What is it?
Centra payments is the reference for all financial transactions triggered through the Centra integration — covering both refunds (money out to customers) and exchanges (money in from customers when they upgrade).
Where Centra refunds and Centra exchanges each focus on their specific flows, this article describes how the integration handles payments end-to-end across both — useful when planning a Returns rollout, troubleshooting payment-related questions, or training internal teams.
Key benefits
One integration, three payment flows — refunds, gift card top-ups, and paid exchange checkouts all run through the same Centra credentials.
Customer-currency accuracy — refunds are always calculated in the currency the customer paid in, including for split-payment orders.
Automated checkout for paid exchanges — when a customer chooses a more expensive replacement, a Centra checkout payment link is generated automatically. The customer pays before the exchange ships.
Predictable retry behavior — temporary API issues don't block payments. Workers retry automatically before moving to an error state.
Payment flows at a glance
Refunds — money flowing back to the customer
Original payment | Refund method |
Cash or card | Payment reversal to the original payment method |
Gift card | Top-up to the customer's gift card |
Split (both) | Both methods refunded proportionally in a single operation |
Refunds are triggered when a return is confirmed at the warehouse. Amounts are calculated from the customer-currency price fields on the original order.
For details, see Centra refunds.
Exchanges — orders created, with payment when needed
Exchange type | Payment step |
Free exchange (same or lower price) | No payment step. Exchange order is created and fulfilled normally. |
Paid exchange (replacement costs more) | Centra checkout link is generated for the difference. Customer pays before the exchange ships. |
Exchange timing is configurable per shop (immediate, on return receipt, on return shipment, or manual approval).
For details, see Centra exchanges.
Which Centra APIs are used and when
The Centra integration uses three Centra APIs. Different operations call different APIs:
Centra API | Used for |
Order API | Refund payment reversal • Exchange order placement |
GraphQL API | Gift card refund top-up • Exchange voucher creation |
Checkout API | Paid exchange payment collection only |
All three API credential pairs are required for the integration to be set up, even if you don't plan to use paid exchanges immediately. This keeps the configuration consistent across operations.
Use cases
Standard card refund — Customer paid by card. Item is returned and approved at the warehouse. A payment reversal is issued via the Order API. The customer receives the money back on their card.
Split-payment refund — Customer paid with both a card and a gift card. After warehouse approval, both a payment reversal (Order API) and a gift card top-up (GraphQL API) are issued in the same refund operation.
Free exchange — Customer returns an item and selects a same-price replacement. The integration creates a voucher (GraphQL API) and places the exchange order (Order API). No payment step is needed.
Paid exchange — Customer returns an item and selects a more expensive replacement. The integration creates the voucher and the exchange order, plus generates a Centra checkout payment link (Checkout API). The customer pays the difference before the order is fulfilled.
FAQ
Q: Are payment fees deducted from refunds?
A: No. The full customer-currency amount is refunded. Payment processor fees are not deducted by the integration.
Q: Can the customer pay for the exchange difference with a gift card?
A: That depends on Centra's checkout configuration on your side. Standard Centra checkout payment methods apply to paid exchanges.
Q: What's the difference between a free exchange and a paid exchange?
A: Pricing. A free exchange means the replacement costs the same or less. A paid exchange means the customer pays the difference before the replacement ships.
Q: How does this work with the Miinto market?
A: Refunds on Miinto orders are not supported and require manual processing in Centra. Exchanges on Miinto orders work normally.
Q: Is the Checkout API needed for refunds?
A: No. The Checkout API is only used for paid exchanges. Refunds use the Order API and GraphQL API only.
Getting started
All three Centra API credential pairs (Order, GraphQL, Checkout) must be configured before the integration can be used:
Returns Back-office → Settings → Admin → Edit ecom integration
For the broader integration overview, see Centra integration. For specific flow details, see Centra refunds and Centra exchanges.