ACH is the Automated Clearing House network used in the United States for electronic bank transfers. ACH DEBIT means money was pulled from your account (for example a bill payment or loan payment), and ACH CREDIT means money was sent in (for example payroll or a refund).
CHECKCARD is a label some banks use for debit card purchases. It is often followed by a four-digit date such as 0512 (May 12), then the merchant name and location.
Example lines with made-up merchants, and what the Merchant Cleanup API returns for them today:
| Raw line | Cleaned merchant | Processor | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
CHECKCARD 0512 RIVERSIDE FUEL 57444 SAN JOSE CA | Riverside Fuel | - | auto_and_transport |
ACH DEBIT MAPLE STREET RENT LLC | Maple Street Rent | - | rent_and_housing |
CHECKCARD 1021 JOES DINER AUSTIN TX | Joes Diner | - | other |
Results are automated suggestions and can be wrong; check anything that matters.
No. ACH transfers are batched and usually take one or more business days. Wires are sent individually and are typically faster.
At banks that use this format it is usually the purchase date as month and day. The posting date can be later.
It removes common bank labels and suggests a name and category. ACH lines often carry company or payroll names that a keyword match cannot place, so check the confidence score.
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Have a PDF bank statement instead of a CSV? RowSmith converts bank statements to CSV or Excel in your browser, then you can clean the descriptions here.
More guides: What does SQ * mean on a bank statement? - What does TST* mean on a bank statement? - What does PAYPAL * mean on a bank statement? - What does SP * mean on a bank statement? - What does POS DEBIT or POS PURCHASE mean on a bank statement? - How to clean bank transaction descriptions