A purchase paid with Pix may require a commercial refund, while suspected fraud may involve the Mecanismo Especial de Devolução (MED). Neither process is a card chargeback. A merchant’s first task is to classify the case and locate the original payment.
Separate the order decision from the money movement. Canceling a purchase in a support ticket does not prove funds were returned; requesting a refund does not confirm completion. One shared history helps support and finance give accurate answers.
Three different processes
A commercial refund addresses a purchase issue, such as cancellation or a partial product return. The merchant assesses what is owed and follows the financial procedure linked to the original payment. Commercial obligations are not determined solely by API capabilities.
MED covers specified fraud and operational-failure situations. Banco Central do Brasil excludes ordinary commercial disagreements and payer mistakes selecting a recipient; recovery depends on assessment and available funds. Card chargebacks follow card-system rules. Do not copy their statuses or deadlines into Pix. [1]
The wrong product does not automatically mean fraud
Imagine a good-faith seller sending the wrong size. The purchase complaint still needs attention. Paying with Pix does not turn that situation into fraud or make MED the appropriate channel. The absence of a card chargeback does not remove the seller’s responsibility. [1]
Record the order, payment, reason, requested amount, previous refunds, and known external proceedings. Explain the actual next step. Do not close a request with “Pix has no chargebacks” or promise a refund before checking what happened.
- Find the Pix payment
- Identify the reason
- Check open cases
- Choose the channel
When a MED case is open
The central bank’s FAQ says a victim must request MED through their institution within 80 days of the Pix payment in the covered fraud, scam, or crime scenarios. This differs from a provider’s commercial-refund window and does not guarantee recovery. The FAQ also covers certain operational failures. [1]
When notified, retain the case identifier, payment, amount, and instructions. Distinguish a hold, an information request, and a completed return. Merchant-facing procedures vary by provider; EBANX documentation is one specific example. Check the status before initiating another outflow. [2]
Keep the refund linked to the original payment
Verify receipt in financial records and look for completed or pending refunds. A buyer’s screenshot cannot replace that check. Where applicable, use the refund function attached to the original transaction; do not send a transfer to another account suggested in a message. The central bank also recommends this approach when someone claims they sent Pix by mistake. [3]
Keep separate states: commercially approved, financially requested, and confirmed. If a response is missing, check the outcome before retrying. Tell the customer when processing is still underway. Closing a support ticket does not reconcile the financial movement.
Example: 300 BRL received and 80 BRL refunded
In this fictional example, a confirmed partial refund of 80 BRL against a 300 BRL Pix payment leaves 220 BRL not yet refunded, before other movements. Preserve the incoming and outgoing references. A later request for a full refund does not justify another 300 BRL without investigating the history.
If MED is open, the 220 BRL calculation alone cannot authorize another operation. Check holds, returns, and instructions with the provider. Coordinate teams to avoid paying twice for the same obligation. This is an operational-control example, not a legal determination of the amount owed.
- Approve the amount
- Request the refund
- Confirm the outcome
- Reconcile and inform
What to establish before the first incident
Confirm your integration’s refund window. Adyen documents 90 days for its API-only Pix flow; that condition does not replace the MED deadline or independently determine buyer rights. Document the procedure of the provider you actually use. [4]
Assign responsibility for following the outcome and locating it in financial reports. Test a partial refund, a pending request, and a case with external proceedings. The goal is one verifiable financial history and an accurate customer update, without promising outcomes the merchant has not confirmed.
Sources and verification
Checked November 3, 2026. Confirm provider conditions for your contracted operation.
- Banco Central do Brasil — MED (opens in a new tab ↗)
- EBANX — MED (opens in a new tab ↗)
- Banco Central do Brasil (opens in a new tab ↗)
- Adyen — Pix API-only (opens in a new tab ↗)