All three terms involve money that goes back (or may go back) to the buyer, but they're different processes: what changes is who starts it, when it happens, and who decides the outcome. Telling them apart helps you respond correctly when a customer disputes a charge.
Refund: you start it
A refund is a voluntary return: you decide to give back the money from a payment, fully or partially, from the Conekta Panel. The buyer's bank doesn't act as judge — the decision is yours and the result is immediate on the transaction. It's the right path when the customer is right: a returned product, a canceled order, or a charging error.
Inquiry: the buyer asks their bank
An inquiry begins when the buyer doesn't recognize a charge and asks their bank about it. The bank can resolve it internally — for example, if the cardholder remembers the purchase on seeing the merchant's name — without it ever affecting you. Many inquiries end there; others, if the bank decides to side with the cardholder, escalate to a chargeback.
Chargeback: the bank decides
A chargeback is the formal dispute: the buyer's bank reverses the charge, the amount is deducted from your balance, and a process opens in which you can accept the dispute or respond with evidence. The final decision is made by the issuing bank based on the card network rules — neither Conekta nor you decide the outcome, although good evidence greatly improves your chances.
Quick comparison
- Refund: you start it, at any time, and you decide.
- Inquiry: the buyer starts it with their bank; it can be resolved without affecting you.
- Chargeback: the buyer's bank formalizes it; the amount is held and the bank decides.
Next step
If you've already received a dispute, continue with How to know if I received a chargeback. If what you need is to return money, see How to issue a refund from the Conekta Panel.