This is instead of the usual two to 90 days' waiting period for the refund to hit a consumer's bank account, according to Mastercard.
Mastercard Australasian vice president of products and innovation, Surin Fernando, told Savings.com.au the average time to refund is about five days.
"The refund process can often be time consuming with minimal updates on the status, causing tension between retailers and their customers," he said.
"Mastercard is reducing this friction, improving the way the purchase is returned, and bridging the gap in making sure that the payment of a refund is processed to the consumer in near-real-time."
Mastercard's 'Send' service is a personal payments service, which can reach 'virtually' all Asia Pacific customers with both Mastercard and non-Mastercard debit cards.
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Mr Fernando said customer expectations and shopping experiences have shifted in the wake of the pandemic.
"Speaking to online fashion retailers, consumers are more open to purchasing multiple items with the fast delivery times and open to exchanging items or returning items for a refund," he said.
"The front end experience for receiving the items has been automated and delivery can take place within three hours from a number of retailers but the refund process is where Mastercard is working with retailers to streamline the process.
"Consumers’ experience and expectations around online shopping are changing. There has been a significant shift in different products, payments, as well as retailers using omni-channel payment methods.
"This new functionality is important for the future of e-commerce for consumers and retailers alike. This solutions meets the customers’ demands and saves the operational burden for retailers."
A recent survey of more than 1,000 Australians from fashion marketplace Poshmark found 79% of the respondents had on average $500-worth of unworn items sitting in their closet.
More than half said they kept them because they felt guilty to throw away clothing that's new, while 25% said they shopped because they were 'bored' during COVID.
Poshmark extrapolated the survey data using Australian Bureau of Statistics data, and found that young Australians (18-45) are collectively sitting on $5 billion worth of unused clothes.
Photo Source: Mastercard
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