A charge starting with PAYPAL * on your statement

PAYPAL * followed by a name means your card paid that seller through PayPal. The name after the star is the seller, not PayPal.¹ You do not need a PayPal account for this to happen: PayPal says that if you see a PayPal charge but have no account, or cannot find it in yours, it most likely went through "guest checkout", where the card was used without logging in.²

What it looks like on a real statement

The State of Delaware publishes every purchase its employees make on state cards, with the merchant name as the bank received it. These lines are copied from that data as published.³

Delaware’s data had 10,225 lines starting PAYPAL, from June 2017 to August 2026, when we checked on 27 September 2026. All but 22 read PAYPAL * and then a name. In 5,781 of them the name stops at exactly 11 characters, in every year of the data.³ So expect the name to be cut short, and search for its first few letters, not the whole thing. Other software sellers show up this way too: a Paddle charge paid with PayPal reads PAYPAL *PADDLE.NET, and Cleverbridge has appeared as PAYPAL CLEVERBRIDG.

The seller chooses the name. PayPal tells sellers their name "could be displayed on your customers’ credit card statement after the word PayPal *", and tells them how to change it in their account settings.¹ If you paid from a bank account through PayPal instead of a card, the seller is not named at all: PayPal says the line reads PAYPALINST XFER.¹

How to find what it was and stop it

1. Search your email for the name and the amount Search every address you use, including spam, for the first word after the star and for the exact amount (for example 39.33). A guest checkout sends an email at the time of purchase with an "Activate PayPal Now" button in it.²
2. If you have a PayPal account, look at its automatic payments Log in, go to Settings, then Payments, then "Subscriptions and saved businesses" or "Automatic Payments". You can cancel a payment there, and the seller’s contact details are listed.⁶ PayPal also asks you to check whether a family member used your account before you report the charge.⁶
3. Ask the seller for the refund For a payment that went through, PayPal says "you’ll need to contact the seller".⁶ Ask in writing and keep the reply.
4. If the seller does not help, open a PayPal dispute before the deadline In the Resolution Center, choose "Report a problem". If you checked out as a guest, PayPal says to create the account from the purchase email first.² PayPal’s deadlines are below.
5. If you cannot find anything, or never paid anyone, go to your bank Bring the statement line exactly as printed, the date and the amount, and what you already tried. Ask your bank what its deadline is for disputing a charge. It depends on the bank, the card network and the reason.

PayPal’s deadlines

These are PayPal’s own time limits, for disputes opened with PayPal rather than your bank.

A small charge that says CODE

When a card is added to or edited in a PayPal account, PayPal charges it up to $1 to check it. The charge stays pending and is not collected; depending on the bank it disappears within a few minutes or up to 30 days. PayPal says to contact your card issuer if it is still there after 30 days.⁵

The line carries a 4-digit code that the account holder types into PayPal to prove they have the card. PayPal says it reads PayPal*1234 CODE or PP*1234 CODE.⁴ If the card is never confirmed, PayPal says the amount comes back on its own 75 days after the charge, and in some places the credit can take 30 more days to post.⁴

If you added the card yourself, this is expected. If you did not, it means someone has your card details and is trying to attach them to a PayPal account. Do not give anyone the code. Call your bank and ask for a new card.

Is this fraud?

Not necessarily. A PAYPAL * line can be a real purchase from a seller whose name was cut short or does not match its shop. PayPal itself says "some charges may appear unfamiliar but are legitimate and authorized", such as a subscription or a family member’s purchase.⁶ It is fraud if none of the steps above finds the purchase. Report it to PayPal as unauthorized and dispute it with your bank.

Why this page is on a site about held money

The sellers behind PAYPAL * lines are paid by PayPal, and sometimes PayPal holds their money. The PayPal file collects what sellers report about that. If your line starts SQ *, that one is Square; if it starts SP, it is a shop on Shopify; if it starts WPY*, it went through WePay. Other lines are in the table of statement names.

Sources

1. PayPal Help Center, "How do I update my business name on customers’ credit card statements?". paypal.com. Read in full on 27 September 2026.
2. PayPal Help Center, "I have a problem with my PayPal transaction, but I can’t find it on my PayPal account. What do I do?". paypal.com. Read in full on 27 September 2026.
3. State of Delaware Open Data, State Employee Credit Card Transactions, fields "merchant", "trans_dt" and "merchandise_amt". Lines starting PAYPAL. Queried and counted on 27 September 2026.
4. PayPal Help Center, "Where do I find the PayPal code to confirm my card?". paypal.com. Read in full on 27 September 2026.
5. PayPal Help Center, "Why did PayPal charge $1 to my card?". paypal.com. Read in full on 27 September 2026.
6. PayPal Help Center, "How do I report an unauthorized transaction or account activity?". paypal.com. Read in full on 27 September 2026.
7. PayPal Help Center, "Dispute filing timeframes". paypal.com. Read in full on 27 September 2026.