In what situation would an account balance be negatively affected?

An account balance is negatively affected in situations where fees, refunds, or chargebacks occur because these actions result in the deduction of funds from the account. Fees are typically charged for processing transactions, and when a refund is issued, the money must be returned to the customer, which also decreases the balance. Similarly, chargebacks occur when a customer disputes a transaction, leading to a reversal of funds that negatively impacts the account balance.

Successful transactions, payouts, or international transactions do not inherently reduce the account balance. Instead, successful transactions usually add to the balance as they reflect income, while payouts represent the transfer of funds to an external account rather than a loss to the account itself. International transactions also don’t automatically affect the balance negatively; they function similarly to domestic transactions in that regard, unless there are associated fees incurred due to currency conversion or international processing.