MHR| Refund Traceability Limitations

### Problem Statement
Refunds cannot be reliably traced back to the originating payment and transaction. This limits the ability to confirm refund accuracy and respond to client inquiries. Manual investigation is required to establish refund lineage, Staff often need to cross reference multiple systems to confirm refund details.

### Current State
Refund data is processed through the payment service. and reference information exists at the payment layer. Refund records are not clearly linked to the original transaction in the registry and transaction history does not clearly show the relationship between a payment and its refund. Refund related identifiers shown in the UI do not provide sufficient context for staff.

### The Ask
Staff need a means to link refunds directly to their originating payment and transaction. Refund records should show clear references to the original payment receipt or transaction artefact within transaction history. Staff need to be able to confirm refund status and context without manual investigation or reliance on legacy systems.

### BA Notes
Doug noted that refund data is handled by the Pay API and technically contains reference information, but that information is not always clearly shown on the UI. Because identifiers are not shared end to end, originating statements cannot surface refund context.

### Potential Risks

- Refund requests take longer to resolve.
- Incorrect refunds risk being issued or delayed.
- Client confidence is reduced due to unclear refund explanations.
- Staff rely on legacy systems and manual workarounds.
- Audit and compliance traceability gaps persist.

### Desired Outcomes

- Each refund is clearly linked to the original payment and transaction.
- Refund records reference the original payment receipt or transaction artifact.
- Transaction history presents a clear refund lineage.
- Staff are able to confirm refund status without manual investigation.
- Refund traceability supports audit, support, and client communication needs.