Process a refund for a student

In this article: How to issue a refund for a student who paid through Stripe or PayPal, cancel active subscriptions before refunding, and decide on a refund policy for your courses. All Plans

Refunds and course access are two separate actions in Ruzuku. Processing a refund returns the student's money, but it does not automatically remove their access to your course. Handle the refund first, then decide whether to revoke access.

Most refunds take under 5 minutes to process.

Refund a Stripe payment

You can issue refunds from the student's detail panel in Ruzuku, or directly from your Stripe dashboard.

From Ruzuku

Open your course and go to Manage Course → Students.
Click on the student's name to open their detail panel.
Open the Payments tab.
Click Refund next to the payment you want to refund.
Choose a full or partial refund. For partial refunds, enter the amount.
Confirm the refund.

The refund is processed through Stripe immediately. The student typically sees the funds back on their card within 5-10 business days, depending on their bank.

From your Stripe dashboard

Log in to dashboard.stripe.com.
Go to Payments and find the transaction.
Click the payment, then click Refund.
Enter the amount (full or partial) and confirm.

Both methods produce the same result. Use whichever is more convenient.

Refund a PayPal payment

PayPal refunds must be processed through your PayPal dashboard. Ruzuku does not have a built-in refund button for PayPal transactions.

Log in to your PayPal account at paypal.com.
Go to Activity and find the original payment.
Click the transaction, then click Issue a refund.
Enter the refund amount (full or partial) and confirm.

PayPal refunds typically reach the student within 5-10 business days.

Cancel a subscription before refunding

If the student is on a payment plan or subscription, cancel the recurring billing first. Otherwise, their card will continue to be charged even after you issue the refund.

Go to Manage Course → Students and click on the student.
Open the Payments tab.
Click Cancel Subscription (or Cancel Payment Plan).
Confirm the cancellation.

Once the subscription is canceled, no further charges will be made. Then process the refund for any payments you want to return.

You can also cancel subscriptions directly in your Stripe dashboard at dashboard.stripe.com under Subscriptions.

Tip: When you cancel a subscription, the student keeps access through the end of their current billing period (unless you also toggle off their access). Decide whether you want to remove access immediately or let it run out naturally.

What happens after a refund

Refund timeline. Full and partial refunds typically appear on the student's statement within 5-10 business days. The exact timing depends on their bank, not on Ruzuku or Stripe.

Processing fees are not returned. Stripe keeps its processing fee (around 2.9% + $0.30) even when you issue a refund. If you refund a $100 payment, you get back $96.80 — Stripe keeps $3.20. PayPal has a similar policy.

Course access stays. Issuing a refund does not automatically remove the student from your course. If you want to revoke access after refunding, go to Manage Course → Students, click on the student, and toggle their Access off. See Remove a student from a course for details.

Enrollment record stays. The student still appears in your student list even after a refund and access removal. Their enrollment record, payment history, and progress data are preserved.

Set a refund policy

A clear refund policy prevents misunderstandings and reduces back-and-forth with students. Decide your policy before you start selling.

Common approaches:

30-day money-back guarantee. Popular for self-paced courses. Gives students confidence to enroll. Most students who engage with the content do not request refunds.
7-day guarantee. Works well for lower-priced courses where you want a shorter commitment window.
No refunds. Some creators offer no refunds but provide a free preview or trial period so students can evaluate before paying. See Offer free trials for your course for setup steps.
Conditional refund. Refund available if the student has not completed more than a certain percentage of the course. Requires manual checking.

Where to communicate your policy:

On your sales page, near the pricing section
In your welcome email or first lesson
In your price point description or checkout page text

Having a written policy also helps if a student files a dispute (chargeback) with their credit card company. You can point to the policy the student agreed to at checkout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ruzuku charge a fee for refunds?

No. Ruzuku does not charge anything for processing refunds. However, Stripe keeps its original processing fee (around 2.9% + $0.30) on the refunded payment. PayPal has a similar policy. The processing fee is not returned to you when you refund.

Can I issue a partial refund?

Yes. Both Stripe and PayPal support partial refunds. In Stripe, you can enter any amount up to the original payment. This is useful when you want to refund part of a payment plan or offer a goodwill discount rather than a full refund.

What if a student disputes a charge (chargeback)?

A chargeback happens when a student contacts their credit card company to reverse a charge. Stripe notifies you and gives you a chance to respond with evidence (enrollment confirmation, refund policy, course access logs). If you lose the dispute, Stripe charges a $15 fee on top of the refunded amount. The best defense is a clear refund policy and proactive communication — if a student asks for a refund, it is almost always better to issue it yourself rather than risk a chargeback.

Do I get Stripe's processing fee back when I refund?

No. Stripe keeps the processing fee from the original transaction even when you issue a full refund. On a $100 payment, Stripe's ~$3.20 fee is not returned. This is standard across payment processors.

How do I refund a student who paid through a bundle?

Bundle payments are processed as a single transaction through Stripe. To refund a bundle purchase, find the original payment in your Stripe dashboard and issue a refund there. You can issue a full refund for the entire bundle or a partial refund if the student only wants a refund for one course in the bundle.

Need Help?

Email us at support@ruzuku.com — we typically respond within a few hours (M-F 10am-6pm ET).