Refund and dispute policy

One page: what happens to your money in every situation, and who acts. PINMart holds the money in its own PIN wallet and records it against your order in our ledger. It is not a separate escrow account held by PIN or a bank.

Last updated 2 September 2026

First, three things that are always true

A refund puts Kina back into your PINMart wallet. It does not go to your bank. To get it to a bank, withdraw to your PIN app wallet, then cash out from the PIN app.
Your money is held in escrow from the moment you pay until the moment it is released. While it is held, it has not gone to the seller.
Confirming receipt authorises the seller payment and completes your purchase. Do not confirm before you have received and checked the item.

New physical orders — 15 days from payment

The 15-day window starts when your payment enters escrow, including when you pay for an auction you won. Your order shows the exact deadline in PNG time. Handover does not restart the clock.

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You receive and inspect the item, then confirm before the deadline.	The purchase completes. PINMart records its 5% commission, rounded half up to the toea, and reserves the remainder for the seller’s PIN wallet payment.	You confirm; finance sends the seller payment.	Queued on confirmation; marked paid only after finance records the send.
You do not confirm within 15 days of payment, whether or not the seller marked handover.	The full amount returns to your PINMart available balance. No commission is charged. Request a withdrawal separately if you want it in your PIN app wallet.	Automatic	At expiry, processed by the next refund check.
You report a problem before confirming.	The team reviews the order. The original 15-day deadline still applies. If the problem is resolved, you can confirm receipt before the deadline to close the dispute and queue the seller’s payment. Reporting alone does not authorise payment or extend escrow.	You and support	We reply within 5 business days
You cancel before the seller marks handover.	The full amount returns to your PINMart available balance.	You	Straight away
A seller payment is queued but finance has not completed it.	The seller’s money stays reserved. It is not also spendable PINMart credit, and stopping a payment attempt does not erase the seller’s unpaid balance.	Finance	Payment status appears in the seller’s activity.

Earlier physical and digital orders keep the terms recorded when they were created. The order page shows which timing applies.

Earlier orders — existing handover rules

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You paid, and the seller has not yet marked the item handed over. You change your mind.	Full refund to your PINMart wallet.	You — cancel the order on the order page.	Straight away
You paid, met the seller, and the item is as described.	No refund. You confirm and the seller’s proceeds are credited under the recorded settlement rules, minus commission.	You	Straight away
The seller marked it handed over, but the item is wrong, broken, or never arrived.	The money stays frozen in escrow. Nobody is paid until we decide.	You report a problem, then we decide.	We reply within 5 business days
We decide in your favour.	Full refund to your PINMart wallet.	Us	Straight away once decided
We decide in the seller’s favour.	The money is released to the seller, minus commission.	Us	Straight away once decided
The seller marked it handed over and you do nothing.	The money is released to the seller automatically after 7 days.	Automatic	7 days
You paid and the seller never marks handover, and never turns up.	Cancel the order yourself and get the full amount back. Nothing expires against you.	You	Straight away, whenever you choose

Report a problem from the order page, before you confirm. Once you confirm, the money is gone to the seller and the only way back is to agree it with them directly.

Auctions

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You place a bid.	Nothing. Bidding holds no money. Money only moves when you win and pay.	—	—
You win and pay.	The Kina goes into escrow. From here it is the same as any other order, above.	You	—
You win and do not pay.	No money moves. The order is cancelled and the item goes back on sale.	Automatic	24 hours
Your bid is beaten.	Nothing to refund — the money was never taken.	—	—

A bid is a commitment to buy. Repeatedly winning and not paying can get your account suspended.

New digital orders — unlock, then inspect

Payment reserves your credits in escrow. You choose when to unlock the file. Unlocking starts a separate 48-hour inspection period; downloading again does not restart it, and unlocking is not acceptance.

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You cancel before unlocking.	The full payment returns to your PINMart available balance. No commission is charged.	Buyer	Straight away
You never unlock the file.	The full payment returns to your PINMart available balance; no seller payment is made.	Automatic	15 days from payment
You unlock the file.	Payment stays in escrow while you inspect it. Change-of-mind cancellation ends.	Buyer chooses to unlock	48 hours from first unlock
You accept the file early.	The purchase completes and the seller’s net amount is reserved for finance to pay their saved PIN wallet.	Buyer accepts; finance sends payment	Inspection ends immediately
You report an inaccessible, faulty or misdescribed file before the inspection deadline and before acceptance.	Payment stays held until support resolves the dispute. It does not automatically release at the original deadline.	Buyer reports; support reviews	We reply within 5 business days
The inspection period ends without a dispute.	The purchase completes and queues the seller’s payment with finance. The order’s recorded digital commission applies. Digital products: 5% of the sale price with a K0.50 minimum fee, never more than the price itself. A new-seller fee waiver, when running, removes the fee. The fee is frozen on the order.	Automatic; finance sends payment	48 hours from unlock
A file problem is discovered after acceptance or after the inspection period.	Support can review a complaint. Contacting support does not automatically refund or reopen a completed purchase.	Contact support from the order	Reviewed individually

Use the order’s Report a problem action during inspection and send support your evidence. A seller may voluntarily refund an order while its payment is still held. These processes do not remove any rights you have under PNG law. Earlier digital orders keep the rules below.

Earlier digital orders

Digital orders created under the earlier rules keep those recorded terms. They allow download after payment and retain the existing handover, refund and settlement process. Your order page identifies these orders.

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You downloaded it and simply changed your mind.	No refund. You already have the file.	—	—
The file is broken, empty, or not what the listing described.	The money stays frozen in escrow while we look at it.	You report a problem, then we decide.	We reply within 5 business days
You paid but the file was never actually there to download.	The money is NOT released to the seller. Our system checks the file exists before releasing, and refuses if it does not.	Automatic, then us	Checked at every release attempt
You buy the same digital product twice.	You cannot. The second purchase is refused before any money moves.	Automatic	Straight away

Topping up your wallet

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You pay the exact Kina amount on the QR code.	Your PINMart wallet is credited.	Automatic	Usually under a minute
You start a top-up and never pay it.	Nothing happens. The QR code expires after 10 minutes and no money moved.	Automatic	10 minutes
You pay a DIFFERENT amount from the QR code.	The payment is HELD. It is not credited and it is not lost. A person checks it and then either credits it or sends it back to the PIN wallet that paid.	Us — finance	Our team is alerted the same hour. We reply within 5 business days.
You paid, but the QR code had already expired.	Same as above: held, then either credited or refunded to the wallet that paid.	Us — finance	Same as above
A held payment is refunded.	An eligible original payment is returned whole, once, to the PIN app wallet that paid. This cannot pay another wallet or return only part of that original payment. Finance checks the result with PIN; contact support if the amount received differs.	Us — finance	Once we have confirmed the payment with PIN

A single top-up must be between K1.00 and K20,000.00. Pay the exact amount shown. If a top-up has not appeared after an hour, email support@pin-mart.com with the amount and the time you paid.

Selling — when money is taken back from you

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
The buyer cancels a physical order before you mark handover.	Nothing is taken from you — you were never paid. The listing goes back on sale. (A physical order refunded after handover, for any reason, stays marked sold: relist it yourself if you still have the item.)	Buyer	Straight away
The buyer cancels a new digital order before unlocking the file.	Nothing is taken from you — you were never paid. Your digital listing never left sale; other buyers can still purchase it.	Buyer	Straight away
The buyer reports a problem.	New physical orders keep the 15-day buyer refund deadline. A timely dispute on a new digital order holds escrow until reviewed. Earlier orders retain their recorded dispute rules.	Us	We reply within 5 business days
We decide in the buyer’s favour.	The buyer is refunded in full. You are not paid, and no commission is charged.	Us	Straight away once decided
The buyer confirms a new physical order.	The remainder after the rounded 5% commission is reserved for payment to your PIN app wallet. It is not added to spendable credits.	PINMart queues it; finance sends it.	No additional settling hold
A new digital purchase completes.	Your net proceeds after the recorded digital commission are reserved for finance to pay your saved PIN wallet. They are not added to spendable credits.	PINMart queues it; finance sends it.	No additional settling hold
An earlier sale completes.	Sale proceeds keep their recorded settlement rules, normally a 15-day hold before joining available credits.	Automatic	Date shown on your account

Commission is only ever charged on a completed sale. A refunded order is charged nothing.

Withdrawals

Situation	What happens to your money	Who acts	How long
You request a withdrawal.	The amount is held out of your balance while our team reviews it, so it cannot be spent twice.	You	Usually paid within 1 business day
You change your mind before it is reviewed.	Cancel it yourself on your account page. The hold goes straight back to your balance.	You	Straight away
We reject it.	The full amount goes back to your available balance, and you are told why.	Us	Straight away
We approve it and pay it.	The Kina arrives in your PIN app wallet. Cash out to your bank from the PIN app.	Us	Usually 1 business day
A payout is approved but still unpaid after 3 days.	Nothing is lost — the money is still held for you. Our team is alerted automatically.	Us	Alert at 3 days

What we cannot refund

Money you sent outside PINMart. If you paid a seller by bank transfer, cash, or straight from your PIN app to their wallet, it never went into escrow and we cannot get it back.
A trade you already confirmed. Confirming completes your purchase and authorises payment to the seller.
Change of mind after unlocking a new digital file, or after downloading under the earlier rules. For a faulty, inaccessible or misdescribed file, follow the review process above.
Anything bought on another site.

If someone asks you to pay outside PINMart, that is the most common scam on any marketplace. Report it — see Trust & safety.

How to ask for a refund

Open the order on your Orders page.
Use "Report a problem" before confirming receipt. For new digital orders, report before acceptance and before the 48-hour inspection deadline. The 15-day deadline on new physical orders still applies.
Tell us what is wrong, with photos if you have them.
We review both sides under the order’s recorded rules and tell you the outcome. For a new physical order, only your confirmation can authorise seller payment; the refund deadline stays the same.

If you cannot find the order, or the problem is a top-up, email support@pin-mart.com with the amount, the date and the time.

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