SQ *COFFEESHOP Charge (What It Is + Is It Legit?)

When you make a purchase at a small café or independent coffee shop that uses Square as their payment processing system, the transaction shows up on your bank statement as "SQ *COFFEESHOP" rather than the shop's full name because Square POS prepends its own "SQ *" identifier to a shortened version of the merchant's business name. Square uses this format across all of its merchant transactions so that cardholders and banks can recognize Square as the underlying payment processor, while the abbreviated business name after the asterisk helps identify where the purchase actually took place. If you recently grabbed a coffee or snack at a local spot and noticed this descriptor, it simply means the business runs their register through Square's point-of-sale platform rather than a traditional card terminal.

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

Frequently Asked Questions