Waytobill launches digital refunds for recurring payments in the Nordics

Refunds are an unavoidable part of running a business with recurring payments.

For insurance companies, subscription businesses and other companies charging customers on a recurring basis, refunds can be triggered by many different situations: a duplicate payment, a cancelled policy or subscription, or a mid-term adjustment where part of a previously collected amount needs to be returned to the customer.

While refunds may seem straightforward from a customer perspective, they can be surprisingly complex and time-consuming for finance and operations teams.

Waytobill is now launching digital refunds across the Nordics, automating the process from refund request to payment and significantly reducing the administrative work involved.

Why refunds are more complicated than they seem

In many Nordic markets, a significant share of recurring payments is still made through invoicing rather than directly from a customer's bank account.

This creates a practical challenge when a company needs to make a refund: the customer's bank account number may not be known.

Before the refund can be processed, the company may need to:

1. Ask the customer for their bank account details.
2. Collect the information securely.
3. Verify that the account belongs to the intended recipient.
4. Ensure that the refund complies with applicable regulatory requirements.
5. Process and reconcile the payment.

For regulated companies in particular, this process needs to be handled within the framework of applicable anti-money laundering and customer verification requirements.

What looks like a simple refund to the customer can therefore become a relatively heavy administrative process behind the scenes.

Turning refunds into a digital customer journey

Waytobill has automated this process to minimise the administrative workload while creating a simpler and more modern customer experience.

When a refund needs to be made, the customer can provide their bank account details digitally through Waytobill's open banking solution.

Instead of asking customers to manually provide account information and requiring employees to process the information, Waytobill creates a digital flow for collecting the required information and verifying the account.

This makes the process easier for both sides:

For the company: less manual administration and a more controlled refund process.

For the customer: a simple digital experience without unnecessary back-and-forth with customer service or finance teams.

Refunds regardless of how the customer originally paid

Another important part of the new functionality is that refunds can be automated regardless of the customer's original payment method.

This is particularly relevant for companies with multiple payment methods and recurring payment flows.

Whether the original payment was made through invoicing, direct debit, card or another supported payment method, the refund process can be handled through Waytobill's digital infrastructure.

This means companies do not need to build separate refund processes depending on how the customer originally paid.

Partial refunds for insurance and recurring services

The new solution also supports partial refunds.

This is particularly important in insurance, where adjustments during an active policy period are common.

For example, a policy may be changed during the contract period, resulting in the customer having paid more than they ultimately owe. Instead of processing the adjustment manually, the company can initiate a partial refund through the digital Waytobill process.

The same principle applies to other recurring services where the final amount owed to a customer can change during an ongoing subscription or contract.

Compliance built into the process

For regulated companies, automating refunds is not simply about saving time.

The process also needs to support the regulatory requirements associated with making payments to customers.

Waytobill's digital refund process is designed to support compliance by incorporating the necessary account information collection and verification into the digital flow.

This helps companies reduce the risk associated with manual processes while creating a more consistent and controlled way of handling refunds.

Rather than relying on individual employees to collect, verify and process bank account information, the process is structured and automated through Waytobill's platform.

From administrative burden to automated infrastructure

Refunds are a good example of an administrative process that can easily be overlooked when designing a recurring payment infrastructure.

The focus is naturally on collecting payments from customers. But as the customer base grows, companies also need to manage the payments going in the opposite direction.

At scale, manually handling refunds does not make sense.

Waytobill's ambition is to automate the entire recurring payment lifecycle — not only collecting payments, but also handling the administrative processes that follow them.

With digital refunds now available across the Nordics, companies can reduce manual work, improve the customer experience and build a more scalable operational infrastructure around recurring payments.

Payments should be digital in both directions.

With Waytobill, refunds can now be just as seamless as the payment itself.