Refund Lifecycle¶

Models the lifecycle of a Refund — the payment reversal or credit issued to a customer following a return, exchange, or payment correction. A refund originates from an authorised return or adjustment and must be processed through the payment provider before being settled to the customer's original payment method or issued as store credit.

Object: refund · States: 7 · Transitions: 9

State Diagram¶

flowchart LR

    %% ── classDef palette ─────────────────────────────────────
    classDef stInit  fill:#0d9488,stroke:#0f766e,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
    classDef stNorm  fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#2563eb,color:#fff
    classDef stOk    fill:#16a34a,stroke:#15803d,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
    classDef stFail  fill:#dc2626,stroke:#b91c1c,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
    classDef stHold  fill:#d97706,stroke:#b45309,color:#fff

    %% ── nodes ───────────────────────────────────────────────
    requested(["Requested"])
    pending["Pending"]
    partial["Partially Refunded"]
    completed[["Completed"]]
    failed["Failed"]
    cancelled[["Cancelled"]]
    converted_to_credit[["Converted to Store Credit"]]

    %% ── transitions ─────────────────────────────────
    requested -->|"refund-initiated"| pending
    pending -->|"refund-processed"| partial
    partial -->|"refund-processed"| completed
    pending -->|"refund-processed"| completed
    pending -->|"refund-failed"| failed
    failed -->|"refund-initiated"| pending
    failed -->|"refund-converted"| converted_to_credit
    requested -->|"refund-cancelled"| cancelled
    pending -->|"refund-cancelled"| cancelled

    %% ── class assignments ───────────────────────────
    class requested stInit
    class pending,partial,failed stNorm
    class completed,converted_to_credit stOk
    class cancelled stFail

States¶

State	Label	Description	Initial	Terminal
`requested`	Requested	Refund initiated — return or correction authorised. Awaiting payment processing.	✓
`pending`	Pending	Refund request submitted to payment provider. Processing in progress.
`partial`	Partially Refunded	A portion of the refund amount has been processed. Remainder pending.
`completed`	Completed	Full refund amount processed and credited to customer. Confirmed by payment provider.		✓
`failed`	Failed	Refund processing failed (expired card, account closed, provider error).
`cancelled`	Cancelled	Refund request cancelled before processing (return rejected, dispute resolved).		✓
`converted-to-credit`	Converted to Store Credit	Refund could not be issued to original payment method; converted to store credit or gift card by customer agreement or policy.
	✓

Transitions¶

From	To	Trigger	Guards
`requested`	`pending`	`refund-initiated`	Return or correction authorised; Refund amount calculated and confirmed; Original payment reference available
`pending`	`partial`	`refund-processed`	Payment provider confirmed partial amount; Multi-tender split-refund in progress
`partial`	`completed`	`refund-processed`	Remaining amount processed successfully
`pending`	`completed`	`refund-processed`	Full refund amount confirmed by payment provider
`pending`	`failed`	`refund-failed`	Payment provider returned error or rejection
`failed`	`pending`	`refund-initiated`	Updated payment details provided or alternative method selected; Retry within allowed window
`failed`	`converted-to-credit`	`refund-converted`	Customer or policy consent to store credit; Store credit issued and confirmed
`requested`	`cancelled`	`refund-cancelled`	Return rejected or dispute resolved before processing
`pending`	`cancelled`	`refund-cancelled`	Payment provider reversal of refund request before settlement