Recharge and Refund IC Card

From March 23, 2013, Suica, Pasmo, Icoca and seven more of Japan's most popular IC cards will become compatible with each other.
Can we recharge and refund, for example Icoca in Tokyo or Suica in Osaka?
Thank you...

My understanding is that any card can be recharged at any ticket machine (even now, it is possible to recharge an Icoca card at a Suica ticket machine in Tokyo); however, that refund is only possible through the company which issued the card. In other words: Icoca can only be refunded at JR West stations in the Greater Osaka, Okayama and Hiroshima regions. But I am not 100% sure about the latter.

Uji, thank you very much for your answer..

When trying to get my deposit back from my Suica card when I left Japan last year, I discovered that any money left on the card is forfeited and that you get little of the "deposit" back. Basically, it is not a deposit, it is a fee.

Jim,

Upon returning the card, they charge you a fee of 210 yen I believe from whatever was left on the card as refund fee, and give you back the remainder plus the 500 yen deposit.

If you had a small amount less than 210 yen left on the card, that might disappear as part of the "refund" fee. If you had zero yen left on the card, they should give you back the full 500 yen. That 500 yen IS a deposit for the physical card itself.

I'd just keep it as a memento/souvenir or as an incentive to head back to Japan!