To refund a crypto payment in WooCommerce, you send the money back yourself from your own wallet and then record it in the order as a manual refund. There is no refund button that moves the funds. With StayCrypto the money goes straight to your wallet and the plugin has no keys and no access to it, so it cannot send anything back for you.
The short answer
- Agree on the amount and who bears the network fee.
- Ask the buyer for a refund address on the same network and coin.
- Send the refund from your wallet and keep the transaction link.
- In WooCommerce, open the order and record the refund with the manual refund button.
- Add the transaction link to the order notes.
Why there is no refund button
A card gateway holds your money for a few days and can return it from there. A payment that goes straight to your wallet works differently, see custodial vs non-custodial gateways. A confirmed transfer cannot be pulled back by the buyer, and the plugin cannot sign for you, so a refund is simply a new payment from you to the buyer. WooCommerce shows a button for refunding by hand when a payment method cannot do it automatically, and that is the one to use.
Step by step
1. Agree on the terms. Decide the amount. A stablecoin invoice carries a small unique extra of up to 60 cents so the plugin can tell orders apart, see why a USDT invoice has extra cents. Say in your refund policy whether you return that extra too, and whether you deduct the network fee.
2. Get a refund address from the buyer. Ask for an address on the same network and for the same coin, and ask them to check it twice. Do not just send to the address the payment came from. If the buyer paid from an exchange, that address may belong to the exchange, and money sent there can be lost or credited to someone else.
3. Send it from your wallet. With a hardware wallet, approve the transfer on the device. Keep in mind the fee comes from you: on Tron a USDT transfer needs some TRX in the wallet, and on the Ethereum-style networks you need the network coin for gas. Send a small test amount first if the amount is large.
4. Record it in WooCommerce. Open the order, press Refund, enter the amount and use the manual refund button. This updates the order and your reports. It does not move any money, you already did that in the wallet. WooCommerce describes it the same way in its refund guide: a manual refund only records the refund in the store. A partial refund keeps the order status as it is, and the status changes to Refunded only when the full order value is refunded. StayCrypto does not react to refunds, so the plugin needs nothing from you here.
5. Keep the record. Paste the transaction link from the block explorer into the order notes. It is your proof if the buyer or your accountant asks later.
Payments that need a decision first
Not every refund starts from a normal paid order. StayCrypto matches payments by exact amount, and some arrive in a way it will not guess about:
- A payment that does not match an order. The plugin holds it for you. In the order you can confirm it or reject it, and a rejected one goes to the Unassigned payments list.
- A double payment or an extra transfer. The plugin tells you the second transfer was not credited anywhere. You can place it by hand or refund it.
- A short payment. The plugin does not mark the order paid. Either ask the buyer to top it up, or agree to refund what arrived and cancel the order.
Whatever you choose, the refund itself is the same manual transfer from the steps above.
Put it in your refund policy
- Say that crypto payments are final and refunds are sent by you, as a new transfer.
- Say which network and coin the refund will use, normally the same as the payment.
- Say who bears the network fee.
- Say how long a refund takes, and that you need an address from the buyer.
A clear policy cuts the arguments. It also shows buyers that the lack of a chargeback is not a trap, see how chargebacks work with crypto.
FAQ
Does StayCrypto refund payments automatically?
No. The plugin has no refund function. It does not hold your money or your keys, so it cannot send anything back. You send the refund from your own wallet and record it in WooCommerce by hand.
Can I refund to the address the payment came from?
Only if you are sure the buyer controls it. If the buyer paid from an exchange, the sending address may belong to the exchange and money sent back there can be lost or credited to someone else. Ask the buyer for a refund address.
Who pays the network fee on a refund?
The sender pays it, and for a refund you are the sender. Decide in your refund policy whether you deduct the fee from the refunded amount.
Can the buyer reverse a crypto payment instead?
No. A confirmed blockchain transfer cannot be pulled back by the buyer or by you, which is why refunds are always a new payment from you. See chargebacks and crypto.
What if the buyer paid the wrong amount or twice?
StayCrypto holds a payment it cannot match to an order for your decision, or lists it under Unassigned payments. There you can place it on the right order or refund it by hand from your wallet.