About
What UnknownCharges is — and isn't
UnknownCharges is a free, independent reference that translates the cryptic lines on bank and credit card statements into plain English. No signup, no tracking, no upsell.
Why this exists
Every bank and credit card statement is full of abbreviated, truncated, and deliberately opaque merchant names — VIOC, ACHMA VISB, FENIX INTERNET, SQ *DAILY GRIND. These are real charges from real companies, but the names on the statement are designed for payment networks, not for humans. UnknownCharges exists to bridge that gap.
Editorial standards
Every charge entry is researched and written to answer three questions: What is this charge? Why does it show up looking like that? What should you do if you don't recognize it? Each page links to the merchant's own support or dispute-resolution page so you can verify independently.
Every entry also carries a Reviewed date, a confidence rating, and a list of the official sources behind it. The full process — source types, confidence levels, and our corrections policy — is documented on the how we verify page. If you spot an error, tell us: we check corrections against a source and update the review date when a fix lands.
Charge descriptors and billing practices change. We review entries periodically, but you should always verify with the merchant or your bank before acting on any information here.
How we're different
Most charge-decoder sites follow the same formula: a one-line guess at what the charge might be, no sources, and a page built around ads. UnknownCharges is built the other way, and the differences are concrete:
| The usual approach | UnknownCharges |
|---|---|
| A guess at what the charge might be | A structured decode: what the charge is, why it posts looking like that, and what to do if you don't recognize it |
| No original data — sites rely on unverified user forum comments | Original Data Journalism: Every one of our 2,000 entries is built on primary research, citing at least two official sources (merchant, bank, or CFPB), verified and listed on the page |
| No dates, so stale answers look current | Every page carries a review date and a confidence rating |
| A short blurb, then the ads | Sections, steps, reasons, and FAQs on every entry, plus 30 in-depth guides in our learn library |
| Decode-only: an answer and nothing to do with it | 17 free tools — statement forensics lab, dispute dossier builder, fraud triage map, refund timeline predictor, PDF statement decoder, statement CSV scanner, dispute letter and window, subscription tracker, and more |
| Signup walls, trackers, and affiliate links | No accounts, no tracking, no affiliate links. Free, and the search runs entirely in your browser |
The full process — source types, confidence levels, and our corrections policy — is documented on the how we verify page, and the 2026 confusion study shows the data behind the rankings.
What this is not
UnknownCharges is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any company listed. It is not a financial advisor, a credit counseling service, or a dispute-resolution service. Nothing here is financial or legal advice — for disputes, your bank has the final word.
Privacy
UnknownCharges does not require an account, does not collect personal information, and does not track what you search for. The search box runs entirely in your browser. Read the full privacy policy.
The PDF statement decoder is private by design: the file is read by pdf.js inside your browser and never leaves your device. The receipt decoder is the same: the receipt text you paste is parsed locally and matched against the database in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere.
Open source
The PDF reader that powers our statement decoder is pdf.js, a Mozilla project distributed under the Apache License 2.0. We use it unchanged — your statement is parsed locally, never sent to Mozilla or anyone else.
Contact
Found a charge we haven't decoded, or spotted an error? Use the report-a-charge form or the contact page. We read every report, check corrections against a source, and update the review date when a fix lands.