A charge labeled “SQ *” on your bank statement is a payment processed by Square, the company that handles card transactions for millions of small businesses that don’t run their own merchant accounts. The name that follows the prefix is a shortened version of whatever the seller entered in their Square dashboard, so a square transaction on your bank statement often shows up under a business name you don’t instantly recognize. Before assuming fraud, you can identify the charge for free at squareup.com/receipts using the date and exact dollar amount. If it turns out to be unauthorized, federal law caps your losses differently depending on whether the card was credit or debit, and with a debit card the clock matters.
What the “SQ *” Prefix Means
Square sits between small sellers and the card networks. Food trucks, farmers market vendors, hair salons, and boutique shops use its readers and online tools instead of maintaining a bank merchant account, which is why your statement shows Square’s tag rather than only the business name.
The standard format is “SQ *” followed by a shortened business name, sometimes with a store number or location code at the end.1Square Developer. Statement Descriptions A coffee shop called “Morning Grind” might appear as “SQ *MORNING GRIND.” The name shown is whatever the seller typed into their Square account, which doesn’t always match the sign on the storefront. That mismatch is the most common reason a charge you actually made looks unfamiliar.
The “SQC*” Variant
You may also see “SQC*” as a prefix. That typically indicates a Cash App transaction, since Cash App is a Square product.1Square Developer. Statement Descriptions If someone with access to your card sent money through Cash App, that is the descriptor to look for. The difference matters because it points you toward a peer-to-peer transfer rather than an in-person purchase.
Identifying the Charge Before You Dispute
Square runs a free receipt lookup at squareup.com/receipts. Enter the date and the exact dollar amount from your statement and the tool pulls up a digital receipt showing the full business name and contact details.2Square. Receipt Lookup That is often enough to remind you of a farmers market stop or a quick lunch.
If the lookup returns nothing, which can happen with older transactions or when the merchant entered incomplete information, try contacting the merchant if the truncated name gives you enough to identify them. A direct call often resolves things faster than a formal dispute and spares both sides the paperwork. If the receipt shows a business in a city you haven’t visited and nothing you bought online explains it, treat it as unauthorized and move to the dispute steps below.
Credit Card vs. Debit Card: Your Protection Is Different
The dispute rights you have and the money you could lose depend entirely on which card was used. The two are governed by different federal laws, and the gap in protection is significant.
Credit Cards
For an unauthorized charge on a credit card, your maximum liability is $50, and most major issuers waive even that.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.12 – Special Credit Card Provisions The cap applies regardless of the size of the fraudulent charge. You must send written notice to your card issuer within 60 days of the statement date that first showed the error.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors The notice goes to the billing inquiry address, not the payment address, and should include your name, account number, the amount you are disputing, and why you believe it is wrong.
After receiving the notice, the issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve the dispute within two billing cycles, capped at 90 days.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors During the investigation, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount or report it as delinquent.
Debit Cards
Debit cards pull money straight from your bank account, and the protections are weaker. Your liability depends on how fast you report the problem:5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers
- Report within 2 business days of learning about the loss, and your liability is capped at $50.
- Report after 2 business days but within 60 days of your statement, and you could be on the hook for up to $500.
- Report after 60 days from your statement, and you could lose everything taken from the account after that 60-day window, with no cap at all.
That third tier is what catches people off guard. An unauthorized debit card charge you ignore for two months could cost you far more than the original transaction. Speed matters with debit cards in a way it does not with credit cards.
How to File the Dispute
Gather the transaction date, the exact dollar amount, the merchant name if the receipt lookup revealed it, and the last four digits of the card used. Then contact your bank.
For debit card disputes, federal law accepts either an oral or written error notice. You can call the fraud department, use the dispute button in your banking app, or send a letter. The notice needs to identify your name and account number, describe why you believe the charge is wrong, and include the date and amount if possible. One catch: your bank can require you to follow up an oral report with written confirmation within 10 business days, and if you miss that written deadline the bank can skip the provisional credit it would otherwise owe you.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors
For credit card disputes, written notice is required from the start. Send it to the card issuer’s billing inquiry address, not the payment address, which is usually a different P.O. box. Include your name, account number, the disputed amount, and your explanation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors Most issuers now accept disputes through their apps or websites too, but a written letter to the correct address creates the strongest paper trail.
What Happens After You File
For debit card disputes, your bank has 10 business days to investigate and reach a conclusion. If it needs more time, it can extend the investigation to 45 days, but only if it provisionally credits your account within those first 10 business days.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors That provisional credit puts the money back in your account while the bank finishes looking into it.
The timeline stretches to 90 days when the transaction was a point-of-sale debit card purchase, which covers most Square charges. In those cases the bank has 20 business days rather than 10 before it must issue provisional credit.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors
Provisional credit is not free money. If the bank concludes the charge was legitimate, it will reverse the credit and pull the funds back out. The bank must notify you of the reversal amount and the date it will hit. For five business days after that notification, the bank has to honor any checks or preauthorized payments that would have cleared with the credit still in place, and it cannot charge you overdraft fees during that window.7Banker’s Compliance Consulting. Regulation E Reversing Provisional Credit After those five days, you are responsible for any shortfall. Don’t spend against provisional credit as if it’s guaranteed, especially on large disputed amounts.
Watch for Phishing That Uses the Square Name
Fraudsters send texts and emails that claim to be from Square and ask you to “verify” a transaction by clicking a link. Real Square receipts arrive by email or text when the merchant has your contact information, and they show the business name and transaction details without asking for passwords or card numbers. If a message looks off, go directly to squareup.com/receipts instead of clicking anything in the message.