When referral points are reversed
What happens to a referral when the friend’s order is refunded or canceled.
Last reviewed
A referral reward can be taken back if the order it was based on stops qualifying. What happens depends on whether the reward has already been paid.
Before the reward is paid
If you hold referral rewards for a period before paying them, a referral is checked again at the end of that hold. A canceled or fully refunded order does not qualify, even if you have no minimum purchase. A partial refund that leaves eligible spending below your minimum qualifying purchase also stops payment. Either way, no points are paid and the referral is closed as not eligible instead.
After the reward is paid
If a referral has already been paid, only a refund on the friend’s order can take the points back, not a cancellation alone. A refund that leaves eligible spending below your minimum qualifying purchase triggers a reversal. This is recorded as a new, separate entry in your customer’s points history, not a change to the original entry.
If you have no minimum purchase set, a refund on an already-paid referral never takes the points back, even when the order is fully refunded.
If a refund still leaves the order at or above your minimum, nothing changes and the reward stands.
What customers see
A reversed referral shows as Reversed in your customer’s referral activity. If they ask why, the explanation is general: the order no longer met the referral requirements, for example because it was refunded or canceled. That wording covers every reversal; after payout, only a refund can actually trigger one.
Good to know
- Taking back points can put a customer’s balance below zero if they already redeemed a reward with the points. The balance is allowed to go negative rather than the shop absorbing the cost.
- A reversal is a record of what happened, not a correction to history. Your customer’s activity keeps both the original reward and the reversal, so it is clear that points were paid and then taken back.
- A partial refund that still leaves the order above your minimum does not affect the reward.