You paid only once.
No repeat purchase.
No extra charge.
But your phone keeps buzzing with multiple bank notifications.
This usually happens because banks send alerts for different stages of the same transaction.
Multiple alerts don’t mean multiple charges.
Why Banks Send More Than One Alert
- An authorization alert is sent first
- A posting or settlement alert follows later
- Pending and posted transactions trigger separate notices
- Some banks notify on both approval and final charge
How to Confirm You Were Charged Only Once
- Check the final posted transactions, not alerts
- Confirm only one charge appears on your statement
- Verify the total balance changed once
- Ignore duplicate notifications with the same amount
When Multiple Alerts Could Be a Problem
- Two posted charges appear
- The amounts differ
- The merchant name changes
- The charges repeat on different days
Bank alerts can multiply, but the actual charge usually doesn’t.