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Why does it take so long to refund to credit card?
The holdup is from the merchant.  To protect themselves, a merchant requires payment before giving you your purchased item/service. That is why you are charged immediately.  When getting a refund, the same reason applies. The merchant needs to ensure that you are returning the correct item, or that it is still good, or that you are not trying to defraud the merchant in some way. Once the merchant processes that refund, it is all over for them, and they have no recourse later if they find out they were cheated. That is why they wait a while: the delay gives them time to discover any problems.