Soft Descriptor
The Soft Descriptor is a feature that allows you to customize the name displayed on the cardholder’s statement. This provides greater transparency for the customer and helps reduce the chances of chargebacks, as many customers dispute charges because they do not recognize the merchant’s name on the statement.
To use this feature, simply fill in the optional SoftDescriptor field.
- The
SoftDescriptorfield can be used in credit transactions.SoftDescriptordoes not allow special characters (e.g., !@#$%^&*) or Chinese characters.
Soft Descriptor benefits
• Reduce chargeback: help the shopper recognize the transaction with a clearer description, preventing unnecessary cancellations.
• Brand and branch identification: customize the merchat's name in the statment according to the brand, unit, or specific campaign.
• Customer experience: offer more transparency, preventing the customer from being confused by generic descriptions.
Soft Descriptor Structure
The merchant can send a text of up to 13 characters to compose the Soft Descriptor, which will be displayed on the cardholder's statement next to the store's Trade Name. This text must respect the total limit allowed by each card brand.
The composition always follows the format:
[Trade Name] + * + [Soft Descriptor]
The Soft Descriptor does not allow special characters.
Rules by card brand
Visa
- Total limit: 25 characters
- Trade Name: up to 12 characters (including spaces)
- Asterisk: 1 character
Soft Descriptor: 25 – (Trade Name length) – 1
Mastercard
- Total limit: 22 characters
- Trade Name: up to 12 characters
- Asterisk: 1 character
Soft Descriptor: 22 – (Trade Name length) – 1
Elo
- Total limit: 22 characters
- Trade Name: up to 12 characters
- Asterisk: 1 character
Soft Descriptor: 22 – (Trade Name length) – 1
Amex
- Total limit: 22 characters
- Trade Name: up to 12 characters
- Asterisk: 1 character
Soft Descriptor: 22 – (Trade Name length) – 1
Soft Descriptor is not available for merchants with MCCs from 5960 to 5969.
Updated 27 days ago