Unrecognized charges cause about 45% of all disputes, and many of these happen because customers don't recognize the statement descriptor.
Generic or unclear descriptors can also trigger false chargeback alerts. These alerts may come from Ethoca and / or Verifi confusing your business with another's. We refund those alerts, but they still waste your time and attention.
This article shows you how to write clear descriptors that help customers identify their charges and reduce your overall dispute risk.
Descriptor Basics
Follow these basic rules when creating billing descriptors:
No special characters such as
<,>,',",\, or*.Dynamic descriptors are the only exception, as they may use an asterisk
*.
Use only single-byte Latin letters, numbers, and allowed punctuation.
Between 5 and 22 characters.
Include a recognizable business or DBA name.
Keep the wording simple, but not too simple.
For example, a book retailer shouldn't only use “BOOKS.”
Avoid emojis and non-standard symbols.
ℹ️ “Single-byte Latin letters” refers to basic English characters without accents. For example, accented letters such as ǐ aren't supported.
Best Practices
Follow these best practices to create a strong billing descriptor:
Always include your business name.
Add one of the following elements (if your processor supports it):
Contact information customers can use, such as a phone number (e.g.,
Dan’s Fries 123-456-7892).Your primary product or service name if you sell only one (e.g.,
Theo Sterling Books).Your business URL, but only if customers already link that URL to your brand (e.g.,
NETFLIX.COM).
See our guides to learn how to find and update your billing descriptors in different payment processors. If your processor isn't listed and you can't locate these settings, contact their support team for help.
Best Practices for Dynamic Descriptors
If you use Stripe’s dynamic descriptors (soft descriptors), keep the following in mind:
Stripe limits dynamic descriptors to 22 characters, including spaces and the
*separator.Place your business or DBA name first, and keep it the same for every charge.
Never include internal order numbers, tracking IDs, or reference codes.
Banks may truncate the end of the descriptor, so keep the variable part (suffix) short.
Dynamic descriptors usually follow this format: DBA*charge description
If you use Recurly, they apply suffixes automatically:
Subscriptions:
DBA*PLAN NAMETrials:
DBA*Trial PLAN NAMEOne-time payments:
DBA*One-Time Payment
Banks may shorten long plan names if they exceed issuer limits.
How to Avoid "Generic" Descriptors
A generic descriptor doesn’t give customers enough information to recognize the charge.
To avoid this:
Don’t use broad category words alone.
Examples to avoid: “BOOKS,” “ONLINE ORDER,” “SUBSCRIPTION.”
Always include your business / DBA name.
Generic category words by themselves won’t help customers identify you.
Add one clear identifier customers know.
A phone number, a short product term, or a URL, whichever your processor supports.
Avoid internal or meaningless labels.
Terms like “ORDER 001” or “WEB PAYMENT” add no clarity.
Use the same format every time.
Consistency helps customers recognize your charges.
Avoiding generic descriptors also reduces enrollment delays with all alert networks under Chargeback.io.
Additional Considerations
Read these points before adding or updating your billing descriptor(s):
Tell our team if you use dynamic descriptors.
We’ll make sure your alerts align with the format you’re using.
Shopify Payments adds its own prefixes.
Use SP before your descriptor (prefix).
If your Shopify store is based in France, use PP instead.
Keep static descriptors stable.
Frequent changes confuse customers and may trigger issuer flags.
Phone numbers aren’t universally supported.
Some PSPs allow them; others block or truncate them.
Banks may change or shorten your descriptor.
Issuers sometimes truncate the descriptor or prepend the processor name (e.g., “PayPal,” “Stripe”).
ℹ️ "PSPs" refers to Payment Service Provider (e.g., Shopify).
Be Sure to Test Your Billing Descriptors
Without the correct billing descriptor, Ethoca and Verifi cannot send you chargeback alerts, which leads to preventable chargebacks.
Avoid using the wrong descriptor and save yourself hours of stress and back-and-forth with multiple support teams.
To verify your descriptor, use approved test card numbers from your payment processor's documentation. From there, run test transactions. Then check the billing statements to see exactly what your customers will see.
Here are links to testing documentation to major PSPs:
Reviewing these statements helps prevent customer confusion and ensures you can receive chargeback alerts.
If you added the wrong descriptor in our platform, fill out our unenrollment form, and we will remove it for you.
💡 Questions or concerns? Get help from our support specialists at Chargeback.io.