Close a child’s balance in Google Wallet & understand refunds

Important:

Only the family manager can close a child's balance. To check if you’re the family manager, go to your Family Group on Google.
After a balance is closed, any remaining funds are returned to the family manager, even if they were added by the other parent.

How a family manager closes a child's balance

To close your child’s balance:

On a parent's device, go to the Google Wallet website.
Under the “Family” section, select your child your child's balance.
Tap Close balance.
To confirm account balance closure, tap OK.
- You’ll receive an email confirming the balance is closed.

Tip: If you want a record of your child’s transactions, learn how to access balance statements.

Actions that automatically close the child’s balance

The child’s balance will close if any of the following occur:

The family manager closes their own payments profile from payments.google.com: If the family manager closes their payments profile, the child’s connected balance is also closed. Learn how to close a payments profile.
Your child closes their payment profile from payments.google.com: The child's balance automatically closes, when their payments profile is closed at payments.google.com.
Either family manager or child end supervision: The balance will close when either the parent or child decides to end parental supervision.

What happens after the balance is closed

Spending stops: The child can no longer use the balance to fund any tap to pay transactions.
Refund is issued: The family manager receives a refund for any remaining funds. Learn more about how refunds work.
Notifications are sent: The parents and the child will be notified of the closure through email. The child will also receive a notification on their device.
Transaction history is removed: The child will no longer find their balance or transaction history in the Google Wallet app. Parents will also lose access to this history on the Google Wallet website.
- The family manager can still download the balance statement on payments.google.com. Learn how to download the balance statement.

Understand how refunds work

When the child's balance is closed, all remaining funds will be returned to the family manager, regardless of which parent added the money. The money can be refunded to the family manager's original payment method. In some instances, they may need to confirm their preferred payment method in their Payments Center.

If the preferred payment method needs confirmation, the family manager will receive an email on how to retrieve the refund.

How to transfer refunds from Payments Center to a bank account

Important: Only the family manager can receive a refund. If there's a balance to claim, they’ll receive an email with instructions to transfer money from Payments Center to a bank account.

To transfer money from Payments Center to a bank account:

On the disbursement email, click Confirm payment method.
- You'll be redirected to the “Payment methods” section where the refund amount is shown in payments.google.com.
Click Continue.
Enter an amount you want to be refunded.
Select the payment method that you want to transfer to.
- This is where the refund will be received.
- If you don’t already have a bank account saved, follow the steps to add an account.
Click Submit.
- You’ll receive an email once the refund process is successful.

Tip: The transfer to your bank account should be available within 1-5 business days.

Fix potential refund issues

Refund is delayed or missing (For family manager only)

You'll only receive a refund if there's remaining money in your child's balance when it was closed. Refer to the details on how refunds work.

If your refund is taking longer than 5 business days, check:

Your email: Check your email for any updates. If the refund is sitting in your Payments Center, follow the instructions to transfer it to your preferred payment account.
Refund destination: Check the original payment method you used to add money to your child’s balance. Also, check the bank account or payment method you designated for the refund.
Potential blockers: If there's a pending transaction or dispute, that issue must be resolved before the refund can be processed. Learn more about disputes.

If you still encounter issues with refunds, contact Google Pay support.

Unable to transfer refund from Payments Center

Follow the instructions from the Google email to claim the refund.
Make sure you’re using an eligible payment method.

If you still encounter issues with the refund, contact Google Pay support.

Received a different refund amount

Refunds can be split and sent to more than one of the family manager’s payment methods. Refer to the details on how refunds work.

Important: Remaining funds added by the other parent will be returned to the family manager. Check your email to confirm your refund and to select the payment method for the return.

Check the original payment methods used to add money to the child’s balance.
Check your email on the action required to receive your refund.

If you still encounter issues with refunds, contact Google Pay support.

How a family manager can restore a child’s balance

Important: If a child is 18 or older and their balance is closed, they're no longer eligible for a balance, even if their Wallet is supervised. Learn more about eligibility for balance setup.

If the balance of a child under 18 is closed: The family manager can create a new balance for a child who has a supervised Wallet. To create a new balance, the same process for the original setup must be followed. Learn how to set up a balance for your child in Google Wallet.

Related resources

^{Disclaimer: The Google Pay Balance Prepaid Visa® Card is issued by Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Card valid only in the U.S. No ATM or Cash Access. Card can be used in stores everywhere contactless Visa debit cards are accepted.}