CreditReturn allows the merchant to return funds back to the cardholder.  Some issuers now support online Credit Return, but some issuers support offline refunds only.  When a return is processed offline, the transaction is not sent to the Issuer, but included in the batch during batch close.  When a return is processed online, the transaction is authorized by the Issuer and also included in the batch during batch close.

Exchange Authorization Platform

For the Exchange host only, legacy merchant refunds default to offline; in this case, the CreditReturn transaction request is not sent to the Exchange host until batch close. 

A merchant setting is available to allow online refunds.  When this is set to True, the CreditReturn transaction request is sent to the Exchange host and the host determines whether the issuer participates in online returns.

Response Object

When a refund is processed offline to Exchange, only a transaction header is returned in the response.  When a refund is processed online to any host, the transaction response contains both the header and a response body. 

To enable online refunds, contact your representative.   Please note that since the response object changes, a POS update may be needed.

All Other Authorization Platforms

For all other Authorization Platforms, refunds are sent online to the host and the host determines whether the issuer participates in online returns.  The response will contain both a header and a response body.