Charge Explainer
§ 01 · DESCRIPTOR

What is PAYPAL STEAMGAMES on your bank statement?

Here's what this charge most likely is, grounded in our prefix dictionary and what the descriptor itself contains.

High confidence

This charge appears to be a payment to Steam (Valve's digital game store) processed through your PayPal account.

Most likely: Steam (Valve Corporation)
a digital video game store and platform
Processed by: PayPal
PayPal acted as the payment intermediary here — it collected the funds from your bank or card and passed them to Steam on your behalf. The merchant name 'STEAMGAMES' is what Valve registers with PayPal to identify their store.
Category
Gaming / Digital Entertainment

Doesn't look right? Things you could check:

  • Check Steam purchase history — Log in to store.steampowered.com and check your purchase history under Account Details to see what was bought.
  • Review the PayPal transaction — Log in to paypal.com and find the transaction to see the exact amount, date, and any additional details Valve provided.
  • Consider shared account access — If you share a Steam account or household, someone else with access may have made a purchase using your linked PayPal.
  • Search your email for a receipt — Steam sends email receipts for every purchase — searching your inbox for 'Steam' or 'Valve' may surface the original order confirmation.
WHAT THE DESCRIPTOR TELLS US

The payment was handled through PayPal. The name shown with the PAYPAL descriptor is the merchant or seller PayPal paid on your behalf. After the PAYPAL prefix the descriptor reads “STEAMGAMES” — that leftover text is the most likely seller.

Check a different charge

Paste your own variant of this descriptor — the result appears right here.

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RELATED DESCRIPTORS
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    This charge appears to be a PayPal payment made to Amazon for a digital product or service, such as a Kindle book, Prime Video rental, in-app purchase, or similar Amazon digital content.

  • PAYPAL INST XFER

    This appears to be a PayPal instant transfer — money moved out of your PayPal account, likely to a bank account or to pay another user or merchant.

  • ACH WEB PYMT BILLPAY

    This appears to be an electronic bill payment made through your bank's online bill pay service via the ACH network.

  • ADBL*AUDIOBOOK PURCHASE

    This appears to be a charge from Audible for a one-time audiobook purchase.

The PAYPAL prefix has its own page: What does PAYPAL mean on a statement?