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diff --git a/design-documents/026-refund-fees.rst b/design-documents/026-refund-fees.rst new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f65da4a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/design-documents/026-refund-fees.rst @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +Refunds and Fees +################ + +Summary +======= + +This document discusses what should happen with deposit fees when a +deposit is refunded. + + +Motivation +========== + +When a user receives a refund, we have to decide what happens to the deposit +fee that was originally paid on the associated deposit. Originally, we said +that the deposit fee is waived when any refund happens. However, if the +refund fee is zero and the deposit fee is non-zero, this results in a +problematic scenario where merchants issue miniscule refunds that primarily +enable customers to effectively obtain the deposit fee. + + +Requirements +============ + + * If the refund and refresh fees are zero, it should be possible for + consumers to get 100% of their digital cash back on refunds. + * This should not result in a problematic situation where merchants + conspire with consumers and issue miniscule refunds to allow consumers + to work around deposit fees. + +Proposed Solution +================= + + * Only waive the deposit fee for full refunds where for the + specific coin (!) the refunded amount is the total value of the + refunded deposit. + +Alternatives +============ + + * Only waive the deposit fee for full refunds where for the + specific coin the refunded amount is the total value of the + denomination of the coin. This may slightly simplify the + logic, but has the problem that it does not enable 100% + refunds if the original payment already required a refresh + because the coin's value exceeded the paid amount. + * Waive the deposit fee on any (including partial) refund. + This creates a bad incentive structure if combined refresh + and refund fees are below deposit fees. + +Drawbacks +========= + + * We need to update and test an already complex fee calculation + logic. + + +Discussion / Q&A +================ + +(This should be filled in with results from discussions on mailing lists / personal communication.) |