How to hide purchases you’ve made on your credit card

Many of us have transactions on our credit card statement that we’d rather keep private, but is it actually possible to hide your credit card transactions once you’ve made the purchase? The short answer is no. For regulatory and compliance reasons, bank statements record all credit card transactions to protect you from fraud. For better or for worse, this means that it’s impossible to hide or delete transactions from your history once they’re processed.

However, there are some simple steps you can take before you make a purchase to help protect your privacy. Learn more below.

What shows up on my credit card statement?

Whether you have some purchases you’d rather not share or you’re trying to surprise your partner, you might be worried that your specific purchase shows up on your credit card. However, what actually shows up on your statement is in fact only the merchant’s name, not a description of the transaction. For instance, if you buy an embarrassing combination of items at the grocery store, no one will be able to differentiate the individual products by looking at your credit card statement.

Check out our guide on how to read your credit card statement for more information.

Can I hide a purchase?

If you’re looking to hide a transaction that you’ve already made, this is unfortunately impossible. You’d be better off physically intercepting and destroying the statement if you want to make sure that no one sees it.

If you’re trying to cover up your spending due to mounting debt, you may wish to consider saving on interest payments with a 0% purchase credit card or consolidating and paying off your debts with a balance transfer credit card. If your debt is crippling, a credit counsellor may be able to give you support and guidance to make your debt more manageable.

Tips to protect the privacy of future purchases

While you can’t remove or hide credit card transactions, here are some ways you can shop with more privacy before you make a purchase:

• Use Google Wallet. Similar to PayPal, Google Wallet lets you make purchases by logging into your Google account. This eliminates the need to provide merchants with your credit card details, and all transactions paid in this manner will show up on your statement as “Google”. If you were to delete your Google Wallet account, your transaction history would also be deleted with it.
• Use cash. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s effective. Next time you want to hide a purchase, pay with cash instead for totally traceless anonymity.
• Use a gift card. Getting a gift card could also obscure your purchasing patterns. You’ll load the card with funds at the time of purchase and no one can track how you’re using it thereafter.
• Opt out of paper statements. If you’re worried about leaving a paper trail because someone can open your mail and read your credit card statements, contact your card provider or log in to your online banking and opt to receive electronic statements instead. Apart from enhancing personal privacy, this move is also environmentally friendly and can sometimes help you avoid fees.

Compare credit cards for shopping

Sort by:

Name	Product	Welcome Offer	Rewards	Purchase Interest Rate	Annual Fee		Min. Credit Score	Description
BMO CashBack Mastercard BMO CashBack Mastercard		5% cash back	Up to 3% cash back	20.99%	$0	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 660	Get 5% cash back on all eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership (up to max. spend of $2,500). Plus, get a rate of 0.99% on balance transfers for 9 months. A 2% fee applies to transferred balances.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
OFFER Tangerine World Mastercard Tangerine World Mastercard	OFFER	10% cash back	Up to 2% cash back	19.95%	$0	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 600	Earn 10% cash back (up to $100) when you spend $1,000 in the first 2 months. Valid until July 5, 2023. Plus, get a 1.95% interest rate on balance transfers for the first 6 months.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card		5,000 points	Up to 2 points per $1 spent	19.99%	$0	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 660	Earn 5,000 Scene+ points when you spend $750 in the first 3 months. Apply by October 31, 2023.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
BMO Cashback Business Mastercard BMO Cashback Business Mastercard		10% cash back	Up to 1.75% cash back	19.99%	$0	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 650	Get 10% cash back on gas, office supplies, cell phone bills and internet bills for 3 months. Plus, get a 0.00% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for 9 months with a 3% transfer fee. Valid until November 30, 2023.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
American Express Business Edge Card American Express Business Edge Card		67,000 points	Up to 10 points per $1 spent	20.99%	$99	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 700	Earn up to 67,000 Membership Rewards points in your first year. That’s $670 in statement credits you can reinvest into your business.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
BMO CashBack Mastercard For Students BMO CashBack Mastercard For Students		5% cash back	Up to 3% cash back	20.99%	$0	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 660	Get up to 5% cash back in the first three months (up to max. spend of $2,500).	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card American Express Business Gold Rewards Card		110,000 points	1 point per $1 spent	20.99%	$199	Apply now More Info	Min. recommended credit score: 700	Earn up to 110,000 Membership Rewards points. Earn a Welcome Bonus of 70,000 points after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus points when you charge $20,000 in net purchases to your card each calendar quarter (that's a total of 40,000 points a year).	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

loading

CompareClear