Charge prefix guide
What is OPENAI * on your bank statement?
OPENAI * on your statement is OpenAI — a payment processor. Here's what it means and how to check it.
OpenAI bills two very different things under the same OPENAI descriptor: ChatGPT subscriptions (Plus at $20/month, Team at $25-30 per seat) and pay-as-you-go API usage, which developers fund in credits. The word after the asterisk usually says which — CHATGPT SUBSCR is the consumer subscription, API is developer usage. A $20 that lands the same day every month is almost always a ChatGPT Plus subscription someone on the card started, possibly during a trial of a feature they wanted once.
Important: a processor prefix identifies who processed the payment — not necessarily who you bought from.
Real examples of how it appears
- OPENAI *CHATGPT SUBSCR OPENAI.COM CA
- CHATGPT SUBSCRIPTION OPENAI.COM
- OPENAI *API OPENAI.COM CA
- OPENAI CHATGPT SUBSCR
Formats vary by bank — reference fragments, cities and codes come and go, but the prefix shape stays recognisable.
Descriptor formats to look for
- OPENAI * …
- CHATGPT …
How to verify the charge
See your OpenAI billing history ↗- For ChatGPT subscriptions: sign in at chatgpt.com, open Settings, then Subscription — it shows the plan, the renewal date and the card on file. If the email you try has no subscription, the charge belongs to a different account: check other emails you (or family members sharing the card) use.
- For API usage: sign in at platform.openai.com and open Settings, then Billing — the history page lists every invoice with dates and amounts that should match your statement lines.
- A Team plan charge is per-seat and often lands on whoever set the workspace up — if you administer one, multiply seats by the per-seat price before assuming the amount is wrong.
- Still unclear? Paste the full line into the identifier on our homepage — OPENAI variants are distinctive and match reliably.
Is it fraud?
A $20 OPENAI charge on a card that has never touched ChatGPT is worth taking seriously: recurring digital subscriptions are a favourite test purchase for stolen card numbers, precisely because they are small and easy to miss. Check chatgpt.com first with every email in the household — most "fraud" is a forgotten trial or a family member. If no account matches, cancel the card with your bank; OpenAI support can close the fraudulent account but cannot stop future charges on a compromised card number.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I charged by OpenAI when I never use ChatGPT?
Usually someone sharing the card does — ChatGPT accounts are per-email, so a partner's or teenager's subscription on the family card shows the same OPENAI descriptor. Check Settings → Subscription under each household email before disputing.
What is the difference between OPENAI *CHATGPT and OPENAI *API?
CHATGPT SUBSCR is the flat monthly consumer subscription. API is metered developer usage billed against credits or an invoice. They come from different accounts and are cancelled in different places — chatgpt.com settings for one, platform.openai.com billing for the other.
How do I cancel a ChatGPT subscription?
Sign in at chatgpt.com → Settings → Subscription → Manage. Cancelling stops the next renewal but does not refund the current month. If you cannot sign in to the account being charged, the charge is from another account — resolve which email owns it first.
Why did my OpenAI charge change amount?
Plan changes (Plus to Team), added seats, or API usage riding alongside a subscription. VAT/sales tax also joins the price in many regions, so $20 becomes $21.80 or similar depending on where you are.
Common misunderstandings
- The city or state shown is often the company's registered address, not where you made the purchase.
- Charges can post days or weeks after the purchase.
- Small businesses may bill under a legal or holding-company name.
Whole statement, one pass
Stop looking charges up one by one
Upload the statement instead: every descriptor identified with confidence levels, plus subscriptions, duplicates and fees flagged automatically. Free account, no card required, deleted after 24 hours.
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