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What appears on your bank statement

A descriptor chosen by the operator, frequently abbreviated to something unrecognisable and often the name of a payment processor rather than the brand you used.

Card networks limit descriptor length, and many operators route payments through intermediaries whose names appear instead. Neither is an attempt to hide anything and both produce the same confusion.

The expensive consequence An unfamiliar acronym on a statement is the most common cause of an unnecessary chargeback. A chargeback closes the account and takes weeks; identifying the charge takes one email.

Some operators publish their descriptor in the help centre, which makes it checkable in advance.

That is also the expensive part. The charge is unrecognisable at exactly the moment somebody is scanning a statement for fraud, which is the worst possible context for it to appear in.

What to do with it. Note the descriptor after your first deposit, and check it before disputing any charge.

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