Strange merchant names in Colombia on credit card statement [closed]

After a few days in Medellin, I've noticed that my credit card statement has merchant/business names that apparently have nothing to do with the name of the actual place. This isn't for mom&pop shops, but rather large establishments:

Ambroxia Salon appeared as "SENSORIAL COFFEE BAR"
luxuryconcept.co appeared as "DAVIDE RASO"
BURDO restaurant appeared as "MANUELA RUIZ VARGAS"

This makes it somewhat difficult to balance transactions at the end of the month. How can I reconcile what I see on my credit card statement with which business I actually went to? (Other than by checking my credit card statement every single day.)

money colombia

Best Answer

Although that makes it slightly confusing for you as a customer there are a number of valid reasons for that to happen that boil down to:

The name in the window of the business / merchant may only be a brand.
The brand is not the name of the legal entity operating the business.

The name you will see on your credit card (or debit card) transaction statement will most likely reflect the name of the bank account that received your payment and/or thus the name of the legal entity operating the business, (or possibly a third-party payment provider).

In a sole proprietor type of business that legal entity will likely be the name of the current owner.
(And the current owner of "Bob's Burger Bar" can be "Jane Doe" and "Bob" may have owned the business before or there was never a "Bob" in the first place and Jane simply decided on a good name for that burger joint.).

Otherwise the business is owned by a company, with a name different from the brand(s) they operate. That mismatch can be be intentional and by design, or the result of a re-branding sometime in the past; renaming a company and associated bank accounts is a lot more hassle than repainting the window sign and launching a new/additional brand to operate with.