Refund timing: what to state for Merchant Center

State your refund processing window plainly: when the refund starts and how many days it takes, such as “within 5 working days of your return reaching us”. Set the same number in Merchant Center. Google’s guidelines list “When your user can expect a refund” as part of every returns policy, and “as soon as possible” answers nothing; customers know it.

Major4 min read

By Edvinas Ivanauskas How the guides are reviewed

Why this matters

Google's “Follow Merchant Center guidelines to keep your account approved” page lists four things a returns policy should explain, and one of them is “When your user can expect a refund”. The return policy setup page opens its requirements with refunds, too: “Provide clear and conspicuous refund and return information on your website.”

In Merchant Center the answer is a number. The last step of the return policy flow is refund processing time: “Select the number of days it takes for the customer to receive a refund.” The page, the setting and your emails should all give that number. Google's returns fix page asks for the policy to be “consistent throughout your website (for example, in the footer, returns page, and web banner)”, and a refund promise that changes between the returns page and the order email is not consistent anywhere.

The Misrepresentation policy is where a refund promise gets serious. Under “Unacceptable business practices” it lists “Denying return and refund for a product despite having a clear refund or return policy that allows for returns and refunds”. A refund window you routinely miss puts the page and the practice out of step, which is the gap that line is about. A bank's clearing time does not belong to you, so keep it separate: your days are the ones you can promise.

The free scan flags a returns policy that never says when the refund arrives, the line customers go looking for first. Related guides: the return window and who pays return shipping. The full list of returns checks is on the misrepresentation checker.

Typical evidence

From “received” to “money back” needs a number

Once the parcel is back, the clock the shopper cares about starts. Give the policy a timeframe. “As soon as possible” is a timeline with no finish line.

What a complete refund timeline looks like

Return received5 business daysprocessing3–5 daysbank clearingOn statement

What “as soon as possible” looks like

Return received

…?

The public signals this check looks for:

The policy explains the window and the process, and never says when the money comes back
The policy explains the window and the process, and never says when the money comes back.
“Refunds are issued as soon as possible
“Refunds are issued as soon as possible.”
“Refunds are processed once we have inspected your return”, with no limit on the inspectio…
“Refunds are processed once we have inspected your return”, with no limit on the inspection.
The returns page says 3 days, the order email says 14, and Merchant Center says 10
The returns page says 3 days, the order email says 14, and Merchant Center says 10.
Returns are paid as store credit, and the policy calls it a refund without saying so
Returns are paid as store credit, and the policy calls it a refund without saying so.
A refund date the warehouse misses every busy season
A refund date the warehouse misses every busy season.

What it looks like once it is right

“Refunds are sent to your original payment method within 5 working days of your return reaching us, inspection included. Your bank may take a few more days to show it.” Merchant Center's refund processing time says 5 days as well.

Common mistakes

Common mistake

“Refunds will be issued after we have received and inspected your return.” No limit on the inspection, no processing time, and nothing about the bank. The customer starts emailing on day four.

Fix checklist

Measure it first: take your last 20 returns and note the days from each item arriving back to the refund being sent.
Write the window from a clear trigger on the returns page: “Refunds are sent within 5 working days of your return reaching us.”
If you inspect items first, fit the inspection inside that window rather than adding an open-ended step before it.
Mention the bank separately and without a number you cannot control: “Your bank may take a few more days to show it.”
Say how the refund is paid: to the original payment method, or as store credit, and if store credit, whether money back is an option.
Set the same number of days as the refund processing time in Merchant Center, under Shipping and returns, Return policies.
Make the order confirmation, returns emails and FAQ page quote the same window as the returns page.

State both halves of the wait

Your processing window plus the bank’s clearing lag — naming that second number is what stops the “where’s my refund” emails landing three days after you’ve already paid it.

5 days · processing

3–5 · bank

refund approvedmoney in account

“Refunds are processed within 5 business days; your bank may take a further 3–5 to show it.”

Questions merchants ask

How long should a refund take for Google Merchant Center?

The Google pages on returns ask you to state it; they do not set one number. The guidelines list when the shopper can expect a refund as part of every returns policy, and Merchant Center's return policy settings take a refund processing time in days. Use the number you actually meet.

Should the refund window count from when the item arrives or when the return is approved?

Either works if the page says which. Arrival back at your warehouse is the easiest for a shopper to follow, because their tracking shows when it was delivered. If approval comes first, give a limit for that step too, so the clock never stops without a date on it.

Is store credit a refund?

Say what you offer. Google's product data for returns lists refund, exchange and store credit as separate outcomes, so they are not the same thing. If a return earns store credit rather than money back, the returns page should say so plainly.

Remediation

Risk signal

The refund date is the line customers reread while they wait. Pick a number you meet in your busiest week, write it once, and make every email and setting repeat it. Then run the free scan to confirm the returns page still says it after the next theme update.

PriorityAddress and document this finding as part of the store’s remediation work.

EvidenceRecord the current state before each change, apply the fix, then capture the corrected state so every change is evidenced.

Similar cases

Sources

Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026.

That is one issue. The library documents 134.

The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.