A Global-e charge on your credit card is almost always a legitimate purchase you made from an international online retailer. Global-e is an Israel-based company that processes cross-border payments for more than 1,000 brands, and because it is technically the entity that sold you the item, its name appears on your statement instead of the store’s. If you recently bought clothing, cosmetics, accessories, or anything else from a brand’s website that shipped internationally, that order is almost certainly the source.
Why the Store’s Name Isn’t on the Charge
Global-e acts as the “Merchant of Record” for the brands it works with. At checkout, the retailer sells your item to Global-e for a split second, and Global-e then sells it to you. You never see the handoff, but it is the reason your purchase agreement is with Global-e rather than with the brand. An SEC filing between Global-e’s affiliate and Shopify describes the arrangement as merchants selling “their goods to [Global-e] for sale to global customers on a one-to-one basis.”1U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Amended and Restated Master Services Agreement
Retailers use this setup so they don’t have to calculate import duties, collect foreign taxes, and track trade rules in every country they ship to. Your bank sees Global-e because, legally, that’s who took your money.
How to Figure Out Which Purchase It Was
The transaction descriptor usually reads something like “Global-e//Brand name.”2Global-e. Terms of Sale You may also see “GLOBALE,” “GLB*E,” or Global-e followed by a shortened retailer name. Statement formatting varies by bank, and the brand portion often gets truncated, which is what leaves people staring at a mystery line that just says “Global-e.”
Start with your email. Search your inbox, including spam and promotions, for “order confirmation,” “Global-e,” or any brand you might have shopped with recently. The confirmation email comes from the retailer, not from Global-e, so the name on the receipt won’t match the name on your statement. Compare the dollar amount and the date against the charge.
If the email search comes up empty, Global-e runs an online tracking portal. Enter your order ID and the email address you used at checkout to see the transaction details and shipment status. If the portal doesn’t recognize your details, a “Contact Us” form on the site reaches Global-e’s support team for manual lookup.
Brands That Route Through Global-e
You are most likely to see this charge after shopping with fashion, luxury, or lifestyle retailers. Brands known to use Global-e include Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Victoria’s Secret, Adidas, Skims, Alo Yoga, Marks & Spencer, Versace, and Tag Heuer. Recognizing even one of these alongside a recent order is usually enough to connect the dots.
Why the Amount Is Higher Than the Product Price
Global-e bundles the product price, international shipping, and import duties and taxes into a single charge, so the number on your statement rarely matches the sticker price. A gap of $30, $60, or more above what you expected doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong.
Import Duties on Every Shipment
Shipments worth $800 or less used to enter the United States duty-free under the de minimis exemption. That changed in 2025. An executive order effective August 29, 2025 eliminated duty-free treatment for virtually all imported shipments, regardless of value, country of origin, or shipping method.3The White House. Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries A follow-up order in early 2026 continued the suspension,4Federal Register. Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries and Congress passed legislation permanently removing the $800 threshold starting July 1, 2027.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1321 – Administrative Exemptions
Every international purchase now carries some level of duty. The rate depends on what the item is, what it’s made of, and where it was manufactured.6U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Customs Duty Information Global-e calculates these costs at checkout and rolls them in so you don’t get a surprise bill from customs when the package arrives. If duties and taxes look like a significant chunk of the total, this is why.
A Foreign Transaction Fee From Your Bank
Global-e doesn’t control this one. Your credit card issuer may add a foreign transaction fee of 1% to 3% on top of everything else. Because Global-e is headquartered in Israel, many U.S. banks classify the purchase as international even when the price was displayed and charged in U.S. dollars. Some issuers define a foreign transaction by where the merchant sits, not by what currency was used. Check your card’s terms, or look for a separate line labeled “foreign transaction fee” on your statement. Travel-focused cards usually waive it.
What to Do If You Didn’t Make the Purchase
If you’ve checked your emails, run the tracking portal, and confirmed no one in your household placed an order, treat the charge as unauthorized. Call your bank or credit card issuer and ask them to open a dispute.
The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days from the date your statement was sent to notify your card issuer of a billing error in writing.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors Your written notice has to include your name and account number, the amount you’re disputing, and the reason you believe it’s wrong. Send it to the billing error address printed on your statement, not the general customer service address. The issuer must acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles.8Federal Trade Commission. Fair Credit Billing Act
The 60-day window is where most people lose ground. Spot a Global-e charge three months after it posted, and your strongest legal protection is already gone. Review statements monthly and flag anything unfamiliar while the clock is still running.
If You Want to Return the Purchase Instead
Returns don’t go through the retailer’s normal return page. You use Global-e’s returns portal, entering your Global-e order ID (or the merchant’s order ID) along with your email address. The system checks whether the order is still inside the retailer’s return window before letting you generate a label. Refunds go back to the original payment method and generally take longer than a domestic return because the transaction crosses borders. If the return window has already closed but you have a legitimate reason, contact the retailer’s customer service directly; a representative can sometimes override the expiration and create the return through Global-e’s merchant portal.