An SP+AFF, SP+AFF*, SP AFF, or similar charge on a debit card, credit card, or bank statement most likely relates to a Shop Pay Installments purchase powered by Affirm.
The letters or words appearing after SP+AFF* may identify the online store where the original purchase was made. The charge could be a first payment, a scheduled biweekly or monthly installment, or another payment connected to the Shop Pay Installments order.
Check your Shop account, Shop app, Affirm payment information, email receipts, and the complete transaction descriptor before reporting the charge. A recognizable payment service does not prove that a particular transaction was authorized.
What Is SP+AFF on My Bank Statement?
SP+AFF on a bank statement most likely indicates a payment for a purchase made using Shop Pay Installments, which is powered and serviced by Affirm.
Shop Pay Installments allows an eligible shopper to divide a purchase from a participating online store into smaller payments. Affirm manages the installment plan and collects the payments from the customer.
The statement entry may combine several pieces of information:
- SP: May refer to Shop or Shop Pay
- AFF: Most likely refers to Affirm
- The wording after the asterisk: May identify the store or merchant where the purchase was made
- San Francisco or another location: May come from the payment provider, merchant, or card-network record
For example, an entry formatted as SP+AFF* MERCHANT NAME may represent an installment payment for an order placed with the merchant named after the asterisk.
What Is an SP AFF Charge on a Debit Card?
An SP AFF charge on a debit card is most likely an installment payment collected for a Shop Pay Installments order.
The debit-card transaction may represent:
- The first payment due when the order was placed
- A scheduled biweekly installment
- A scheduled monthly installment
- A payment made manually before its due date
- An automatic payment from a saved debit card
- A payment for a purchase made by a family member or authorized card user
- An unauthorized transaction if no one recognizes the order or payment plan
The transaction amount may be only one portion of the original purchase price. Check the complete payment schedule rather than comparing the charge only with the full cost of the product.
Does SP+AFF Mean Affirm?
Yes, the distinctive SP+AFF format most likely involves Affirm through Shop Pay Installments.
Shopify and Affirm have an established partnership under which Affirm powers and services Shop Pay Installments. When a shopper chooses Shop Pay Installments at a participating store, Affirm reviews the application and manages the resulting payment plan.
This differs from an ordinary Shopify Payments purchase. Shopify says a standard purchase from a store using Shopify Payments can appear in the general format:
SP * STORE NAME
The addition of +AFF makes a Shop Pay Installments and Affirm connection substantially more likely than a normal one-time Shopify Payments purchase.
Official information is available through the Shop Pay Installments overview.
Common SP+AFF Statement Variations
Possible consumer, bank-formatted, or abbreviated variations include:
- SP+AFF
- SP+AFF*
- SP AFF
- SP AFF*
- SP + AFF
- SP*AFF
- SP & AFF
- SP+AFF* followed by a store name
- SP+AFF* SAN FRANCISCO CA
- PURCHASE SP+AFF
- CHECKCARD SP+AFF
- POS DEBIT SP AFF
- ONLINE SP+AFF
- PENDING SP+AFF
- RECURRING SP+AFF
Banks may remove punctuation, merge words, shorten the merchant name, or display different wording while the transaction is pending. The complete posted transaction may contain more identifying information.
What Merchant Is Shown After SP+AFF?
The wording following SP+AFF* may identify the store where the financed purchase was made.
For example, the complete descriptor may contain:
- The online store’s public name
- A shortened store name
- The merchant’s legal company name
- A DBA or trading name
- A website or abbreviated domain
- A product brand
- A merchant telephone number
The store sold the product, but Affirm services the Shop Pay Installments payment plan. This is why the store receipt, Shop order, Affirm payment record, and bank statement may display different names for the same purchase.
Why Does SP AFF Say San Francisco?
An SP AFF San Francisco charge does not necessarily mean the debit card was physically used in San Francisco.
The location may come from:
- An Affirm or payment-service record
- The merchant’s registered business information
- A card-network processing location
- An address stored in an older merchant record
- The bank’s transaction-formatting system
Use the merchant name after SP+AFF*, transaction amount, payment schedule, receipt, and account history as stronger identification clues.
How to Identify an SP+AFF Charge
- Open the complete transaction. Record the exact descriptor, amount, date, location, and whether it is pending or posted.
- Look after the asterisk. The wording following
SP+AFF*may identify the original store. - Search your email. Search for “Shop Pay Installments,” “Affirm,” “Shop,” the merchant name, the charge amount, and the purchase date.
- Check for Affirm email. Shop says installment applicants may receive email from
shoppay@shop.affirm.com. - Open the Shop app. Sign in using the same email address used when placing the order and review installment purchases.
- Review the payment schedule. Compare the charge with the first payment, biweekly payments, monthly payments, or an early manual payment.
- Check every relevant email address. The order may be connected to a different Shop account than the one first reviewed.
- Ask authorized users. A spouse, child, family member, employee, or other cardholder may have used Shop Pay Installments.
- Ask the bank for expanded data. Request the complete merchant descriptor, telephone number, website, merchant category, and transaction type.
Why Does the SP+AFF Charge Keep Repeating?
Repeated SP+AFF charges are commonly explained by an active installment schedule rather than an ordinary subscription.
Depending on the purchase, location, amount, and plan selected, payments may be collected:
- At checkout
- Every two weeks
- Every month
- On another schedule disclosed when the plan was accepted
Compare each charge with the payment schedule displayed in Shop or the applicable Affirm account information. A fixed series of payments should have an expected balance and ending date.
Shop Pay Installments generally cannot be used to purchase subscription products, so an SP+AFF charge is more likely to be an installment for a specific order than an open-ended store subscription.
How to Review the Shop Pay Installments Order
- Open the Shop app or sign in to Shop using a browser.
- Use the same email address entered when the purchase was made.
- Open the Shop Pay Installments order.
- Review the original store and product.
- Compare the original order amount with the installment balance.
- Review completed and upcoming payments.
- Check which debit card or payment method is attached to that order.
- Compare the payment date and amount with the SP+AFF bank transaction.
Updating a payment method for future Shop Pay purchases does not necessarily change the card used for an existing installment order. Existing orders may need to be updated separately.
How to Stop Future SP+AFF Payments
An installment plan is different from a cancel-anytime subscription. Removing the Shop app, deleting a store account, or replacing a saved card does not automatically cancel the debt or remaining payment obligations.
If the order is legitimate but you want to return it:
- Contact the original store.
- Review the store’s return and cancellation policy.
- Request cancellation or a return when permitted.
- Obtain written confirmation from the store.
- Continue making payments that are due while the refund is pending.
- Check that the installment balance is adjusted after the refund is processed.
Contact Affirm through the official Affirm Help Center for questions about the loan, payment method, payment schedule, or disputed installment.
How to Request a Refund
Start with the store that sold the product. Shop does not control the individual merchant’s return policy or issue a store refund on the merchant’s behalf.
According to Shop’s current guidance:
- The merchant determines whether the order qualifies for a return or refund.
- Payments that become due should continue while the refund is pending.
- Once processed by the store, a refund may take approximately 3 to 10 business days to appear.
- The refund is first applied to the outstanding installment balance.
- Any amount remaining after the balance is satisfied is returned to the original payment method.
- Affirm sends an email explaining how the refund was applied.
Review the official Shop Pay Installments payment and refund guidance.
What If the Store Never Delivered the Order?
Contact the store and shipping carrier first. Save copies of:
- The order confirmation
- The product listing
- The promised delivery date
- Tracking information
- Messages sent to the merchant
- The merchant’s responses
- The refund or return policy
- The SP+AFF transaction details
If the store does not respond or resolve the problem, use the official Shop and Affirm support or dispute procedures that apply to your order.
What to Do If You Did Not Authorize the SP+AFF Charge
- Ask every authorized cardholder about Shop, Shopify, Affirm, and buy-now-pay-later purchases.
- Search all email accounts for the descriptor, amount, merchant, order, and payment reminders.
- Check every Shop account and device that may use the debit card.
- Review the complete installment plan and merchant name.
- Change affected Shop, email, and financial-account passwords.
- Enable two-factor authentication where available.
- Report unauthorized Shop Pay Installments activity through Affirm’s official support process.
- Lock the debit card if additional unauthorized charges appear likely.
- Contact the bank using the telephone number printed on the card.
- Report the transaction promptly and ask whether the card should be replaced.
- Monitor the account for additional authorization attempts.
Do not give an unknown caller or website your complete card number, bank password, PIN, CVV, Shop verification code, Affirm login, or one-time security code.
See our guide to investigating an unrecognized debit-card or bank-statement charge before responding to an unfamiliar transaction.
Frequently Asked Questions About SP+AFF
What is SP+AFF?
SP+AFF most likely refers to a Shop Pay Installments payment powered and serviced by Affirm. The wording after the asterisk may identify the store where the purchase was made.
What is an SP+AFF charge?
An SP+AFF charge is most likely a first or scheduled installment for a purchase financed through Shop Pay Installments. It may be collected from a debit card or another payment method connected to the installment order.
What does SP AFF mean on a bank statement?
SP AFF most likely identifies Shop Pay and Affirm. The charge should correspond to a Shop Pay Installments order, although the complete transaction and account history should always be checked.
What is an SP AFF charge on a debit card?
It is most likely a debit-card payment toward a Shop Pay Installments plan managed through Affirm. Compare it with the order and payment schedule in Shop.
What is SP+AFF on my bank statement?
It most likely represents a Shop Pay Installments payment. Search email for an Affirm or Shop payment reminder and check the merchant name appearing after SP+AFF*.
Is SP AFF the same as Affirm?
The AFF portion most likely refers to Affirm, but the complete descriptor may also include Shop Pay and the merchant that sold the product.
Why does SP AFF say San Francisco?
San Francisco may come from the payment provider, merchant record, or card-network data. It does not prove that the debit card was physically used there.
Is SP+AFF an ordinary Shopify charge?
Not exactly. An ordinary Shopify Payments purchase may appear as SP * STORE NAME. The addition of +AFF more strongly indicates Shop Pay Installments powered by Affirm.
Is SP+AFF a recurring subscription?
It is more likely an installment plan with scheduled payments and an expected ending date. Review the remaining balance and payment schedule in Shop.
Can I cancel an SP+AFF payment plan?
Returning or canceling the underlying order depends on the merchant’s policy. Contact the store and continue required payments until the store processes a refund and the installment balance is updated.
Can ChargeOnMyCard cancel or refund the transaction?
No. ChargeOnMyCard is an independent informational website. We cannot access Shop or Affirm accounts, identify a private order, change a payment schedule, issue a refund, or dispute a bank transaction.
Related Payment and Shopping Charge Guides
- Shopify Charge on Credit Card or Debit Card Statement
- Unrecognized Credit Card, Debit Card, or Bank Charge
A related link does not mean that every listed merchant, descriptor, or payment service is affiliated.
Share Your SP+AFF Charge Experience
If you identified an SP+AFF, SP AFF, SP+AFF San Francisco, Shop Pay Installments, or Affirm-related transaction, you may share the shortened descriptor, general amount, merchant name, payment schedule, and how the issue was resolved.
Do not post your complete card or bank-account number, email address, telephone number, Shop login, Affirm account details, order number, tracking number, password, PIN, CVV, dispute number, or verification code.
Why Rely on ChargeOnMyCard.com?
ChargeOnMyCard.com researches unfamiliar debit-card, credit-card, online-shopping, payment-platform, installment-plan, and bank-statement descriptors using official provider information and visible transaction reports.
This guide distinguishes a normal Shopify Payments purchase from a Shop Pay Installments payment powered by Affirm and explains how to verify the individual merchant, order, account, and payment schedule.
Page update note: This guide was updated on August 5, 2026, to clarify the connection among the SP+AFF descriptor, Shop Pay Installments, Affirm, installment payments, merchant names, and San Francisco statement wording.
Disclaimer
ChargeOnMyCard.com is not affiliated with Shopify, Shopify Payments, Shop, Shop Pay, Affirm, any individual Shopify merchant, bank, credit union, card network, lender, or payment processor. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not financial, legal, lending, credit, refund, dispute, account-security, or fraud-prevention advice.
