Reverse authorisation

You can reverse a payment's authorisation before you capture it, if the payment was pre-authorised. When you reverse the authorisation, the hold on the shopper's funds is released and the payment is cancelled.

Note that a reversal does not refund a payment that has been captured. To return funds from a captured payment, make a refund.

RequirementsCopy Anchor Link

Before you begin, take into account the following requirements, limitations, and preparations.

Reverse an authorisation using the APICopy Anchor Link

To reverse a payment that has been authorised but not captured yet:

1. Get the xref of the authorised payment you want to reverse. You can get it from the payment status webhook for the payment.

2. Make a reversal request with your api_token header and the following parameters:

   Parameter	Required	Description
   xref	Required	The payment's reference, O<order_id>M<merchant_id>T<payment_id>.
   merchant_id	Required	The merchant that took the payment, as a string.

   There is no amount: the whole authorisation is reversed. The Reverse a pre-authorisation page in the API Explorer has the full request, with examples you can try.

   The response includes the following:

   Parameter	Description
   outcome	success
   payment_reference	The acquirer's reference for this reversal.
   status	received. The reversal is processed asynchronously.

   Example response (HTTP 201)

   Copy Text

   {
     "outcome": "success",
     "payment_reference": "QFQTPCQ8HXSKGK82",
     "status": "received"
   }

3. Get the outcome of the reversal in the payment status webhook.

Reasons for a failed reversal requestCopy Anchor Link

If the request fails before it reaches the acquirer, you receive HTTP 200 with outcome failed and a message. The most common messages are:

If the acquirer returns an error, you receive its HTTP status, for example 500, with outcome success and a message.

Webhooks for reversalsCopy Anchor Link

Cancellation webhookCopy Anchor Link

You get the outcome of the reversal in a payment status webhook. It contains the following:

• status: cancellation.
• xref: the reference of the payment that you reversed.
• success: indicates whether the reversal succeeded. Possible values:
  • true: the reversal succeeded.
  • false: the reversal failed. The webhook includes a reason field with a short description of the problem.

Example webhook for a successful reversal

{
  "order_id": "EP-1001",
  "amount": "24.50",
  "currency": "GBP",
  "xref": "O88213045M10012345T4821937",
  "status": "cancellation",
  "success": "true",
  "date": "2026-10-15 13:05:10+01:00"
}

See alsoCopy Anchor Link

• Reverse an authorisation in the API Explorer
• Capture
• Refund
• Modify payments