An SP AFF San Francisco charge on your bank or credit card statement is almost certainly a payment collected by Affirm, the buy-now-pay-later lender headquartered in San Francisco. If you financed a purchase through Affirm at any online or in-store checkout, that transaction is the source.
What the Descriptor Means
The line breaks into three parts. “SP” stands for “service provider,” a generic label payment networks use to flag third-party processors. “AFF” is shorthand for Affirm. “San Francisco” is where Affirm’s corporate office sits, at 650 California Street, not where you shopped.
The format is less transparent than some others. Square, for instance, stamps its transactions with an “SQ *” prefix followed by the business name.1Square Developer. Statement Descriptions With Affirm, the lender itself is the entity billing your card or bank account on behalf of the merchant, so the store you actually bought from doesn’t appear in the statement code at all.
Why the Store’s Name Isn’t on the Charge
Affirm offers installment financing at checkout with thousands of online and in-store retailers. When you choose Affirm to split a purchase into payments, Affirm pays the merchant upfront and then collects from you over time. Each scheduled payment shows up on your statement as a charge from Affirm, not from the original store. That’s why a recurring “SP AFF San Francisco” entry might not connect in your mind to a pair of shoes you bought three months ago.
Affirm integrates with major e-commerce platforms including Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and works through payment processors like Stripe and Adyen.2Affirm. Platforms We Support The charge could originate from a large national retailer or a small independent shop. The common thread is that the merchant offered Affirm at checkout and you chose it.
How to Identify the Purchase
Log into your Affirm account through the app or website. Your dashboard lists every active and completed loan, including the merchant name, original purchase amount, and payment schedule. Match the dollar amount and date on your bank statement to an entry in Affirm and you’ll have your answer within minutes.
If you don’t remember opening an Affirm account, search your email for a confirmation message from Affirm sent around the same date as the first charge. Retailers that offer Affirm at checkout sometimes present it as a payment option that’s easy to select without fully registering an account, and the confirmation email is your breadcrumb trail. Many online banking portals also offer an expanded transaction view that may show a longer merchant name or reference number beyond what fits in the statement line.
For Affirm-specific questions, you can call support at (855) 423-3729 or use the help center on their website. Affirm requires that you raise any billing error within 60 days of the statement date, so don’t sit on an unrecognized charge.3Affirm Help Center. Report a Problem or File a Dispute
If You Recognize the Charge but Want a Refund
Returns go through the original merchant first, not through Affirm. Follow the merchant’s return policy, and once the merchant processes the refund, Affirm credits your loan balance within 3 to 10 business days.4Affirm US. Fully Refunding a Charge Keep making your scheduled payments while the refund is processing. If you end up overpaying because the refund takes time, Affirm will reimburse those extra payments.
Track your loan balance in the Affirm app after the merchant confirms the return. A full refund closes the loan entirely; a partial refund reduces your remaining balance and adjusts future payments.
If You Don’t Recognize the Charge
If you’ve checked your Affirm account, searched your email, and still can’t identify the charge, you may be looking at unauthorized activity. Federal law limits your financial exposure, but the rules differ depending on whether the charge hit a debit card or a credit card.
For debit card or bank account charges, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act caps your liability at $50 if you notify your bank within two business days of discovering the unauthorized transaction.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers Wait longer than two business days but less than 60 days, and that cap jumps to $500. After 60 days you could be on the hook for the full amount. For credit card charges, federal law caps liability for unauthorized use at $50 regardless of when you report it, and most card issuers waive even that.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
Once you file a dispute with your bank, federal regulations give the institution 10 business days to investigate. If it needs more time, the bank can extend the investigation to 45 days, but only if it provisionally credits your account within those initial 10 business days. In certain situations, including point-of-sale debit card transactions, the investigation window stretches to 90 days.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors The provisional credit becomes permanent if the bank confirms fraud, or is reversed if the bank determines the charge was legitimate.
You can also file a dispute directly with Affirm by calling (855) 423-3729 or through their help center. Filing with both your bank and Affirm at the same time is fine, and worth doing because they investigate through different channels.3Affirm Help Center. Report a Problem or File a Dispute
Verify Before You Dispute
Disputing a charge through your bank that turns out to be a legitimate Affirm loan payment creates real problems. When the bank reverses the chargeback and sides with the merchant, your original Affirm payment schedule resumes, and you have 10 days to catch up on any payments that were paused during the investigation.8Affirm Help Center. Dispute a Purchase Miss that window and you’re immediately behind on the loan.
Credit reporting matters too. Affirm investigates disputes about credit bureau data within 30 days, and if they determine the reporting was accurate, it stands. A late or missed payment that resulted from a failed chargeback still hits your credit report. If you believe Affirm reported something incorrectly, you can dispute directly with Affirm or file with Experian or TransUnion and request a consumer statement be added to your report.9Affirm Help Center. Credit Reporting Disputes Spend ten minutes in the Affirm app before you call your bank. A chargeback on a charge you actually owe causes more trouble than it solves.