Refund is one of the first few things that today’s online shoppers check on any e-commerce website. Let’s face it: even after a decade or so of online shopping that India has seen along with the adoption of digital payments, we still don’t trust that the product will be 100% as expected. And then there are times when the payment fails but the user’s account gets debited.
That is why it’s recommended that online businesses clearly mention the return and refund policy on the product page itself.
While returns are pretty well managed by India’s delivery startups, timely refund of the money back to the buyer’s account still needs fixing.
Paytm Payment Gateway has made it really easy for online businesses to quickly process refunds.
But first let’s understand the reasons why refunds matter.
Ways to reduce refunds
No one wants to deal with refunds and returns. 57% of merchants said dealing with returns negatively impacts their day-to-day business.
However, since returns and refunds are part and parcel of the business, all businesses can do is prepare themselves so that there is no need for customers to return the product.
Here are a few steps businesses can take to reduce returns and refunds:
- Quality control: Before listing the product on the website, each and every product should go through a thorough review. Once a customer buys it, check the product again for any wear and tear before packing it.
- Accurate product descriptions: The product page should provide adequate information about the product. Use high-quality images to ensure the colour of the product comes out as true as possible. Include a size chart on the product page so that customers can check what size will fit them.
- Clear delivery timeline: Informing the customer about the delivery time before they purchase the product will go a long way in reducing returns. Sure, this might also mean that you will lose a few customers but it’s much better than disappointing them and dealing with refunds.
- Encourage leaving reviews: Ask your customers to leave a review after they receive the product. Do this for customers who keep the product and the ones who return and seek a refund. These reviews will help you decide how to make further changes.
- Better payment gateway: Work with a payment gateway that has an impeccable track record of successful online transactions. Far too often businesses have to deal with refunds because of transaction failure where the money gets debited. It’s an unnecessary hassle for both the parties — businesses and customers.
Switching to Paytm Payment Gateway will ensure your customers will have a delightful payment experience. In case they need to return a product our refund time is short with clear communication of the refund timeline.
Improve refund experience with Paytm Payment Gateway
Considering the challenges the industry faces with refunds, it was important for Paytm Payment Gateway to solve this issue. Businesses can use either of our two products to process an easy and quick refund experience.
- Instant Refunds
Our Instant Refunds product allows online businesses to refund the money back to customers’ accounts within minutes. Online merchants can use the Instant Refunds feature for transactions made via net banking, debit cards, as well as UPI.
It allows customers as well as merchants to initiate refunds. Businesses can process refunds via our API or directly from the Paytm Dashboard.
After initiating the online refund process by either party, the money gets credited to the customer’s account if the payment was made via Paytm Wallet or Paytm Postpaid. In case of other payment modes, Paytm validates the eligibility, and gives the customer an option to choose the account where the money should be refunded.
Once Paytm Payment Gateway validates the bank details, our API kicks off the refund process, and the amount gets credited to the customer’s account.
- Paytm Refund Advance Account
One important aspect of refunds is that businesses have to pay their bank a fee to process the refund. This is called a chargeback fee. Until businesses settle the chargeback fee they don’t receive settlements in their bank. Very often refunds are delayed due to this.
To avoid such a scenario, businesses can use Paytm Refund Advance Account to settle refunds instantly. Businesses simply need to recharge this account with enough funds and use this account to refund the money to customers.
Parting note
We hope that businesses never have to deal with returns and refunds. But we all know that this is wishful thinking.
So, it’s better to prepare for the worst and work with payment partners who know how to make the refund experience better. Offering seamless returns and refunds tells customers that you take them and your business seriously. This is not something that you should compromise.
Switch to Paytm Payment Gateway and provide a glitch-free refunds experience to your customers.
