Refund & Retry Workflows #403
Description
Refund & Retry Workflows
Request Type: New Feature
👤 User Story
As a billing administrator, I want automated refund and retry workflows so that I can efficiently handle failed payments, process refunds accurately, and minimize revenue loss through intelligent retry mechanisms.
Route URL
/api/billing/refund-retry-workflows
🚨 Problem Statement, Use Case, or Opportunity
Currently, there are no automated refund and retry workflows that handle payment failures and refund requests efficiently. This creates manual overhead, delays in customer service, and potential revenue loss from failed payments that could be successfully retried.
💡 Proposed Solution
Implement comprehensive refund and retry workflows with:
- Intelligent payment retry logic with customizable schedules
- Automated refund processing with approval workflows
- Partial and full refund capability with proper accounting
- Failed payment recovery strategies and dunning management
- Real-time notification system for payment events
- Integration with payment gateways for automated processing
- Comprehensive audit trails for all refund and retry activities
- Analytics dashboard for payment success rates and recovery metrics
✅ Acceptance Criteria
- Intelligent payment retry logic with configurable schedules
- Automated refund processing with approval workflow system
- Partial and full refund processing with accurate accounting
- Failed payment recovery strategies and dunning management
- Real-time notifications for payment events and status changes
- Integration with multiple payment gateways for processing
- Comprehensive audit trails for refund and retry activities
- Analytics dashboard for payment metrics and recovery rates
- API endpoints for refund and retry workflow management
- Unit tests covering all refund and retry scenarios
📈 Impact, Risks and Benefits
Benefits:
- Reduced manual effort in handling payment failures and refunds
- Improved customer satisfaction through faster refund processing
- Increased revenue recovery through intelligent retry mechanisms
- Enhanced financial accuracy with proper refund accounting
Risks:
- Complex workflow logic leading to processing errors
- Potential over-refunding or incorrect refund calculations
- Customer dissatisfaction from excessive retry attempts
- Compliance risks with refund policies and regulations
Impact:
- Critical for maintaining healthy payment operations and recovery
- High impact on customer satisfaction and retention
- Important for minimizing revenue loss from payment failures
📚 Context and Examples
Similar to how platforms like Stripe, PayPal, or subscription services handle automated refund processing and intelligent payment retry mechanisms.
🔧 Technical Requirements
- Backend/API changes required
- Database schema changes required
- Third-party integrations needed
- Documentation updates needed
- Tests must be written
🖇️ Related Issues
Related to payment processing, customer service automation, billing reconciliation, and financial reporting features.