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What Is SumUp on My Bank Statement?

SumUp is a payment company that sells small card readers to independent businesses: market stalls, cafés, food trucks, taxis, salons, tradespeople, and charities collecting donations. When you tap or insert your card on one of those readers, the payment is processed by SumUp — so SumUp's name can appear on your statement instead of, or alongside, the business you actually paid.

According to SumUp, on a credit card the line reads SUMUP* followed by the business name; on a debit card it may show the business name together with a transaction ID. Either way, the words after the prefix are the merchant. SumUp itself did not sell you anything.

How to read a SUMUP* charge

SUMUP *THE COFFEE CART

SUMUP* — processed through a SumUp card reader — a payment provider, not the seller

THE COFFEE CART — the small business that actually charged you, as it registered its trading name with SumUp

Common SUMUP* charges people look up

SUMUP *PAYMENT — a generic form some banks show when the trading name is missing or truncated — the amount and date are your best clues
SUMUP *<business name> — search the business name — SumUp merchants register the trading name customers would recognise

Don't recognize a SUMUP* charge? Do this

Think small and in person: a coffee, a haircut, a market purchase, a taxi, a tradesperson's call-out fee, a charity donation. SumUp readers are used mostly by sole traders and small shops, so the charge is usually for something you tapped a card for in person.
Check the amount against small purchases on that date — including ones by anyone who shares the card.
If you were given an emailed or texted receipt at the time, it will carry the business name; SumUp merchants send receipts through the reader.
Search the name shown after SUMUP* on WhoBilled.Me. If nothing matches and nobody on the card recognises it, contact the business first if you can, and otherwise dispute it with your bank.

Common questions

Is SumUp a scam?

No. SumUp is a regulated payment company headquartered in London that provides card readers and payment processing to small businesses. Its name on your statement means a real business used its reader to take your payment — the question is which business, and that is the name shown after the prefix.

Why does my statement say SumUp instead of the shop's name?

Because SumUp is the merchant of record with the card network for readers it provides, some banks lead with SumUp's name and put the trading name in the reference. Look at the full line, including any reference field, for the business name.

The charge just says SUMUP *PAYMENT — how do I find the business?

Some banks truncate the descriptor to the prefix. Match the date and amount to a small in-person purchase; if you still cannot place it, your bank can see the full merchant details on the transaction and can tell you the trading name.

Can SumUp tell me who charged me?

SumUp's guidance to cardholders is to resolve the charge with the merchant first. If the business name is missing from your statement, your bank can retrieve the full merchant record; a dispute should be the last resort, after you have ruled out a shared-card purchase you simply do not remember.

Still can't place the charge?

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