Here is how you can issue a refund to a participant.
You can search for participants by entering their name/email address in the search bar or, alternatively, go to "My Trips" and click "Manage Trip":
Click "Issue Refund" next to the name that you want to issue a refund to.
The following pop-up will appear and you will be able to select your next action:
Refund a Payment
Let's say you need to refund one payment or a custom, partial amount. Choose the correct bank account or card that you want to send the refund to, enter the amount (e.g. $100), click on "Continue" and follow the next steps to confirm the refund.
Refund All Payments
Choose this option if you want to give a full refund for the booking. This action will refund all payments made by your customer.
Please note that by default, the option "Cancel this booking" is enabled every time you issue a full refund. If you keep it selected, the participant's booking will automatically be canceled and they will be removed from the participant list.
🚨 Important: When you initiate a refund through WeTravel, your traveler will receive the full refund amount to their payment method. WeTravel will reimburse our fee, but we will deduct the card processing fee from your WeTravel balance. For local bank payments, refunds remain free of charge, as there is no card processing fee for bank transfers.
Record a Cash Refund
Let's say you have an ACH payment that's older than 180 days. You have refunded it outside WeTravel and now need to record that refund correctly in the system. Or maybe your participant paid for the trip by card and you now want to record it as a cash refund because you already refunded them outside WeTravel.
Any payments, including bank and card payments, can be marked as cash refunds.
No funds will move through WeTravel or to your client's account, this is for informational purposes only.
After selecting the "Record a Cash Refund" option, choose the payment that you want to record as a cash refund, enter the amount (e.g. $100), click on "Continue" and follow the next steps to confirm the refund.
Please keep in mind that for cash refunds, no email notification is automatically sent to the client.
🚨 Important
Use the original payment method for refunds whenever possible.
The safest and most reliable way to refund a customer is always to return the money to their original payment method.
Refunding off our platform—for example, by giving a cash refund for a credit card payment—can be risky. If a customer later files a dispute or chargeback, they could receive two refunds: the one you processed off the platform and another from their card issuer. This could cause a loss for your business. Fully refunding a card payment through Stripe will prevent a chargeback once the refund is complete.
If the customer's card is no longer active: Even if their card has expired, you should still process the refund through the original card payment on the WeTravel platform. Our payment processor will route the funds to their new card or another method provided by their bank.
If a bank transfer is older than 180 days (or 90 for BECS): Since network rules prevent you from refunding on the platform after this time, you'll need to refund the customer off the platform. Once you do, make sure to record it as a cash refund in WeTravel to keep your reports accurate. Please note that the original transaction fees are not returned in these cases.
If you must refund outside WeTravel:
In the rare event that you need to issue a refund off our platform, be sure to:
Get written confirmation from the customer that they agree to the alternate refund method and understand the implications.
Document the amount, date, method, and reason for the refund.
Use the Record a Cash Refund feature in WeTravel to keep your records accurate. This option records the refund without moving any funds.
Always double-check the refund details before confirming.
Things to keep in mind:
Note 1: After you issue an actual (not a cash) refund, your participant automatically gets an email informing them about the refund. Refunds usually take 5-10 business days to appear on the participant's statement.
Note 2: Once issued, a refund (cash or legitimate) cannot be canceled or reversed.
Note 3: Bank payments that are "pending" can only be refunded once they have cleared; which takes 5 business days, not including weekends. Therefore, bank payments can only be refunded 5 business days after the payment is made.
Note 4: If you issue a partial refund, the participant will still be signed up for your trip. If you also want to remove the participant, click on "Cancel Booking" after you have issued the partial refund.
Note 5: If the participant's card used for purchase has been canceled or is now expired, the bank or credit card company will normally reroute the credit amount issued to the current account or card for use.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can a participant receive a double return for bank transfer payments?
Yes, in rare cases. If you issue a refund while the participant’s bank also initiates a dispute, they may receive two returns (one from your refund and one from the bank). Because of how bank transfer disputes are handled, neither WeTravel nor our payment provider can reverse one of these.
👉 What to do:
Inform the participant when you process a refund (it takes 3–4 business days to appear).
Ask them not to file a dispute while the refund is pending.
If a double return happens, you’ll need to reach out to the participant directly to arrange repayment.
You can find more information on how WeTravel handles disputes here.
Please contact us if you have any other questions. We will be happy to help!