If you spot a transaction on your account you don’t recognise, here are a few checks that might help to identify it.
Pending transactions
A pending transaction is a recent transaction you've made that hasn't been fully processed yet. You can look at your pending transactions in Mobile Banking or Online Banking. Once logged on, choose the account you wish to view and you’ll see pending transactions at the top of the page.
To cancel a pending card payment, you’ll need to contact the merchant or seller and ask them to cancel it.
If you need help with a payment once it’s no longer showing as pending, then please visit our card disputes page for more information.
Ask another account holder
If anyone else has access to your account, check to see if they’ve made the transaction.
Check for ongoing subscriptions
Many online services now use a subscription plan that’ll automatically bill you after an initial free or discounted period expires. Check any services where you've previously subscribed but haven't cancelled.
For example, Amazon charges an annual fee for their Amazon Prime service which is automatically taken from your account each year unless you cancel. If you see an unrecognised transaction from a retailer known to you, it's worth checking directly with them before contacting us.
For more information on payments like this, please see our future-dated card payments page.
Check the exchange rates
If you bought something in a foreign currency, the exchange rate conversion is very likely to show a different amount in Sterling.
Check the business name
Some businesses, especially online services, use a different name on your statement to the one you may recognise. Use a search engine to browse for the name appearing on your transaction to see if it’s associated with the business name that you recognise.
See our top 5 most commonly unrecognised transactions
| Unrecognised company | What could it be? | What should I do |
|---|---|---|
| WLY*COMPLETESAV | Complete Savings UK, an online savings programme | Contact the company in the first instance |
| Amazon Prime | Membership for Amazon's TV, films and next day delivery services | Contact the company in the first instance |
| TFL | Transport for London | Contact the company in the first instance |
| DRI*AVG | Antivirus Software subscription | Contact the company in the first instance |
| Netflix | Online streaming service | Contact the company in the first instance |
If you do recognise the transaction, but the goods or services you bought aren’t as expected or haven’t arrived, then please see our card disputes page.
If you don't recognise a transaction on your card, you can find out how to dispute this in our Mobile Banking app. If you think the transaction is fraudulent visit our Reporting card fraud guide to see how to dispute this and see how we can help.
In the app, you can see:
- when the payment was made (date and time)
- the location, which will be shown as a map or text (if there's enough information available)
- fees incurred (such as exchange fees, transaction fees, cash machine fees).
Follow the steps below to learn how to find the details of a card transaction in Mobile Banking.
1
On the homepage, pick the card you’d like to find out more about
2
Tap on a transaction for more information
3
You’ll see the details about your transaction
If you're already using Online Banking, download our mobile banking app for your phone or device. Then you can log on with the same details you use for Online Banking and you're ready to go.
You can download our app on your mobile phone or device from the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store. Just click on one of the logos below to get started. We don’t ever recommend downloading apps from other third-party sites.
If you haven't signed up for Online Banking yet, you can get started today.
We've added some new features in Mobile Banking to help you stay on top of your card payments and transfers.
- Each transaction will have a category icon in the top-left corner to help you know where it came from.
- You can see the status of a payment in the 'Payment cleared' section. It'll say 'Pending' until the payment's cleared and later tell you the settled date.
- For international transactions in a currency other than (£), the exchange rate will be shown.
- The location of a transaction will be shown to help you find where it came from. If there's enough information, we’ll also show you a map or address.
Still need help?
If you still don’t recognise a transaction after these checks and think this could be fraud, you can report this in the Mobile Banking app. Or if you don’t have the app, you can contact us.
Already reported an unrecognised transaction? You can track your claim and find the most recent updates using our Mobile Banking app. Tap on the ‘More’ menu and choose ‘My card transaction disputes’.