Staying on top of your credit card transactions

Rather than just looking at the balance and filing away your statement, it’s a good idea to take a few moments to check through your transactions. It’s a great way to keep an eye on how much you’re spending, and what you’re spending it on. And with fraudsters unfortunately becoming ever more sophisticated, it’s also important to make sure that all the transactions you’re being billed for are correct.

Each transaction will usually be recorded with:

• The date of the transaction. 
• The date the transaction was processed by your credit card provider.
• Details of the transaction (typically the name and location of the merchant).
• The amount of the transaction in NZ dollars.
• If the transaction is a credit (for example when you make a payment to your credit card), you’ll usually see CR beside the amount.

Sometimes, you may not recognise the merchant name listed in the transaction details. This usually happens when a company’s trading name is different to its business name. In this case, the transaction details may be different to the store or brand name you’re familiar with. If you see a name you don’t recognise, go back through your receipts (if you still have them) to see if anything matches up – for example the date and amount. Alternatively, you could try researching the trading name on your statement to see if it’s linked to a brand or store name you made a purchase from during the month.

If you think the merchant has incorrectly charged you the wrong amount, or they’ve charged you for something you didn’t buy, you should contact the merchant in the first instance. You should also contact any additional cardholders to see if they’ve made the purchase. If you still have concerns after contacting the merchant, you can dispute the transaction. To find out about the disputes process at ANZ, and which transactions may be eligible to dispute, read about disputing credit or debit card transactions.

If you see something suspicious on your statement, such as potentially fraudulent activity, contact your credit card provider immediately. If you’re an ANZ customer call us on 0800 658 044 or +64 9 522 3010 from overseas (overseas calling charges apply). You can also check out our banking safely section for tips on avoiding fraud.

If you use your credit card for everyday spending, you can use your credit card statement to help you track your spending against your budget. For example, try highlighting different categories of spending (such as food, entertainment, utilities etc.), then add up each category to compare your actual spending with what you’ve budgeted for. It’s a great way to see if you need to adjust your spending or adjust your budget.