Consumer complaint received 2024-09-12
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (AZ)

I have a problem with a payment I made to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX IL being displayed as the word ATM in my account. This has never happened on previous payments. Instead of the name of the business I paid with my card, it shows just ATM. 

I reported it to Synchrony on XXXX XXXX when it was a pending payment, and it did not change after it was completed. The agent first told me it was a cash advance, and I said no it is not. Then they told me it was a problem with the way the merchant is reporting their payments, that it is showing as a " cash like '' transaction based on the merchant 's MCC ( Merchant Category Code ) and I should talk to the merchant. I did so, contacted XXXX XXXX, they contacted their corporate, and assured me that they dic not, nor would they have any reason to, change their MCC code, and referred me back to the card provider. Indeed, it's always showed their name correctly until now on my card activity, for years.

When the payment showed as completed, and still showed as ATM, I called Synchrony again. That was this morning at XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX XXXX. I talked to two agents who could not tell me why it may show as ATM because it showed correctly on their side. I escalated to a supervisor, who said it was a Paypal issue. It is a Paypal Cashback Mastercard, managed by Synchrony bank. I told the supervisor it can't be a Paypal issue, as it was NOT a " Pay through Paypal '' funded transaction, it was done as a direct payment using my card, not through Paypal. Although Paypal has the card management interface integrated into the Paypal account, the purchase does not even show in the regular Paypal activity, as it is a direct card payment, and Paypal does not have access to even SEE that payment. It is only displayed in the CARD activity in the Paypal interface exactly as it is reported to Paypal by Synchrony. Paypal agents can not even see the payment from their side. I know this for a FACT ( but can not say how for privacy reasons, as me directly outside this form if you want to ). Paypal can not have caused this error, it is only displayed as reported by Synchrony. Paypal agents can't even see direct card payments on the Synchrony card. Again, they only get what's reported by Synchrony to display on the page on the customer side. This IS a Synchrony issue.

The supervisor told me there was absolutely nothing they could do about it and it's a Paypal issue. They suggested I wait until I get my statement in 30 days and see if it shows correctly there. I'm not going to wait 30 days, it is a BLATANT error in the reporting of this transaction and needs to be corrected in the account. And if it never is, and I return in 6 months, or a year, or two years, and see it displayed the same, I may not remember this situation and start spending a bunch of time wondering why I have a transaction showing as " ATM '' in my card activity. It is just wrong and needs to be corrected in the account display, period. Either Synchrony sent it wrong, or Paypal received it wrong to publish in the activity, or both. In any case, this is NOT my issue, and Synchrony needs to work with Paypal to correct this in a TIMELY manner, not " check and see in 30 days on your statement. ''