A charge labeled “HK Marvel” on your credit card statement is almost always an in-app purchase from a Marvel-branded mobile game, billed through a company entity based in Hong Kong. The “HK” tag is the billing location, not a sign that anyone bought a comic book or physical merchandise. If someone with access to your phone plays Marvel Contest of Champions or Marvel Future Fight, that is the likely source. If nobody in your household plays these games, treat the charge as potentially unauthorized and act quickly.
Why Your Statement Shows a Hong Kong Merchant
Every card transaction lists a “merchant of record,” and that name is often the developer’s corporate billing entity rather than the brand you recognize. Several companies that license Marvel characters for mobile games route payments through Hong Kong subsidiaries to manage global distribution. Kabam (Marvel Contest of Champions) and Netmarble (Marvel Future Fight) both use billing arrangements that can surface on statements as “HK Marvel” or a close variation. The purchase itself was processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play; the Hong Kong descriptor reflects where the merchant received the payment.
The Games and Purchases That Usually Cause It
Marvel Contest of Champions and Marvel Future Fight are free to download and earn revenue from optional in-game buys. Players spend real money on premium currencies (“units” in Contest of Champions, “crystals” in Future Fight) to unlock characters, upgrade abilities, or skip timers. Common purchase sizes:
- Small currency packs, typically $0.99 to $4.99.
- Monthly subscription passes with recurring daily rewards, often around $9.99 per month.
- Character or bundle offers running as high as $49.99 or $99.99.
These purchases complete with a single tap and a fingerprint or face scan, so accidental buys and purchases made by children are common. A cluster of small HK Marvel charges in a short window usually means someone tapped through several offers inside one of these games.
A Note on Foreign Transaction Fees
Because the billing entity sits in Hong Kong, some card issuers treat the purchase as an international transaction and add a foreign transaction fee of roughly 1 to 3 percent. On a $0.99 buy the fee is negligible; on a $99.99 bundle it adds a few dollars. Check your card’s terms if you see small extra amounts alongside the HK Marvel lines.
Find the Exact Purchase Before You Dispute
Match the statement line to a specific transaction first. You need the date, amount, and order ID.
On iPhone, open the App Store, tap your profile icon at the top, and tap Purchase History. You can search by amount and tap any transaction to see the order ID and timestamp.1Apple Support. View Your Purchase History for the App Store and Other Apple Media Services
On Android, open the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments and Subscriptions, then Budget and History. Recent transactions appear with dates and amounts.2Google Help. Review Your Order History
If the date and amount match, someone with access to that account made the purchase. Before assuming fraud, check with anyone who shares your device or payment method, especially children. Kids tapping through in-game offers without realizing real money is involved is one of the most common explanations for a surprise HK Marvel charge.
Request a Refund From the App Store First
Apple
Sign in at reportaproblem.apple.com with the Apple Account that made the purchase. Find the transaction, select “Report a Problem,” and choose a reason such as accidental purchase or a purchase made by a child. Apple typically responds within 24 to 48 hours.3Apple Support. Request a Refund for Apps or Content That You Bought from Apple If the buy happened under a child’s account inside a Family Sharing group, sign in with that account. Apple does not guarantee approval, but accidental purchases and buys by minors are among the strongest grounds.
Google Play accepts refund requests through its Help pages. For unauthorized charges specifically, Google asks that you report within 120 days of the transaction.4Google Help. Learn About Google Play Refund Policies Sign in to the Google account tied to the purchase and follow the prompts.
Disputing the Charge With Your Card Issuer
If the app store denies the refund and you believe the charge is genuinely unauthorized, dispute it through your credit card company. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have 60 days from the date on the billing statement that first shows the charge to send a written dispute to the address your issuer designates for billing inquiries.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z – 1026.13 Billing Error Resolution
Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized credit card use at $50, and once you notify the issuer, you owe nothing for charges made after that notice.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card Most major issuers go further with zero-liability policies.
One warning before you go this route. Filing a bank chargeback against a game developer almost always results in the developer banning or suspending your gaming account. If someone in your household has spent years building up characters and progress in one of these Marvel games, that account is effectively lost the moment the chargeback lands. This is standard practice across mobile gaming. Exhaust the app store refund process first, and escalate to a bank dispute only when the charge is truly unauthorized.
Stop the Charges From Repeating
iPhone and iPad
Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then Content and Privacy Restrictions. Turn the restrictions on, tap iTunes and App Store Purchases, and under In-app Purchases select Don’t Allow. If children use the device, enable “Ask to Buy” through Family Sharing so every purchase needs your approval.7Apple Support. Use Screen Time to Turn Off In-App Purchases on Your iPhone or iPad
Android
Open Google Play, tap your profile picture, go to Payments and Subscriptions, then Purchase Verification. Set verification to require a password or biometric for every purchase.8Google Help. Set Up Verification for Purchases
Cancel a Subscription Pass
If the charge repeats monthly, it’s a subscription, and deleting the app does not cancel it. On iPhone, tap Settings, tap your Apple ID, then Subscriptions, find the Marvel game, and cancel. On Android, open Google Play, tap your profile picture, go to Payments and Subscriptions, then Subscriptions, select the game, and cancel.9Google Help. Cancel, Pause, or Change a Subscription on Google Play Until you cancel through these menus, the billing continues.
When Nobody in the House Plays These Games
If no one you share the account or payment method with plays a Marvel game and you cannot locate the transaction in any linked App Store or Google Play purchase history, treat the charge as fraud and move fast:
- Call the number on the back of your card. Report the charge as unauthorized, ask the issuer to block the card, and request a replacement with a new number.
- Place a fraud alert with any one of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion). That bureau must notify the other two. The alert lasts one year.
- File a report at IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC will generate a recovery plan and supporting documents you may need.
A single small unauthorized charge often means someone is testing your card number before attempting larger purchases, so a $0.99 line you ignore this month can be followed by much larger fraud next month.10Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Credit Card and Debit Card Fraud