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Customer Grievance Redressal Policy
Introduction
Cashfree Payments India Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2013, having its registered office at Vaishnavi Summit, No. 6/B, Summit, 80 Feet Rd, Koramangala 1A Block, Koramangala 3 Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034 Karnataka. Cashfree Payments (hereinafter referred to as “Cashfree”) is a payment gateway that helps businesses collect and disburse payments.
Grievance Redressal Mechanism
Cashfree Payments values all its Customers, and endeavours to provide a sincere and transparent approach to all our Customers. For the convenience of our Customers and to offer optimum support, Cashfree has set up a grievance redressal mechanism and implemented a Grievance Policy.
Our Grievance Policy outlines a structured mechanism for grievance redressal and the various channels available. Our policy aims at minimizing Customer grievances and grievances through a proper channelized approach, review mechanism and prompt redressal of all Customer grievances.
The objective of our Grievance Policy shall be to ensure that:
Customers are treated fairly and without bias always
The complaints raised by the Customers are dealt with courtesy and resolved in a timely manner
Customers are informed of the avenues to escalate their complaints within the company
Customers are informed of their rights so that they can opt for alternative remedies if they are not fully satisfied with the Company’s response or resolution to their complaints
Refunds and chargebacks are processed in a timely manner and in accordance with RBI-prescribed timelines and other obligations
For the purpose of the Grievance Policy:
Customers
Is defined as an end-customer who will be purchasing goods /services from the Merchants by making payment via a different payment instrument.
Merchant
Is a user of Cashfree Payments services for accepting various payment instruments from the Customers for completion of their payment obligation.
Upon successful transaction, Cashfree shares a transaction confirmation with the Merchant/ Customer on the Merchant site/ transaction page. Order(s) pertaining to merchant products/ services are handled by the Merchant and the Merchant should be contacted for the status of the Customer order.
If the Merchant is not responsive
A Customer may reach out to Cashfree Payments for disputes arising out of any of the following grounds:
Unreasonable delay (beyond delivery due date) or failure on the part of the Merchant in delivering goods/ services to the Customers for which the transactions were processed using Cashfree Payments services;
Unauthorised electronic fund transfer;
Unreasonable delay (beyond the time communicated to the Customer by the Merchant) on refunding the transaction amount post refund confirmation;
Non-adherence to any instructions/ circulars/ guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India or any applicable law to Cashfree Payments and/ or the merchant; or
Any other issue pertaining to the transaction processed by Cashfree Payments.
Escalation matrix for disposal of complaints
Cashfree Payments has formulated an Escalation Matrix to ensure that Customer complaints/ grievances are routed and addressed in a proper and reasonable manner within Cashfree. The Customer is requested to read and understand the below escalation matrix to ensure timely redressal of their grievances.
Level 1
The Customer can visit Cashfree Support Page and refer to the information (provided in an FAQ format) for the specific queries/issues related to their complaints/ grievances. The Customer can fill up forms to report an issue available on these pages to report their grievance. Here Customers have the option to ‘Track Payment/ Refund Status’ using a transaction reference ID, or ‘Report an Issue’ to Cashfree Payments. On submission of this form, a ticket is created which allots a unique reference number. The Cashfree Support team shall respond to the grievance filed by the Customer within 4-5 working days from the date on which grievance was filed. If the Customer is not satisfied with the response provided, the Customer can go for the next level of escalation.
Level 2
In case the Customer wishes to further escalate the complaints/ grievances, the Customer can get the grievance registered by mailing the issue to Cashfree Payments. Cashfree shall attempt to respond within 4-5 working days from the date on which grievance was filed. The Customer may request for an update on the grievance in case any grievance requires more than the specified time period. The Customer shall be kept updated on the status of their complaint(s). If the Customer is not satisfied with the response provided, the Customer can go for the next level of escalations.
Level 3
In case the Customer still has any complaint/ grievance, the Customer shall escalate such complaint/ grievance to Cashfree’s Grievance Officer, the details of whom are provided below.
Grievance Officer: Mr. Raghavendra K
Address: Cashfree Payments India Pvt Ltd, Vaishnavi Summit, No. 6/B, Summit, 80 Feet Rd, Koramangala 1A Block, Koramangala 3 Block, Koramangala,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034
E-Mail: grievances@cashfree.com
Level 4
If the Customer is not satisfied with the resolution provided by Cashfree Payments, or has not received a reply within 30 days of filing the complaint with Cashfree, then he can file the complaint with the RBI Integrated Ombudsman located at the RBI Office in Chandigarh. Complaint lodging portal of the Ombudsman: https://cms.rbi.org.in/
Toll-Free Phone No: 14448
Email ID: CRPC@rbi.org.in
Address: Centralized Receipt and Processing Center, Reserve Bank of India, 4th Floor, Sector 17, Chandigarh 160017
For more details, please refer to the link: RBI Ombudsman
Dispute Management/ Chargebacks Mechanism
A dispute, also known as chargeback, arises when a Customer raises a claim with the issuing bank for a purchase/transaction that was made on their account. Card networks and regulated entities such as National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) provide the rights to the cardholder/ consumer to claim a chargeback for various reasons such as:
- Fraud transactions;
- Product/ services not delivered;
- Defective product or services are delivered;
- Duplicate payments/ double debits; etc.
The timeline(s) for raising such dispute may vary from card association to card association as per their policy which is posted or made available on their website.
Every dispute raised carries a reason also referred to as reason code, which is defined by card networks. The reason codes are listed hereunder in Annexure II- Reason Codes
Stages of chargeback
The stages of chargebacks (or lifecycle) are as follows:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| First level of chargeback | This is the first iteration where the Customer presents a chargeback claim to their issuing bank. The notification is then sent to the Merchant for collection of valid proofs to dissolve the claim. The case is ruled in favour of or against the Merchant based on the sufficiency of the proof. |
| Pre-arbitration | When a Customer re-disputes the validity of the documents presented by the Merchant, the chargeback reaches the pre-arbitration phase. Based on the nature of the claim made by the Customer/ the issuing bank, additional documents are sought from the Merchant. Cases at the pre-arbitration level attract a processing fee by the Card Networks and/or penalties. |
| Arbitration | When the issuer disputes the Merchant’s second presentment, it leads to arbitration. The documents presented at the arbitration should be compelling enough for the case to be ruled in favour of the Merchant. In the event the case is ruled in favour of the Customer by the networks, the losing party bears an arbitration fee along with processing fees. |
Chargeback Process
The chargeback process would involve parties such as the cardholder, the issuer, the acquirer, the processor and the merchant who renders the goods or services, each of which has different responsibilities in the lifecycle.
The overview of the process is as follows:
Where a customer has reached out to the issuing bank/ other institution and has disputed the transaction made by them using his/ her payment mode/ mechanism on the merchant site, the following process is followed:
- The acquiring partner sends us a dispute notification to determine the validity of the transaction and we create a dispute corresponding to such transaction(s) in our system.
- Upon receiving such notification from the bank, Cashfree notifies the merchant with the dispute details and the deadline (as defined by cashfree based on the bank’s deadline) to submit such supporting documents.
- The acquiring partner sends us a dispute notification to determine the validity of the transaction and we create a dispute corresponding to such transaction(s) in our system.
- Upon receiving such notification from the bank, Cashfree notifies the merchant with the dispute details and the deadline (as defined by cashfree based on the bank’s deadline) to submit such supporting documents.
Chargeback Resolution
A chargeback is resolved when the case is closed either through acceptance of the Customer’s claim or by contesting the claim by means of providing compelling evidence to Cashfree which is further shared with the Card Networks. The timelines for the chargeback resolution are subject to the timelines outlined by the respective networks. The possible outcomes of a chargeback are tabulated below:
| Possibility | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Acceptance | When the Customer’s chargeback is valid, the Merchant may choose to accept the chargeback. An acceptance will result in a credit to the Customer’s account as per the network timelines and a permanent debit to the Merchant’s account. |
| Contestation/ Representation | When services/ goods are rendered against the said payment, the Merchant can upload the relevant documents such as proof of delivery, service utilisation proofs etc. The documents hence submitted are further represented to the acquiring banks and subsequently to the issuers and networks. |
| Deemed accepted | In the event a chargeback is not represented/ accepted by the Merchant within the given timeline, the chargeback is deemed as accepted and the decision is not reversible. As in the case of acceptance, this too shall have a permanent debit to the Merchant’s Cashfree account. |
Turnaround times for each stage
The customer has 120 days (or as defined by the network or issuer) from the date of transaction to raise a chargeback. The chargeback resolution however, is subject to the ruling of the case.
Refunds
How are refunds initiated in Cashfree Payments
The customer requests a refund from the merchant due to reasons such as the non-delivery of goods or poor service quality. Merchants can initiate refunds against transactions with Cashfree Payments either via the website or via APIs.
All refunds are made to the original method of payment unless agreed explicitly by the end customer to credit to an alternate mode. Credits towards reversed transactions (where funds are received by Cashfree Payments) and refund transactions shall be routed back through Cashfree’s PA escrow account unless as per contract the refund.
What is the Payment Gateway refund process
Once the merchant makes a refund request, Cashree Payments will check if the request is eligible, accept the request and then propagate this information to the respective acquiring banks and other banking institutions via APIs.
A refund request typically involves an exchange of information between 3 to 4 parties. Each of them has its own processes to file the request, map to their respective payment IDs and then process it forward. Many of these processes are not fully automated today and thus take around 5 - 10 working days to reach the customer’s account/ card balance. Cashfree Payments or any other payment aggregator acts only as a mediator between the customer and the banks.
Note: Refund requests are not accepted after a period of 180 days from the date of the transactions unless the acquiring banking partners support such a request.
Refund processing timelines
All refund requests, once eligible and accepted are initiated with the banking partners immediately. The refund request is sent via APIs or other channels based on the support provided by the acquiring banks.
Standard processing time (5 to 7 days):
Once the refund is initiated with the bank, it generally takes about 5 to 7 working days to get reflected on the customer's account/ card statement. This is due to the processes in the banking ecosystem which are not fully automated and require some manual oversight. Given the number of entities involved and the variance in their processes to handle refunds, it takes 5 to 7 business days to credit the money to the customer's account.
Extended processing time (beyond 7 days):
Sometimes a refund request gets dropped at different points in the process due to system failures and hence won’t go through the API route or the online refund status can’t be updated. In such scenarios, Cashfree Payments intervenes with manual oversight to escalate cases with the bank and get them resolved. Since there is a manual oversight required at various parties the turnaround times get further extended.
The standard turnaround time is 5 - 7 business days. However, each payment mode has a slightly different time frame for refunds.
* Exceptions may arise due to dependency on partner banks for processing the refunds.
Failed transactions and reversals
The PA Guidelines require RBI instructions on the harmonisation of Turn Around Time for the resolution of failed transactions. This has been put in place under the RBI Notification on Harmonisation of Turnaround Time (TAT) and customer compensation for failed transactions using authorised Payment Systems, vide DPSS.CO.PD No.629/02.01.014/2019-20, dated September 20, 2019. As per these guidelines, a ‘failed transaction’ is defined as follows:
A ‘failed transaction’ is a transaction which has not been fully completed due to any reason not attributable to the customer such as failure in communication links, non-availability of cash in an ATM, time-out of sessions, etc. Failed transactions shall also include the credits which could not be effected to the beneficiary account on account of lack of full information or lack of proper information and delay in initiating a reversal transaction.
It must be ensured that internal TAT as defined under this section comply with these guidelines. The details of the timelines are outlined in Annexure I herein.
In these circumstances, a customer tries to make a payment on a website but the payment status is shown as failed. However, the customer is notified that the money has been deducted already. Cashfree’s reconciliation team identifies such transactions marked as failed or user dropped in our systems and yet we have received credit for these transactions. The Cashfree reconciliation team then initiates reversals of funds to the customer. All refunds and reversals are made to the original method of payment unless agreed explicitly by the end customer to credit to an alternate mode. Exceptions may also arise in cases where the underlying instrument from which the customer paid is unavailable (expired VPA, closed card, etc.). Credits towards reversed transactions (where funds are received by Cashfree) and refund transactions shall be routed back through Cashfree’s PA escrow account unless as per contract the refund is directly managed by the merchant and the customer has been made aware of the same.
All reversals are created within T+0/ T+1 days (subject to settlement report from bank/ PG partner). Reversal requests are again raised with the respective banking partners via APIs or other channels based on the support provided by the acquiring banks which are then subject to the various handling processes at each of the parties.
Internal timelines are as follows:
**subject to settlement report from bank/PG partner.
*Exceptions may arise due to dependency on partner banks for processing the refunds/ reversals.
Fraud alerts from the LEA
Upon receiving a fraud alert from the Law Enforcement Agencies, the following process is followed:
- Cashfree Payments raises a dispute and further service delivery proof is sought from the merchant.
- Once the merchant submits the relevant documentation like invoices and proof of delivery, these are reviewed.
- Action is taken accordingly i.e. marked as merchant lost or merchant won.
- In case of ‘merchant lost’, i.e., if the merchant loses the dispute raised, the amount is refunded back to source.
- In case of ‘merchant won’, i.e., if the dispute is resolved in the favour of the merchant, then the amount is settled to the merchant as per the settlement cycle.
Any LEA or other investigating agencies seeking to contact Cashfree Payments, may reach out to Cashfree’s Nodal Officer appointed as per the PMLA and other applicable regulations for this purpose.
NODAL OFFICER: MR. OM PRAKASH PANDEY
ADDRESS: Cashfree Payments India Pvt Ltd, Vaishnavi Summit, No. 6/B, Summit, 80 Feet Rd, Koramangala 1A Block, Koramangala 3 Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034
E-MAIL: dispute@cashfree.com
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