Charge prefix guide
What is a SumUp charge?
SumUp sells low-cost card readers to very small businesses — market stalls, food trucks, independent cafés, hairdressers, tradespeople, craft-fair sellers, taxi drivers — across the UK, Europe and the US. When you tap your card on one, the statement shows SUMUP * followed by the trader's registered business name, which is often not the name over the door: a sole trader's legal name, or a limited-company name, can replace the brand you remember. Truncation sometimes removes the business name entirely, leaving just SUMUP and a string of digits. These are almost always small, in-person, one-off amounts — the profile of a coffee, a haircut, a market purchase.
Important: a processor prefix identifies who processed the payment — not necessarily who you bought from.
Real examples of how it appears
- SUMUP *[business name]
- SUMUP *THE COFFEE CART
- SUMUP *
- SUMUP [reference number]
Formats vary by bank — reference fragments, cities and codes come and go, but the prefix shape stays recognisable.
Descriptor formats to look for
- SUMUP* …
How to verify the charge
- Read the text after SUMUP * — search that business name online; sole traders often register under a personal name, so try adding your town to the search.
- Match the amount and date against small in-person purchases: markets, food stalls, cafés, taxis, tradespeople — and allow a day or two for settlement.
- Check whether the trader emailed or texted you a receipt at the till — SumUp merchants can send digital receipts, and searching your inbox for 'SumUp' often surfaces one.
- SumUp's own explanation of how its charges appear is in its help centre at help.sumup.com (article: 'Understanding SumUp charges on my bank statement'); if you still can't place it, ask your bank for the full merchant details behind the transaction.
Is it fraud?
A SumUp line is nearly always a genuine tap at a small independent business, made confusing only because the trader's registered name differs from their trading name — think back to markets, cafés and tradespeople around that date before worrying. The pattern that should concern you is different: charges when you (and your card) were nowhere near a small business, several SumUp charges from names you can't trace at all, or amounts far larger than any casual purchase. Card readers are cheap to obtain, so stolen card details are occasionally run through them. If nothing matches, ask your bank for the full merchant record behind the charge, report it as unauthorised so the bank can chargeback and block the card — SumUp investigates fraudulent merchant activity, but your bank is the fastest route to your money.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SUMUP charge on my bank statement?
A card payment to a small business using a SumUp card reader — cafés, market stalls, food trucks, hairdressers and tradespeople are typical. The name after SUMUP * is the trader's registered business name, which may differ from the shop name you saw.
Why doesn't the SumUp business name match anywhere I've shopped?
Sole traders often register under a personal or company name rather than their trading name, and long names get truncated. Search the descriptor fragment plus your town, and think in terms of small in-person purchases a day or two before the settlement date.
Can a SumUp charge be fraud?
It can — card readers are cheap, so stolen card numbers occasionally get charged through them — but the overwhelming majority are real purchases at small businesses. If you can't match it to any in-person purchase, ask your bank for the full merchant details and report it as unauthorised.
Common misunderstandings
- The city or state shown is often the company's registered address, not where you made the purchase.
- Charges can post days or weeks after the purchase.
- Small businesses may bill under a legal or holding-company name.
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