By The Income Tracker · Updated 8 September 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
Export three months of transactions, import them, and look for the same amount from the same name every month. That list is your subscriptions. Cancel the ones you do not use with the company first, then, if it is a card payment, tell your bank to block the continuous payment authority. Banks must stop a CPA when you ask.
Find them in three minutes
Export the last three months from your bank as a CSV and import it into The Income Tracker. Three months catches quarterly and annual charges too.
Open the recurring view. The app flags anything that repeats with the same name and a similar amount, which is the definition of a subscription.
Read the list slowly. Two streaming services doing the same job? A gym from a different life? An app you tried once? A charity you meant to review? Note each one.
Check the card statements as well as the current account. Card subscriptions are the ones people forget, because they never appear in the bank's Direct Debit list.
The usual culprits
Streaming: video, music, audiobooks, and the second video service you got for one show.
Phone extras: cloud storage, insurance, add-ons sold at the upgrade.
App subscriptions billed through Apple or Google, which show up as a single unhelpful line.
Free trials that quietly converted.
Memberships: gym, clubs, magazines, premium versions of free apps.
Old insurance or breakdown cover on a car you no longer own.
Cancel the right way for each type
How it is paid
How to cancel
Notes
Direct Debit
Tell the company, then cancel the Direct Debit in your banking app
Covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee: mistaken collections are refunded by your bank.
Standing order
Cancel it yourself in your banking app
It is your instruction to the bank, so you control it. Tell the recipient if there is a contract.
Card continuous payment (CPA)
Cancel with the company; if they will not, tell your bank or card issuer to stop it
Under UK payment rules your bank must cancel a CPA when you ask. Keep a note of the date.
App store subscription
Cancel in your Apple ID or Google Play subscriptions screen
Cancelling the app or deleting it does not cancel the subscription.
Two rights worth knowing
Under the Direct Debit Guarantee, if a company takes a payment in error your bank refunds it and sorts it out with the company. And for most things bought online or over the phone you have a 14-day cooling-off period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, so a subscription you signed up for last week can usually be cancelled for a full refund.
Stop it happening again
Keep the recurring list in the tracker up to date and look at it during your monthly review. New subscriptions show up as new recurring rows within a month or two of starting, while they are still cheap to kill. The subscription cost calculator turns a few pounds a month into the five-year number, which is usually the push you need.
The Income TrackerTrack it free. No account, no bank login.
Look for the same name and a similar amount repeating every month or year. Importing three months into The Income Tracker flags them automatically in the recurring view.
Can my bank cancel a subscription for me?
For a Direct Debit, yes, you can cancel it in your banking app. For a card payment (a continuous payment authority), your bank or card issuer must stop it when you ask, though you should also tell the company.
Does deleting an app cancel the subscription?
No. Cancel it in your Apple ID or Google Play subscriptions settings, otherwise it keeps billing.
What is the Direct Debit Guarantee?
A protection on every Direct Debit: if a payment is taken in error, your bank refunds it immediately and takes it up with the company.
Sources and checking
Facts on this page were last checked on 8 September 2026 against: