthorizeTransactionId]"
                }
            }
        ],
        "OnError": [
            {
                "Title": "Display Message",
                "ActionType": "DisplayMessage",
                "Parameters": {
                    "Message": "Refund failed with error: [AuthorizeErrorMessage] ([AuthorizeErrorCode])"
                }
            }
        ]
    }
}

2. Test Mode Refund

Process a refund in the Authorize.Net sandbox for testing purposes.

{
    "Title": "Refund a Transaction (Test Mode)",
    "ActionType": "RefundTransaction",
    "Parameters": {
        "AuthorizeNetAPILoginID": "[Settings:AuthorizeNetSandboxLoginId]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionKey": "[Settings:AuthorizeNetSandboxKey]",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionAmount": "100.00",
        "AuthorizeNetTransactionId": "[Form:TransactionId]",
        "AuthorizeNetLiveMode": false
    }
}

Troubleshooting and Notes

• Ensure the Transaction ID is from a settled transaction. Pending or voided payments cannot be refunded.
• Confirm that the refund amount does not exceed the original transaction amount.
• For testing, use sandbox credentials and set Go Live to false.
• Tokens in parameter fields are supported, so you may use dynamic values.

See Also

• Charge a Transaction
• Void a Transaction
• Send Email
• Display Message