Processing & Platform Fees — What Happens When a Payment Is Refunded or Fails?
Last updated: January 30, 2026
Understanding how fees behave helps you reconcile payouts and explain transactions to your donors.
This article explains what happens to platform fees and payment processing fees when a transaction is successful, refunded, or fails.
Fee Types Explained
Fee TypeWhat It Covers | |
Platform Fee | WeGive’s fee for providing and maintaining the fundraising platform. |
Processing Fee | The fee charged by the payment processor (e.g., Stripe, Payrix, Finix, Tilled) for moving funds through the card/ACH networks. |
What Happens in Each Scenario
Transaction StatusPlatform FeeProcessing FeeWhy | |||
Successful Payment | Charged | Charged | The transaction is processed normally. |
Refunded Payment | Not returned | Not returned | The payment was already processed, and fees were incurred at the time of the original charge. |
Failed Payment | Not charged | Not charged | The payment never processed, so no fees were triggered. |
Key Takeaways
Refunded payments do not return the original platform or processing fees.
Failed payments do not incur any fees.
Example
A donor gives $100
Processing fee: $3.20
Platform fee: $2.00
ScenarioAmount Returned to DonorFees Recovered? | ||
Successful | $100 | N/A |
Refunded | $100 | No – $5.20 in fees remain |
Failed | $0 | No fees were charged |