Approval does not mean the money appears immediately. Steam says an approved refund can take up to seven days to appear. Steam Wallet credit may take 24–48 hours. A cancelled card payment can work differently.
Which situation matches yours?
| Situation | What Steam says | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Approved refund | Up to seven days to appear. International payment methods may take longer. | Check where the refund was sent. If it has not appeared after seven days, ask your bank about pending refunds. |
| Approved Steam Wallet credit | May take 24–48 hours to appear. | Check your Wallet and recent purchases—you may already have spent the returned funds. |
| Refund approved within 24 hours of purchase | The original transaction is cancelled. Steam says bank confirmation and release of the hold can take up to 30 days in many cases. | Look for the original charge disappearing rather than a new refund credit. |
Why there may be no refund credit
When a purchase is cancelled before the payment completes, the bank releases its hold instead of adding a separate credit. Steam’s FAQ specifically says a cancelled transaction will not show a credit on your account. The original charge is removed once the bank confirms the cancellation.
Check these details before chasing it
First, make sure the refund was approved, rather than simply requested. The processing times above describe approved refunds; they are not a promise that every request will be approved within that time.
Then open Steam, select your account name, and go to Account Details → View purchase history. Check the transaction and any later Wallet purchases. For a bank payment, compare the original charge with your statement and ask the bank about a pending refund or released hold.
Open Steam’s official refund FAQ ↗Trying to refund a game because its price dropped? See our separate refund-and-rebuy guide.
Checked October 23, 2026 against Steam Support: Common Refund Questions. Timing depends on the refund destination and payment handling; seven days is not a universal deadline for international methods or cancelled-payment holds.
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