AWS* Charge (What It Is + Is It Legit?)

Amazon Web Services uses the shortened "AWS*" descriptor on bank statements because their billing system is designed to accommodate the character limits imposed by payment processors and card networks, which typically cap merchant descriptors at 22-25 characters. The asterisk following "AWS" is a standard delimiter used by Amazon's payment infrastructure to separate the brand identifier from any additional billing detail, such as a service identifier or account reference, that may follow it. If you see AWS* on your statement, it is almost certainly a charge from Amazon Web Services for cloud computing usage, such as storage, compute power, or other hosted services billed to your linked account.

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