Charge-Code Guides

The letters in front of a merchant name — SQ*, FS*, PAYPAL *, CCBILL — are billing codes from banks, payment platforms and resellers. Find yours to see who actually charged you.

How to Find Out Who Charged Your Credit CardA step-by-step method for identifying an unfamiliar charge on a credit or debit card statement before you call the bank.

Bank & wallet codes

OPOS A bank-side code marking an online debit-card purchase — the real merchant is named right after it. APLPAY You paid with Apple Pay — the merchant after AplPay is who charged you, not Apple. ACH / PPD / WEB US bank transfer codes: an ACH debit pulled money from your account; PPD, WEB and TEL say how it was authorised. DD / SO / FPO / BGC What DD, SO, FPI/FPO, BACS, BGC, TFR and other UK statement abbreviations mean.

Card readers & small-business checkout

SQ* Square's billing prefix — usually a small local business: coffee shop, salon, food truck, market stall. TST* Toast's billing prefix — the charge is from a restaurant, bar, or café that runs on the Toast POS system. SUMUP* A card-reader payment provider used by small businesses — the shop, stall, or tradesperson who charged you is named after it. SP * Shopify — an independent online store (or its shop) that runs on Shopify; the store follows the prefix. IZ* / ZETTLE* Zettle by PayPal (formerly iZettle), a card reader used by small shops, cafés and market stalls. FSP - Fullsteam, a payment company behind software for associations, towns and trades.

Payment platforms & marketplaces

PAYPAL * The payment ran through PayPal — the seller who actually billed you is named after the asterisk. WPY* WePay (JPMorgan Chase), used by fundraising, booster-club and ticketing platforms. EBAY O* An eBay purchase — the digits are the eBay order number. AMZN MKTP An Amazon order — often from a third-party seller — with a reference code after the asterisk. ETSY.COM* An Etsy purchase — the independent shop follows the prefix. SQSP* Squarespace — a website, domain or Acuity Scheduling subscription. DNH* GoDaddy — a domain, hosting or email renewal.

Rides, delivery, travel & tickets

BKG* Booking.com's billing prefix — the charge is a reservation made through the Booking.com platform. UBR* Uber's billing prefix — and on UBR* PENDING.UBER.COM it is a temporary hold, not the final fare. DD * DoorDash's billing prefix — on DD *DOORDASHDASHPASS it is the DashPass membership renewing. IC* Instacart's billing prefix — and the amount usually changes after your groceries are actually picked. EB * An Eventbrite ticket — the event's title follows the prefix. TM * Ticketmaster — the event, artist or venue follows the prefix. LYFT * Lyft rides — sometimes several rides combined into one daily charge. GRUBHUB* A Grubhub food order — the restaurant follows the prefix. AIRBNB * An Airbnb booking — HM… is the reservation's confirmation code. EG*TRVL Expedia Group travel booking — Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo.

App stores & big platforms

GOOGLE * Google itself — Play Store apps, YouTube, storage, Ads, devices — decoded by the words after the asterisk. APPLE.COM/BILL Apple — App Store, in-app purchases, iCloud, Apple Music and other subscriptions.

Software, games & digital goods (merchants of record)

MB* The Moneybookers/Skrill payment platform — the brand you actually bought from is named after the asterisk. FS* FastSpring, a reseller that sells software and apps on the developer's behalf — the product is named after FS*. DRI* Digital River, a reseller for software and electronics brands — often antivirus or PC software renewals. PADDLE.NET* Paddle, the reseller for many software and SaaS companies — the product follows the prefix. 2CO.COM* 2Checkout (Verifone, formerly Avangate), a reseller for software and digital goods. CBI* Cleverbridge, a reseller for software such as Malwarebytes — the brand follows the prefix. BLS* / BLUESNAP BlueSnap, a payment platform for online businesses — the shop follows the prefix. XSOLLA Xsolla, the payment company behind many video games — the charge is a game, in-game item or subscription. LEMSQZY* Lemon Squeezy, a reseller for digital products and SaaS — the store follows the prefix. PAYHIP* Payhip, a platform creators use to sell downloads, courses and memberships — the seller follows the prefix.

Subscription & membership billers

CCBILL.COM CCBill, a billing company that runs payments and memberships for subscription websites. EPOCH.COM Epoch, a billing company for subscription and membership websites. SEGPAY Segpay, a billing company for subscription websites; SEGPAYCS.COM and SEGPAYEU.COM are its descriptors. VENDOSTORE* Vendo, a billing provider for apps and websites. PROBILLER.COM Probiller (Aylo Billing), the billing service for a group of entertainment websites. VTSUP.COM Verotel, an Amsterdam billing company for subscription websites. ZOMBAIO.COM Zombaio, a billing processor for subscription websites. MVBILLING.COM MV Billing, the billing company for the ManyVids creator platform. PATREON* Patreon, the creator membership platform — a monthly or annual pledge to a creator.