# Charge finder: what is this card charge?

Source: https://www.barespend.com/free-tools/charge-finder/
Last updated: 2026-10-27

Card statements show the name the merchant’s payment processor sent, not the shop’s trading name. Paste the statement line below to see which processor or merchant it points to and a suggested expense category. If it isn’t recognised, the checklist shows how to trace it.

This is a free tool that runs in the browser; open the page to use it. Nothing a visitor types is sent to Barespend.

This tool recognises common payment-processor prefixes and well-known merchants. It doesn’t cover every merchant, and it can’t see your account, so treat a match as a strong hint rather than proof.

Everything runs in your browser. The text you paste is not sent anywhere.

## Common questions

### Why does my statement show a name I don’t recognise?

The line shows what the merchant’s payment processor sent. Small businesses often appear under a processor prefix such as SQ * (Square) or TST* (Toast) followed by a shortened name.

### What if the charge isn’t recognised?

Search your email for the amount, look the exact text up in the card portal, check recurring charges from the same date last month, and ask the cardholder. If it is still unknown, dispute it with the card issuer.

### Is my statement text stored?

No. The lookup runs in your browser and nothing is sent to Barespend.

### How does Barespend deal with cryptic merchant names?

Barespend turns messy merchant strings into real vendor names and codes each expense to your chart of accounts.