Shopify Refund After a New Card: Rules for Your AI Agent

This guide covers one ticket: “my bank sent me a new card, where’s my refund?” It gives you the rules to write for your AI agent so the answer is correct every time. If the card hasn’t changed and the money just hasn’t shown up, read why a Shopify refund isn’t showing on the card.

Why the new card ticket needs its own rules

It looks like a “missing refund” ticket, but the customer is asking something else. They aren’t asking whether you refunded them. They want to know if the refund was lost when their card number changed.

So a good answer says different things. Shopify’s Help Center is clear on who handles this: “If the card that you refunded is expired or canceled, then the customer’s bank manages the rerouting of the refund through their own processes” (Shopify Help Center, Shopify Payments refunds). The same page says you can give them the ARN “to help trace the transaction.”

The agent has three jobs: confirm the refund, explain that the customer’s bank manages the rerouting, and give the trace number. If it treats the ticket like any other “where’s my money” ticket, it either sends the customer to their bank too early or offers something you never agreed to.

How the agent spots this ticket

Customers rarely write “replaced card.” Teach the agent the phrases they actually use:

• “My bank sent me a new card”
• “My card was stolen and they replaced it”
• “My card expired, will I still get the refund?”
• “I have a new card number now”
• “The refund isn’t on my new card”

All of these mean the same thing: the refund went to a card that has since been replaced. Write that into your agent’s instructions with these examples. Then it won’t treat the ticket like a general missing refund.

The rules to give your AI agent

Paste these into your agent’s instructions, then adjust them to your store.

Ticket: refund and a replaced or expired card

1. Open the order first. Read the refund status (pending or completed), the refund date, the amount and the payment gateway.
2. Never say the refund is lost. Say the customer’s bank manages the rerouting of the refund.
3. If the refund is pending: say it is on its way. Do not give a date.
4. If the refund is completed and was paid by Visa or Mastercard through Shopify Payments: give the refund date, the exact amount and the ARN.
5. Ask the customer to contact the bank that issued the new card and quote the ARN.
6. Never offer a second refund, a gift card or store credit on this ticket.
7. Hand the ticket to the team if the customer asks to be paid again, if their bank says it cannot find the refund with the ARN, if the refund shows as failed, or if the order was not paid through Shopify Payments.

Here’s why each rule is there.

Rule 1: read the order before writing a word

The answer depends on facts the agent can see in Shopify. Is the refund pending or completed? When was it issued? For how much? Through which gateway? Without those facts, the agent is guessing about money.

Rules 2 and 3: answer by status, not by habit

The new card doesn’t make the refund disappear. Shopify’s Help Center says the customer’s bank manages the rerouting of the refund through their own processes (source). That is the sentence your agent should lean on.

A refund issued recently may still be on its way, even on a new card. The agent should say so and not give a date. The timing depends on the customer’s bank, and your agent doesn’t control it.

Rules 4 and 5: give the customer the ARN

Shopify’s Help Center says: “ARNs are assigned to refunds processed through Shopify Payments for transactions involving Visa or Mastercard.” You can give that number to the customer “to help trace the transaction.” That makes it the most useful thing your agent can put in the reply, because it gives the bank something concrete to look for.

Rule 6: no second payment on this ticket

A customer who can’t find the refund may ask for a gift card “just to be safe.” If the agent says yes when the first refund is already completed, you pay twice. Leave that decision to a person. What your agent can refund on its own belongs in your permissions. Our guide to Shopify AI refund permissions shows how to set those limits.

Rule 7: four clear handoffs

Outside these four cases, the agent can answer on its own. These four go to your team:

Three versions of the same ticket

The refund is still pending. A customer writes the day after a return: “My bank just sent me a new card, will my refund still arrive?” The order shows the refund as pending. The agent says the refund has been issued and is on its way, and that their bank manages the rerouting of the refund. No ARN yet, no date, no handoff.

The refund was completed two weeks ago. A customer whose card was replaced after fraud says the money isn’t on the new card. The order shows a completed Visa refund through Shopify Payments. The agent gives the refund date, the amount and the ARN, and asks them to contact the bank that issued the new card with that number.

The order was paid through PayPal. The customer mentions a new card, but the order went through PayPal. The card rules above don’t apply the same way, so the agent hands the ticket to the team instead of guessing.

For other refund tickets, see our guide to AI returns and refunds on Shopify and the rest of the returns category.

How Relay handles this ticket

Relay is an AI support agent that understands your product, answers customer questions, takes action, and knows when to bring in your team. On a new card refund ticket:

1. It understands the request. The customer wants to know where the refund went, not to get a new refund.
2. It finds the order in Shopify before it answers.
3. It follows your store’s rules, the ones you write, like the block above.
4. It acts only within the permissions you give it.
5. It brings in your team in the cases you choose.

Setup takes 3 steps: teach Relay your business, set your rules, connect and go live. You stay in control.

FAQ

Does a new card number cancel a Shopify refund?

No. The refund goes to the original card. If that card is expired or canceled, Shopify says the customer’s bank manages the rerouting of the refund through their own processes.

Should my AI agent tell the customer to call their bank?

Yes, but only after it gives the refund date, the amount and the ARN when there is one. Shopify says the ARN is there “to help trace the transaction.”

Which Shopify refunds have an ARN?

Shopify assigns ARNs to refunds processed through Shopify Payments for transactions involving Visa or Mastercard. For other cards or gateways, have the agent hand the ticket to your team.

Can the agent offer a gift card if the customer is worried?

Not on this ticket. If the first refund is completed, a gift card means paying twice. Have the agent hand that request to a person.