Refund policy

CENTRE CIRCLE REFUND POLICY

Last updated: 16 March 2026

1.  Overview

1.1.  Total Football Ltd (trading as Centre Circle) (“Centre Circle”) provides payment orchestration services for organisations such as clubs, leagues, County FAs and other Customers.

1.2.  Capitalised terms used in this Policy have the meanings given to them in the Software as a Service Subscription Agreement and the Payment Services Addendum between Total Football Limited and the Customer (together, the “Agreement”).

1.3.  Centre Circle does not hold Customer funds and does not operate a digital wallet or stored-value balance. Payments and refunds are executed via regulated Payment Service Providers.

1.4.  Refunds on Centre Circle are processed as reversals of the original payment transaction and are executed by the relevant Payment Service Provider and/or the Customer, depending on the transaction type.

 

2.  Who is responsible for refund decisions

2.1  Payments made to Centre Circle for Centre Circle services

2.1.1.  Where the payment was made directly to Centre Circle for Centre Circle services (such as platform subscriptions, platform fees, advertising or other Centre Circle-provided services), Centre Circle is responsible for refund decisions and, if a refund is approved, for funding the refund from its own account via its Payment Service Provider.

 

2.2  All other payments

2.2.1.  For all other transactions, refund decisions are made by the Customer that received the payment for the relevant goods or services. The Customer is the merchant of record and the refund decision-maker in respect of those transactions, as set out in the Agreement.

2.2.2.  Centre Circle may provide tooling to submit and track refund requests and to record refund outcomes, but does not make refund decisions on the Customer’s behalf.

 

3.  How refunds are processed

3.1.  All refunds are processed through regulated Payment Service Providers.

3.2.  Depending on the original payment method and Payment Service Provider capabilities, a refund may be processed as:

(a)  a reversal of the original transaction (where supported by the relevant Payment Service Provider); or

(b)  a new outbound payment to the End User.

 

3.3  Open Banking / account-to-account payments

3.3.1.  For certain Open Banking payments, reversals are not always supported by the relevant Payment Service Provider. Where a refund is processed as a new outbound payment:

(a)  the Customer makes the payment directly to the End User via the Customer’s Payment Service Provider; and

(b)  Centre Circle orchestrates the process and records status, but does not initiate, fund, or guarantee the payment (except where Centre Circle is the seller).

 

4.  Transaction Fees

4.1.  Transaction Fees charged by Centre Circle in connection with a payment are non-refundable, except where required by law or agreed in writing.

4.2.  Where a refund is issued for an underlying transaction, the Transaction Fee applicable to that transaction will not be refunded unless Centre Circle expressly confirms otherwise in writing.

 

5.  Refund timing

5.1.  If a refund is approved (by Centre Circle where it is the seller, or by the Customer for all other transactions), the Payment Service Provider will process it.

5.2.  Processing times vary by Payment Service Provider and the End User’s bank. Refunds typically appear within 3-10 Business Days, although banks or providers may take longer to post the refunded amount.

 

6.  Partial refunds and multi-item / multi-vendor orders

6.1.  Customers (or Centre Circle where it is the seller) may issue partial refunds where appropriate, for example:

(a)  partial attendance at an event;

(b)  pro-rated membership cancellations; or

(c)  refunds for individual items within an order.

6.2.  For orders involving multiple items and/or multiple vendors, partial refunds will be allocated in accordance with the original payment allocation. Centre Circle does not apply discretionary allocation rules to partial refunds.

 

7.  Refunds after settlement to the Customer

7.1.  In some cases, funds may already have been paid out or settled to the Customer before a refund is requested.

7.2.  Where Centre Circle is the seller, Centre Circle funds its own refunds (if approved) via its Payment Service Provider.

7.3.  For all other transactions, the Customer is responsible for funding and issuing the refund via its Payment Service Provider.

7.4.  Where separately agreed in writing with the Customer (including as set out in the Agreement), Centre Circle may initiate a refund via the Payment Service Provider on the Customer’s behalf and recover the refunded amount by deduction from the Customer’s next scheduled settlement payment, or by invoice where settlement funds are insufficient.

7.5.  In these circumstances, the refund is paid directly to the End User by the Payment Service Provider and does not involve Centre Circle holding Customer funds.

 

8.  Customer insolvency during a refund or dispute window

8.1.  Where an End User has requested a refund or initiated a dispute and the Customer becomes insolvent before the refund is processed:

(a)  refunds that can still be processed via the Payment Service Provider (including card chargebacks where applicable) may proceed in accordance with the Payment Service Provider’s terms;

(b)  where a refund cannot be processed via the Payment Service Provider, the End User’s claim is an insolvency claim against the Customer, not a claim against Centre Circle; and

(c)  Centre Circle will not fund refunds from its own resources or from funds belonging to other Customers in these circumstances.

8.2.  End Users in this situation should seek independent advice and may wish to contact the Customer’s insolvency practitioner.

 

9.  Corrections under the Orchestration Services

9.1.  This section applies where a payment has been made under the Orchestration Services (for example, a payment from a Customer to a Payee such as a referee or contractor) and a reversal or correction is required.

9.2.  Where such a correction is required:

(a)  for card payments, refunds are processed via the Payment Service Provider’s standard reversal flows;

(b)  for Open Banking or account-to-account payments, corrections typically require a new payment from the Payee to the Customer, which Centre Circle may facilitate as a further Orchestration Service but cannot guarantee; and

(c)  Centre Circle does not fund, advance, or guarantee any refund or correction under the Orchestration Services.

9.3.  The Customer acknowledges that Open Banking and Faster Payment Service transactions are generally irreversible once executed, and that disputes are resolved between the Customer, the Payee, and the relevant bank or Payment Service Provider.

 

10.  Offline / external payments

10.1.  If a payment was made outside Centre Circle (for example: cash, cheque, or a bank transfer arranged directly between the End User and the Customer), any refund must be handled directly between the End User and the Customer.

10.2.  Centre Circle may record the outcome for administrative purposes but does not process the refund.

 

11.  Failed or rejected refunds

11.1.  Refunds may fail for reasons such as incorrect End User payment details or Payment Service Provider rejection.

11.2.  Where a refund fails:

(a)  the Customer (or Centre Circle where it is the seller) may request updated details and re-attempt the refund; and

(b)  Centre Circle is not responsible for delays caused by incorrect End User information or Payment Service Provider processing issues.

 

12.  Disputes and chargebacks

12.1.  If an End User raises a dispute or chargeback through their bank or card provider, the process is handled under the relevant payment scheme rules and/or Payment Service Provider processes.

12.2.  Liability depends on the merchant-of-record position for the transaction:

(a)  where the Customer is the merchant of record, chargeback liability rests with the Customer; and

(b)  where Centre Circle is the merchant of record, chargeback liability rests with Centre Circle.

12.3.  Centre Circle may support disputes by providing transaction records and metadata, but does not assume chargeback liability for transactions where the Customer is the merchant of record.

12.4.  Refund requests and chargeback processes are separate. Raising a chargeback does not substitute for contacting the Customer to request a refund.

 

13.  What Centre Circle does not do

13.1.  To avoid confusion, Centre Circle does not:

(a)  hold refund amounts on behalf of End Users or Customers;

(b)  issue credits to an account balance or create stored-value balances;

(c)  maintain internal “refund balances”;

(d)  net, offset, or deduct refund recoveries from future settlement payments except where separately agreed in writing with the Customer as set out in the Agreement; or

(e)  guarantee refund execution or timing for transactions where the Customer is responsible for the refund.

 

14.  Recurring payments and mandates (including Variable Recurring Payments)

14.1.  A refund does not cancel any recurring payment mandate that an End User has authorised.

14.2.  To stop future payments, the End User must revoke or cancel the mandate separately using the relevant process provided within the Software.

 

15.  Contact

15.1.  For refunds relating to goods or services provided by a Customer, please contact the relevant Customer directly.

15.2.  For questions relating to Centre Circle services (such as platform subscriptions), contact support@centrecircleapp.com