A charge labeled “Maplebear Inc” on your credit card or bank statement is a charge from Instacart. Maplebear Inc. is Instacart’s legal corporate name, and card networks display the legal name rather than the brand you know. The charge is almost always one of three things: a grocery delivery order, a service fee tied to an order, or a recurring Instacart+ membership fee. When the amount doesn’t match anything you remember ordering, the most common explanation is an Instacart+ membership that renewed automatically after a free trial.
Why the Descriptor Says Maplebear
Maplebear Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 2012, is headquartered at 50 Beale Street in San Francisco, and trades on NASDAQ under the ticker CART.1SEC. Maplebear Inc. SEC Filing Customers only ever see the Instacart brand, so the legal name on a statement can look like a stranger’s charge even when the transaction was authorized.
What the Amount Likely Represents
Look at the dollar figure first. It usually points straight to the answer.
Instacart+ membership. The monthly plan is $9.99, the annual plan is $99, and a Costco-member annual plan is $79.2Brex. Maplebear Inc Charge A 14-day free trial converts to a paid annual membership unless you cancel. The Federal Trade Commission has alleged that this conversion enrolled hundreds of thousands of consumers without adequate disclosure.3FTC. Instacart to Pay $60 Million in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Lawsuit If your charge matches $9.99, $79, or $99, a subscription is the most likely explanation.
A grocery order. The final charge for a delivery can differ from the estimate you saw at checkout. Instacart places a temporary authorization hold for slightly more than the estimated total to cover item substitutions, weight variations on produce and meat, and items added by the shopper. After delivery the final amount is charged and the bank releases the difference.4Instacart. Authorization Holds and Charges
A service fee. Instacart adds a service fee at checkout that is separate from the delivery fee. In its case against the company, the FTC characterized this fee as adding up to 15% to the order cost.5Grocery Dive. Instacart Settles FTC Lawsuit That’s often why the total on the statement runs higher than the grocery subtotal you remember.
Before You Call It Fraud
A few quick checks resolve most surprise Maplebear charges:
- Ask anyone else on your account or in your household whether they placed an order.
- Check your email for an Instacart+ free trial confirmation from about two weeks before the charge date.
- Compare the amount to your most recent Instacart order after substitutions and added items, not the checkout estimate.
- Look at the statement descriptor. Instacart flags recurring charges with a “recurring” indicator, because its payment processor does not store card verification codes and needs to identify follow-on transactions.4Instacart. Authorization Holds and Charges
How to Dispute a Charge You Didn’t Authorize
If the charge is genuinely unauthorized, start with Instacart rather than your bank. Instacart operates an online form for unrecognized charges. It asks for your email address, phone number, the amount and date of each charge, the cardholder’s name, the last four digits of the card, the card brand and type, the expiration date, and the billing ZIP code. You can upload screenshots as supporting evidence.6Instacart. Unrecognized Charges Form
Instacart specifically recommends contacting its support team before filing a dispute with your bank. A bank-initiated chargeback places the associated Instacart account on hold for the duration of the investigation, which can take up to 90 days.4Instacart. Authorization Holds and Charges
If Instacart doesn’t resolve the charge, the FTC advises consumers to contact their credit or debit card issuer directly to dispute the transaction, and then report the matter at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.7FTC. FTC Says Instacart Didn’t Deliver on Their Promises
The $60 Million FTC Settlement Over Instacart+ Auto-Enrollment
If your mystery charge is $99 and you don’t remember signing up for a paid membership, you’re not alone, and there may be money set aside for you. In December 2025, Instacart agreed to pay $60 million in consumer refunds to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit. The proposed stipulated final order was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and approved by the Commission in a 2–0 vote. It carries the force of law once signed by the district court judge.3FTC. Instacart to Pay $60 Million in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Lawsuit
The FTC alleged three categories of deception. First, Instacart advertised “free delivery” on first orders while imposing a mandatory service fee the FTC called a “delivery fee by another name,” and the agency said consumers sometimes spent more than 30 minutes in the ordering process before those fees were disclosed.5Grocery Dive. Instacart Settles FTC Lawsuit Second, the company advertised a “100% satisfaction guarantee” but, according to the FTC, the self-service menu for reporting issues offered only small credits toward future purchases and hid the option for cash refunds. Third, and most relevant to unexpected charges, the FTC alleged Instacart failed to clearly disclose that its 14-day Instacart+ free trial automatically converted to a paid annual membership, and that it charged hundreds of thousands of consumers without their express informed consent.3FTC. Instacart to Pay $60 Million in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Lawsuit
Under the proposed order, Instacart must stop misrepresenting delivery costs and its satisfaction guarantee, clearly disclose subscription terms, and obtain express informed consent before charging consumers for subscription services. The $60 million is designated for refunds to consumers who were charged for Instacart+ without their consent.3FTC. Instacart to Pay $60 Million in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Lawsuit Instacart denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said its pricing and membership terms are transparent and that it has always distinguished between delivery and service fees on itemized receipts.5Grocery Dive. Instacart Settles FTC Lawsuit
As of the FTC’s December 2025 announcement, the settlement remained a proposed order awaiting judicial approval. If you believe you were charged for an Instacart+ membership you didn’t knowingly sign up for, keep your statements and any Instacart emails; a refund process typically follows once the court signs the order.