A foreign-currency refund does not mirror the original settlement entry
Match the refund to its original payment, preserve the amount and currency on each record, then compare the corresponding settlement movements in the provider balance. Separate gross movement, documented fee and net effect wherever the records identify them. Presentment and settlement currencies can differ, and a partial or pending refund is not the same comparison as a completed full refund. An unexplained settlement difference remains unexplained until linked conversion records, fee records or the provider's written explanation account for it.
For: A research-only merchant investigating a real refund whose balance movement differs from the original payment's settlement entry.
Establish which payment and refund are being compared
Start from the provider's original payment reference and the refund reference linked to it. Retain the original charge amount and currency, each refund amount and currency, the recorded dates and the refund's actual status. The store order total can help locate the payment, but it is not a substitute for the provider's payment and refund records. Use the linked lifecycle events rather than comparing two amounts that merely look related.
Identify whether the refund covers the entire payment or only part of it, and include earlier refunds against the same payment in the chronology. Stripe permits partial refunds up to the original charge amount in total. A single partial refund should not be expected to offset the full original settlement movement, and a set of refund requests should not be treated as a set of completed refunds without checking their states.
On Stripe, insufficient available funds can leave card refunds pending, while refunds for other method types can fail. Preserve the method and state when reading the balance history. A requested refund with no completed movement leaves a state question to resolve; it is not evidence of a currency-conversion shortfall.
Retain currencies and units before subtracting amounts
Keep the charge currency, refund currency and each settlement currency as separate fields. Stripe distinguishes presentment from settlement, and they can differ. Do not substitute the storefront's displayed currency for the currency recorded on the charge, or the bank's deposit currency for the provider balance's settlement currency.
If a record contains an API amount, preserve the raw value and its currency alongside the properly interpreted amount. Stripe uses currency minor units and documents zero-decimal currencies and specific exceptions. Do not apply a universal divide-by-100 rule. Use the documented unit for the particular currency and operation; an amount-unit mismatch must be resolved before a meaningful money comparison can be made.
Compare signed movements only within the same currency and on the same basis. A net credit from the original payment and a gross refund debit are not matching measures. When the records expose gross, fee and net separately, retain all three and state which column is being compared. If the settlement currencies differ, keep the amounts separate until an actual documented conversion connects them. Do not convert one with a rate chosen merely to close the worksheet.
Trace conversion movements and fee records independently
Stripe's balance-transaction types distinguish currency_conversion, a balance movement, from stripe_fx_fee, a conversion fee. The type describes what a balance transaction represents, and its source identifies the originating object. Use those records to trace any conversion associated with the payment or refund rather than treating every difference as a fee.
Retain the conversion's reference, currencies, amounts and any rate actually supplied in the relevant record. Keep an identified fee with its own reference and amount. A currency_conversion entry is not, merely by that label, an additional fee; a stripe_fx_fee line is not the whole converted principal. If the same fee appears in both a detailed record and a summary, establish that relationship before adding it twice.
For a completed full refund whose original and refund settlement movements use the same currency and comparable columns, their signed sum shows the residual movement on that chosen basis. It does not explain the residual's cause. For a partial refund, compare the actual refunded portion and the settlement entries linked to it; do not manufacture a proportional settlement allocation when the provider record does not supply one.
Do not assume that the refund uses the original conversion rate, a current public rate or any particular fee formula. A numerical difference alone establishes none of those rules. Likewise, these merchant records do not establish what the buyer's bank credited or who bears a currency difference under the relevant terms. Those are separate evidence questions.
Finish with a supported reconciliation or a precise gap
A supported conclusion names the linked payment and refund, their states and currencies, the compared settlement columns, and the records accounting for the difference. If the only confirmed issue is that one side was net and the other gross, correct that comparison before raising a fee complaint. If the records show a distinct fee, query that fee against the applicable written terms instead of treating the entire difference as the charge.
Where the cause remains unresolved, identify the exact missing link: the refund's balance movement, the conversion associated with that movement, the amount unit, or the fee definition. Ask the provider to explain that specific relationship using the existing references. Keep the original exports and an unresolved remainder rather than inserting an adjustment to make the totals match.
A PRISM processing consultation can start with the research-only business, website and a plain-language account of the unresolved provider question. Confirm whether the requested reconciliation assistance is included, with responsibilities, fees and terms agreed before work. Provider account terms and eligibility remain the provider's decisions. The public inquiry receives email follow-up and does not book a consultation time, buy a service or submit a processing application; do not attach private payment records to that form.
Cross-currency refund comparison
Complete this from one original payment and its actual linked refunds. Record currency with every amount, preserve the original signs and name the compared columns. The result is either a documented explanation or an explicit missing record; never supply a balancing figure or assumed exchange rate.
Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.
Cross-currency refund comparison. The last column is for temporary notes.
Comparison item
Record to use
What the comparison can establish
Your evidence
Original charge currency
Record to useProvider payment reference, charge amount, currency and recorded date; distinguish an API amount from its displayed value.
What the comparison can establishThe actual charge basis, independent of the store's displayed price or the eventual bank deposit.
Refund currency and amount record
Record to useLinked refund reference, currency, amount, method, state and date, including earlier partial refunds where relevant.
What the comparison can establishWhether the selected event is full, partial, pending, failed or completed before comparing its movement.
Original settlement movement
Record to useOriginal linked balance entry, signed amount, currency and gross, fee and net columns where provided.
What the comparison can establishThe original effect on the provider balance on an explicitly named basis.
Refund settlement movement
Record to useBalance entry actually linked to this refund, with the same field detail as the original movement.
What the comparison can establishWhether a comparable refund movement exists; its absence does not establish a conversion cost.
Recorded conversion
Record to useLinked conversion reference, currencies, amounts and rate only if the provider record supplies one.
What the comparison can establishA documented conversion relationship, not an assumed rate derived to erase a difference.
Recorded fee
Record to useDistinct fee reference, label, amount, currency and applicable written fee definition.
What the comparison can establishAn identified fee kept separate from converted principal and counted only once.
Remaining difference
Record to useComparable same-currency amounts, stated gross or net basis and the exact missing record or explanation.
What the comparison can establishA supported residual amount where calculable; its cause remains open unless the evidence establishes it.
These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.
Limits
Stripe's currency units, refund states and transaction types apply to Stripe. Another provider's records and written terms define its behavior.
This comparison does not determine the applicable exchange rate, who bears currency risk, the buyer's bank credit, tax treatment or processing eligibility.
Do not enter card numbers, authentication codes, private payment-link tokens, full bank details, API secrets, identity documents or customer records in the worksheet or public inquiry.
Stripe supported currencies — checked 2026-09-29. Presentment and settlement currencies can differ. API amounts use currency minor units with documented zero-decimal currencies and exceptions, so amount interpretation must remain currency- and operation-specific. This does not establish a refund exchange rate.
Stripe refunds — checked 2026-09-29. Refunds relate to the original payment and partial refunds cannot total more than the original charge. Insufficient available funds leave card refunds pending while other method types fail; use the actual method and state.
Stripe balance transaction types — checked 2026-09-29. Type describes the balance movement and source identifies its origin. currency_conversion changes the balance, while stripe_fx_fee identifies a conversion fee. These types alone do not explain an unseen refund difference.
Prism solutions — checked 2026-09-21. Published support includes processing preparation and provider website questions, with scope, fees and terms discussed before work. The provider determines eligibility and account terms.
Prism contact — checked 2026-09-21. The inquiry asks for website, products and question, excludes card details, passwords and customer records, and receives email follow-up without booking, purchasing or submitting a processing application.
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