AMAZON WEB SERVICES* Charge (What It Is + Is It Legit?)

Amazon Web Services uses the truncated descriptor "AMAZON WEB SERVICES*" on bank statements because payment networks like Visa and Mastercard impose a strict character limit on merchant descriptors, typically capping them at 22-25 characters including spaces. The asterisk you see in the descriptor is a separator commonly used by Amazon's billing systems to divide the merchant name from a secondary identifier, such as an account reference or service region, though that secondary portion may be cut off depending on your bank's display format. If you have an active AWS account or recently signed up for a free tier that has since incurred usage charges, this descriptor confirms a legitimate monthly billing event from Amazon's cloud infrastructure division.

No, this is a legitimate charge from Amazon Web Services. However, if you did not authorize this charge or cancelled your subscription, you may be eligible for a refund.

Frequently Asked Questions