If you have spotted a line such as “COMN CAP APY F1 AUTO PAY” on your bank statement, it usually means an automatic payment from your bank account to a credit card issued by Comenity Capital Bank, one of the banks behind many store and co-branded credit cards. Unfamiliar codes on a statement can be worrying, so this guide explains what each part most likely means, how to match the payment to the right card, and what to do if you didn’t set it up.
Reviewed October 2026. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Statement descriptors are set by banks and can change; your card issuer and your bank are the final authority on any specific charge.
What Does COMN CAP APY F1 Mean?
Comenity and its parent company, Bread Financial, don’t publish an official key to this descriptor, so the breakdown below is the most likely reading rather than a confirmed definition:
- COMN CAP: Comenity Capital Bank, a Utah-chartered bank owned by Bread Financial.
- APY and AUTO PAY: an automatic payment, usually one you (or someone with access to your bank account) set up on a card account.
- F1: an internal code. There is no public information linking “F1” (or similar codes such as “F2”) to a particular store, so don’t rely on it to identify the card.
Payments like this usually travel through the ACH (Automated Clearing House) network, the US system used for direct debits and bill payments, which is why “ACH” sometimes appears next to the descriptor.
More About Comenity Capital Bank
Bread Financial’s banks, Comenity Bank and Comenity Capital Bank, issue credit cards for retail and brand partners, and Bread Financial services those accounts. According to its 2025 annual report (Form 10-K), it issues two main kinds of partner cards:
- Private label (store) cards, which can be used only with the partner brand.
- Co-brand cards, which are general-purpose credit cards carrying the partner’s brand that can be used wherever the card network is accepted.
Bread Financial says it works with nearly 100 brands and numerous online merchants, including Ulta, Victoria’s Secret, AAA and Saks Fifth Avenue. So the payment could relate to any store or co-brand card issued through Comenity, not only one retailer.
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Reason for this Charge on your Bank Statement
- Your own autopay: the most common reason. If you set up automatic payments on a store or co-brand card, each payment from your bank account can appear under this descriptor.
- A card you’ve forgotten: check old store card accounts, including ones opened at checkout for a discount.
- Someone else in your household: a family member may have used your bank details to pay their own card.
- An unauthorised payment: if you can’t match it to any account, treat it as possibly unauthorised (see below).
To find the card, sign in to each Comenity- or Bread-issued card account you have and compare the date and amount with the autopay history. The amount usually matches a card payment, such as the minimum due or the full statement balance.
Steps to Dispute the Charge
If you set up the autopay but want it to stop: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) advises contacting the company to withdraw permission for automatic payments, telling your bank or credit union that you have revoked it, and following both up in writing. Your bank may suggest a stop payment order, which usually carries a fee. Stopping autopay doesn’t cancel what you owe: pay the card another way to avoid late fees.
If you didn’t authorise the payment: report it to your bank or credit union straight away. Under federal rules for electronic transfers, you should report an unauthorised transfer within 60 days of the statement that first shows it; waiting longer can leave you responsible for later unauthorised transfers. The CFPB says the bank generally has 10 business days to investigate (20 for new accounts), may give you a provisional credit if it needs longer, and generally must finish within 45 days (90 in some cases). Once you have told both the company and your bank that you’ve withdrawn permission, the CFPB says any further payments that company starts are errors you can ask your bank to refund.
If you think someone opened a card in your name: contact the card issuer, check your credit reports for accounts you don’t recognise, and report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov.
Is COMN CAP APY F1 Fraud?
The descriptor itself isn’t a sign of fraud: Comenity Capital Bank is a legitimate bank that issues many store and co-brand credit cards, and most of these entries are ordinary autopay payments. But a genuine bank name doesn’t prove that a particular payment was authorised. If you can’t match it to an account you or your household hold, follow the steps above.
In a Nutshell
“COMN CAP APY F1 AUTO PAY” usually means an automatic payment to a store or co-brand credit card issued through Comenity Capital Bank. Match it against your card accounts first. If you no longer want autopay, revoke it with the card issuer and your bank, and keep paying the card another way. If you didn’t authorise it, report it to your bank promptly, within 60 days of the statement.
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Sources
- Bread Financial Holdings: Form 10-K for 2025 (Comenity Bank and Comenity Capital Bank; private label and co-brand cards; partner brands)
- CFPB: How do I stop automatic payments from my bank account?
- CFPB: How do I get my money back after I discover an unauthorized transaction?
- CFPB: Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.6 (liability for unauthorized transfers)
- FTC: IdentityTheft.gov
