Getting started
Overview
How WeRefund verifies a return policy, what it measures afterwards, and what it deliberately does not do.
What WeRefund is
WeRefund is a verification and proof layer on top of the payment provider a merchant already uses. It reads the merchant's published return policy and automatically checks that it exists, is clear and gives at least the formula chosen, shows the WeRefund Verified ✓ badge on the product page and in the cart, keeps each order linked to the policy version published when it was placed, and re-checks the policy when it changes.
The standard
There is one standard, versioned, with two settings per merchant: the country where it is headquartered, and the return formula it chose among those that country allows. The badge carries no number — the exact terms stay in the merchant's policy, and each buyer gets the version in force on their order.
| Item | What we check | Measured from |
|---|---|---|
| Return and refund policy | Published and reachable | — |
| Clarity | Written so a shopper can follow it | — |
| Return window | At least the formula chosen: 14, 30 or 60 days | Delivery date |
| Restocking fee, refund method, exclusions | Read and recorded as published | — |
In the UK, 14 days is the legal minimum for a change-of-mind return, and the 14-day formula is labelled that way — never presented as an advantage.
If the policy does not pass, WeRefund asks for a correction and reads it again. Verification and withdrawal of the badge are automatic. Once Verified, the policy is re-checked when it changes: WeRefund records the new version and verifies it again, and verification becomes unavailable if the new version does not pass.
Your policy page stays yours. Once it passes, WeRefund writes one paragraph for your terms: it says that WeRefund verifies your published policy, re-checks it when it changes, and keeps a record of the version in force for each order, and that the contract of sale and the refund stay between you and your customer.
Order lifecycle
What is recorded is never recomputed. When the policy changes, WeRefund records a new version; orders already placed stay on theirs.
- At order — a WeRefund Policy Record captures the policy published at that moment: original HTML, rendered PDF and screenshot, with its version number, SHA-256 hash, UTC timestamp, return window, order and transaction IDs, and a WeRefund signature. It proves what was published, not what the shopper saw or accepted.
- At delivery — each line gets its own
eligible_until, written once. - At refund — the refund event is read from the merchant's payment provider, and
the order shows
refund_issued. It is the provider's declaration, not proof that the money reached the shopper; a refused return emits no event, and only a return request filed through WeRefund, with the option, leaves a trace.
For shoppers
Every order at a Verified store gets a WeRefund Policy Record, free for the shopper. It keeps on file the version of the policy published at the time of purchase, the order, the purchase date and the return deadline. The shopper finds it in a WeRefund dashboard.
The WeRefund option is optional, never pre-ticked, and paid by the shopper who adds it: a fixed fee by order value, from $0.99 to $4.99. It buys a service — an email after purchase and reminders, the return request and help with it, one file for every order, and the refund followed. It is never a promise of refund: the refund stays the merchant's, under its own terms of sale.
| Order value | Option fee |
|---|---|
| $0–49 | $0.99 |
| $50–99 | $1.49 |
| $100–199 | $1.99 |
| $200–399 | $2.99 |
| $400–749 | $3.99 |
| $750 and above | $4.99 (maximum) |
Fees and settlement
The merchant pays nothing: $0 setup, $0 monthly fee, $0 processing surcharge. What is settled is the option fee that shoppers added to their orders.
- The fee is collected with the order, through the merchant's own payment provider. WeRefund never holds your customers' payment funds.
- WeRefund records each WeRefund transaction through API and webhooks, and keeps a fee ledger per merchant.
- Settlement runs automatically, twice a month: orders from the 1st to the 15th are settled around the 16th; orders from the 16th to the end of the month, around the 1st of the next month.
- Each period has a statement: the number of WeRefund transactions, the fees collected, refunds or cancellations if any, the partner revenue share if any, and the net amount owed to WeRefund.
- The net amount is debited automatically from the merchant's registered bank account or payment method.
Set up
Three steps. Your payment provider, your merchant account and your payouts stay as they are.
- Create your WeRefund account.
- Connect your store & payment provider — Shopify Coming soon, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, Wix, or a custom or headless store through the API, and Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, Checkout.com or Airwallex.
- Get Verified.
What it does not do
- It does not hold your customers' payment funds: they go through the merchant's payment provider, as today.
- It does not print return labels or run reverse logistics.
- It does not guarantee or fund a refund, and never refunds in the merchant's place.
- It does not charge merchants: $0 setup, $0 monthly fee, $0 processing surcharge.
What it does is narrower and harder to fake: it checks what is promised, records which version applied to each order, and makes that record producible on demand.