Refund requests in a Draft status — for example, while a customer is in a pre-authorization holding period — can now be pre-approved. If the customer completes their request and the amount is within what you approved, the funds are sent out automatically via the refund method they choose, with no further action needed from your team.
This is useful when you already know a refund is warranted — for instance, you've confirmed a machine malfunction — and don't want the request to wait for a second review once the customer provides their details.
How pre-approval works
Open the refund request while it is in Draft status.
Review the amount. You can edit the draft amount if needed — this becomes the maximum amount you're approving.
Set the request to Pre-Approved.
From there, ZippyAssist handles the rest:
If the customer completes their request for an amount at or below the pre-approved amount, the refund is automatically approved and the funds are sent out via the refund method the customer selected — for the final amount they requested.
If the amount comes in above the pre-approved amount, the request moves to Pending for your team to review as normal.
If the customer never completes the request, the draft expires as it would today.
Which refund methods qualify
Automatic disbursement on a pre-approved draft is only available for refund methods where ZippyAssist sends the funds on your behalf — such as Venmo, PayPal, Zelle (when set to automatic disbursement), and Interac. Methods where you send the funds yourself (Cash App, Cash, Check, Vendor Card) still require manual handling after approval.
For more detail, see What is a refund draft? and What refund methods are available?
If you have any questions, use the chat widget at the bottom of the screen or email us at [email protected]!