# What does square.refund.completed prove?

> Prove that the money returned to the payment card of the buyer. Version 1.0.0, certification Provisional.

Canonical: https://provely.sh/verify/square/square.refund.completed  
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05  
Skill version: 0.1.0  
Certification: provisional  

**Prove that the money returned to the payment card of the buyer. A PaymentRefund object does not prove that money moved. This level proves the COMPLETED state on the refund and an event that carries it.**

*Contract identity.*

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Contract id | `square.refund.completed` |
| Version | `1.0.0` |
| Hash | `996beade3905b671` |
| Completion level | `refunded` |
| Publisher | Built and signed by Provely. |
| Certification | Provisional |
| Skill | [Square 0.1.0](/verify/square) |
| Valid for provider API versions | `2026-08-19` |

## What is the intent?

Return the amount of the payment to the buyer.

## What is the subject and the action?

| Member | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Subject type | `square.payment_refund` |
| Subject identity | refund_id = `$action.result.refund.id` |
| Canonical effect | `payments.card_refund` |
| Provider operation | `POST /v2/refunds` |
| Idempotency | idempotency_key, retry is safe |

## How does the evidence correlate with this operation?

| Strategy | Assurance | Keys | Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `resource_id` | strong | refund_id from `$action.result.refund.id` | yes |
| `idempotency_key` | strong | idempotency_key from `$operation.id` | no |
| `fingerprint` | weak | payment_id from `$input.payment_id`; amount from `$input.amount` | no |

## Which evidence does the contract require?

Minimum evidence level `E2`. An independent channel is required. Minimum channels: 1.

| Channel | Level | Independence | Verifier | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `refund_readback` | E2 | provider readback | `http` | Read the refund from the provider. A condition path is $observed.refund_readback.refund.status. |
| `refund_completed_events` | E3 | provider event | `webhook` | The refund events of this refund that carry the status COMPLETED. The webhook verifier returns {events, count, latest, earliest, types, duplicates_dropped}. |
| `refund_created_events` | E3 | provider event | `webhook` | The refund.created events for the payment since the operation started. The webhook verifier returns {events, count, latest, earliest, types, duplicates_dropped}. A count above one shows a second refund of the payment. |

## Which conditions must all hold for VERIFIED?

| Condition | Meaning | Path | Operator | Expected | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `refund_status_completed` | The refund states the completed state. The money reached the payment card of the buyer. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.status` | `eq` | `COMPLETED` | `refund_readback` |
| `refund_amount_matches` | The amount of the refund equals the requested amount. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.amount_money.amount` | `eq` | `$input.amount` | `refund_readback` |
| `refund_payment_matches` | The refund names the payment that the intent named. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.payment_id` | `eq` | `$input.payment_id` | `refund_readback` |
| `refund_created_in_window` | The provider created the refund after the operation started. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.created_at` | `time_after` | `$operation.created_at` | `refund_readback` |
| `refund_completed_event` | At least one refund event of this refund carries the status COMPLETED. | `$observed.refund_completed_events.count` | `gte` | `1` | `refund_completed_events` |

## Which conditions give CONTRADICTED?

| Condition | Class | Reason | Path | Operator | Expected |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `refund_on_wrong_payment` | wrong subject | The refund belongs to a different payment than the intent named. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.payment_id` | `ne` | `$input.payment_id` |
| `refund_amount_mismatch` | wrong amount | The provider refunded a different amount than the intent stated. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.amount_money.amount` | `ne` | `$input.amount` |
| `refund_predates_operation` | pre existing state | The refund is older than the operation. It proves nothing. | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.created_at` | `time_before` | `$operation.created_at` |
| `duplicate_refund_present` | duplicate side effect | Square created more than one refund for the payment since the operation started. Do not retry. | `$observed.refund_created_events.count` | `gt` | `1` |

## Which observed states map to a verdict before completion?

| Rule | Match | Verdict | Reason |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `terminal_failure` | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.status` eq `"FAILED"` | FAILED | An error stopped the refund. Square reports the failed state. |
| `rejected` | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.status` eq `"REJECTED"` | CONTRADICTED | Square rejected the refund. No money moved back to the buyer. |
| `still_transitional` | `$observed.refund_readback.refund.status` eq `"PENDING"` | PENDING | The refund awaits approval. The runtime observes again later. |

## How long does the runtime observe?

| Timing member | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Initial delay | 1000 ms |
| Poll interval | 5000 ms |
| Backoff | exponential factor 2, max 60000 ms |
| Maximum attempts | 40 |
| Timeout | 604800000 ms |
| Stale read window | 20000 ms |
| On timeout | UNVERIFIABLE (`evidence_unavailable_before_timeout`), escalated to a person |

## Where do these rules come from?

- `square.openapi#/paths/~1v2~1refunds/post`: [square.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/square/connect-api-specification/master/api.json), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.openapi#/components/schemas/PaymentRefund/properties/status`: [square.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/square/connect-api-specification/master/api.json), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.docs.refunds#refunds/p1`: [square.docs.refunds](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/objects/PaymentRefund), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.docs.refunds#refunds/the-status-of-a-refund/p2`: [square.docs.refunds](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/objects/PaymentRefund), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.docs.refunds#refunds/the-status-of-a-refund/p5`: [square.docs.refunds](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/objects/PaymentRefund), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.openapi#/components/schemas/PaymentRefund/properties/amount_money`: [square.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/square/connect-api-specification/master/api.json), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.openapi#/components/schemas/Money/properties/amount`: [square.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/square/connect-api-specification/master/api.json), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.openapi#/components/schemas/PaymentRefund/properties/payment_id`: [square.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/square/connect-api-specification/master/api.json), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.docs.refunds#refunds/identifiers-and-times/p1`: [square.docs.refunds](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/objects/PaymentRefund), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.openapi#/components/schemas/PaymentRefund/properties/created_at`: [square.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/square/connect-api-specification/master/api.json), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.events#/events/refund.updated`: [square.events](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/webhooks), retrieved 2026-09-08
- `square.docs.webhooks#webhooks/the-event-types/p5`: [square.docs.webhooks](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/webhooks/overview), retrieved 2026-09-08

### Can square.refund.completed return VERIFIED from the action response alone?

No. The minimum evidence level is E2. The action response is E1. The completion conditions read `refund_readback` and `refund_completed_events`.

### What happens after the timeout?

The verdict is UNVERIFIABLE with the reason `evidence_unavailable_before_timeout`. The operation goes to a person for review.

## Read next

- [Read the Square verification page](https://provely.sh/verify/square)
- [Read the square.payment.approved contract](https://provely.sh/verify/square/square.payment.approved)
- [Read the square.payment.completed contract](https://provely.sh/verify/square/square.payment.completed)
- [Read what a completion contract contains](https://provely.sh/contracts)
- [Read what a receipt proves](https://provely.sh/docs/receipts)