Refunding Your Balance Back to Your Card
How to send unspent Serpverse balance back to the original card you paid with: what qualifies, the handling fee, the minimum, and when it arrives.
Refunding Your Balance Back to Your Card
Getting Money Off Your Balance
Your Serpverse balance isn't a one-way door. If you have unspent funds sitting in your balance — money you deposited but haven't spent, or funds returned to you when an order was rejected or cancelled — you can refund them back to the card you originally paid with, yourself, straight from your dashboard. No support ticket required.
This guide covers what can go back to a card, the small handling fee involved, and how the refund reaches you.
What You Can Refund to Your Card
You can refund unspent funds that you originally added by card — in practice, your available balance, up to the total you've deposited and not yet spent.
A few specifics:
- It has to trace back to a card deposit. Money you added with your card can go back to that card. Earnings — if you also sell as a publisher — can't be refunded this way; those are paid out to your bank through Stripe Connect instead.
- Already-spent money isn't refundable. Funds locked in an active order, or already paid out on a completed one, aren't in your available balance, so they're not part of what you can refund.
- You never have to do the math. Whenever you have refundable funds, a Refund to card option appears on your Balance page showing exactly how much you can send back.
If a deposit is more than about six months old, refunding it to the original card may no longer be possible through the card network — but those funds can always still be spent on the platform.
The Handling Fee
Refunding to a card carries a small handling fee, taken out of the amount returned, so you receive the refund minus the fee.
The fee exists because card deposits cost the platform a processing fee it can't recover, so a deposit-and-refund round trip has a real cost. Spending your balance on an order, by contrast, never carries a refund fee. The current handling fee is 3% plus 30¢, and the exact fee and the amount that will reach your card are always shown before you confirm.
The Minimum, and Refunding Everything
A single refund has a $10 minimum, matching the deposit minimum. To clear a smaller leftover amount, use the Refund all option — it sends your entire refundable balance back regardless of the minimum, as long as what's left after the handling fee is more than zero.
How to Refund Your Balance to Your Card
- Go to Balance in your dashboard.
- Find the Refund to card section — it appears whenever you have refundable funds.
- Enter an amount, or choose Refund all.
- Review the breakdown: the refund amount, the handling fee, and exactly what will reach your card.
- Confirm. The refund is on its way.
Where the Money Goes and When
Refunds always return to the card you originally paid with — they can't be redirected to a different card or account. Through Stripe(opens in new tab), the platform's payment processor, a card refund typically takes 5–10 business days to appear on your statement, depending on your bank.
Two things to expect:
- It may arrive as more than one amount. If your refund draws on more than one past deposit — or on deposits made with different cards — you'll see a separate refund for each, on the matching card.
- Your balance updates right away. The refunded amount leaves your Serpverse balance immediately; only the card side takes the few business days.
Refund It, or Spend It?
When an order is rejected or cancelled, your funds return to your Serpverse balance in full. From there you have two choices:
- Spend it on another order — instant, with no handling fee. If you still plan to buy a placement, this is the better deal.
- Refund it to your card — for when you don't intend to spend the balance and want the money back.
Unspent balance never expires — you can spend it on an order whenever you like. Refunding a deposit back to its card, though, has a time limit: it's only possible for about six months after the deposit was made (as noted above). After that, the money stays spendable on the platform but can no longer be sent back to the card.
If Your Account Is Suspended or Banned
Getting your money out doesn't depend on your account being in good standing:
- Suspended: you can still refund unspent balance to your card yourself, exactly as above, even while other actions are paused.
- Banned: you can't sign in, so contact support — an admin can return your unspent balance to your original card on your behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is refunding to my card the same as a withdrawal? No. Withdrawals are for publishers cashing out earnings to a bank account. Refunding to a card returns unspent deposit funds to the card you paid with. See withdrawable vs. available for the publisher side.
Will I get the full amount back? You receive the amount you refund minus the small handling fee. Spending the balance on an order instead has no fee.
Can I refund money I earned as a publisher? No — earnings are paid out to your bank through Stripe Connect, not refunded to a card. Only card-deposited funds can go back to a card.
Do I have to refund everything at once? No. Refund any amount above the $10 minimum, or use Refund all to clear your refundable balance in one go.
I'd rather not pay the handling fee — what are my options? Spend the balance on an order. Placing orders from your balance never carries a refund fee; the fee only applies to moving money back off the platform to a card.
Related Resources
- Refund Policy — every refund scenario, including cancellations and disputes
- Deposits, Fees, and Billing — adding funds and managing your balance
- Chargebacks Explained — why a self-serve refund is the right alternative to a bank chargeback
- Placing Your First Order — how ordering draws from your balance