[PostFinance] What is the difference between a payment cancellation and a refund?

A payment cancellation is the deletion of a payment. You can only cancel a payment before the related transaction information is sent to the acquirer. This means that the cardholder will not see any money movement on his bank account and/or bank statement.
A refund, on the other hand, implies that the money had initially been debited and was later credited to the cardholder’s bank account. Both movements will appear on the cardholder’s bank statement.