University of Minnesota  Appendix

Corporate Card Program Overview

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Card Overview

Cardholders must be current active employees (on payroll) and must have approval from the employee’s academic/administrative unit head.

Card Requirements
Topic Procurement Card (PCard) Travel and Expense Card (T&E Card)
Training Using the University PCard N/A
Standard Limits (Transaction / Monthly) $5,000 / $15,000 $5,000 / $15,000
Alcohol No Yes. Must have allowable funding sources available.
Receipts Any dollar amounts Any dollar amounts for non-travel expenses and all lodging Travel expenses (other than lodging) of $25 and over
Reconciliation 60 days 60 days
System PeopleSoft Finance (EFS) Chrome River
Unallowable Expenses
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Cash advances
  • Capital equipment
  • Consultants or professional services
  • Lodging
  • Meals (Travel Status - seek out-of-pocket reimbursement at appropriate per diem rate)
  • Personal expenses
  • Radioactive materials
  • Research animals
  • Unallowable items per cardholder's department
  • Unallowable items per sponsoring agency
  • Cash advances
  • Capital equipment
  • Consultants or professional services
  • Expenses for other employees
  • Meals (Travel Status - seek out-of-pocket reimbursement at appropriate per diem rate)
  • Personal expenses
  • Radioactive materials
  • Research animals
  • Unallowable items per cardholder's department
  • Unallowable items per sponsoring agency

Blocked MCC Codes

  • Bail, bonds, and payments
  • Betting, including lottery tickets, gaming casino chips, off-track betting, and wagers at race tracks
  • Billiard and pool establishments
  • Cruise lines/steamships
  • Dating and escort services
  • Financial institutions, including ATMs - includes some gift card purchases
  • Fines
  • Food stamps
  • Foreign currency, traveler's checks
  • Hotels, motels (allowed on T&E Cards only)
  • Massage parlors
  • Money orders - wire transfer
  • Package stores - (beer, wine, and liquor stores)
  • Resorts
  • Timeshares

Procurement Card (PCard)

Types of PCard

Individual Card

  • Individual cards are used by employees for purchases that are necessary to do their job, or for a program or project over which they have primary or individual purchasing responsibility.

Departmental Card

  • Departmental cards are used for purchases that are necessary for departmental operations, or that are essential for the functioning or advancement of a University program or project. Departmental cards may be used by someone other than the cardholder and may be issued to reduce the number of cards within a department or unit.
    • The employee responsible for the card must set up internal processes to safeguard the card and ensure that transactions can be tied to the individual who initiated the purchase.
      1. Anyone who uses a PCard should read and sign the “Cardholder Agreement”. A copy of the agreement should be kept on file by the employee who is responsible for the card.
      2. A tracking log is recommended to keep track of the card and purchases made with the card.
    • The employee who is responsible for the card should reconcile the PCard activity weekly.

Unallowable PCard Expenses

Cardholders are responsible for reimbursing the University for expenses on the PCard that are deemed unallowable if the purchase cannot be returned for full credit.

Chief Financial Managers have the discretion to consider employee requests for an exception to this policy. See the Oversight/Compliance section for additional information.

Amounts owed to the University will be collected. The only acceptable method is to receive a bill from the University. See Administrative Procedure: Creating a Billing.

Departments must not pay for unallowable expenses on the cardholder’s behalf or create other methods for the cardholder to reimburse the University for unallowable expenses.

Travel & Expense Card (T&E Card)

Employees who travel frequently (three or more trips a year), have personal financial hardship, or are likely to incur substantial travel costs are encouraged to apply for a T&E Card. Any employee who travels may request a T&E Card.

Travel expenses must be approved by a person who has been authorized to approve or deny travel expenses. The authorized approver is one level senior to the traveler, but in rare situations, it may be another person(s) in the department or unit who is not one level senior but has delegated financial transaction authority to approve or deny travel expenses. Under no circumstances should the delegation of approval authority create a situation where an employee is approving the expenses of their immediate supervisor. See Administrative Policy: Processing, Documenting, and Approving Financial and Accounting Transactions.

Use of the T&E Card

The Travel & Expense Card is available to pay for an individual’s travel expenses. Typical examples of allowable costs include airfare, lodging, car rental, other ground transportation, conference registration/memberships, and miscellaneous travel-related expenses for the individual.

Business and hospitality meals are allowable on the travel card and must follow meal limits per policy. Alcohol may be charged only on non-sponsored private funds (1780, 170X, 175X, and 1030). If any other funds are paying for the alcohol, the travel card may not be used.

Special Situation: Traveling with students or non-employees

Cardholders who are traveling with students or non-employees may pay for the lodging expenses of the students or non-employees on their card. Meals and other travel-related expenses are allowable with prior approval of the Chief Financial Manager. Travel meals must still follow per diem limits per the Administrative Policy: Traveling on University Business. There must be a business-related reason to pay for any expenses related to a student or non-employee.

Special Situation: Student-athlete team travel

Employees traveling with student-athletes must not use personal funds (cash or personal credit cards) to pay for team travel. Cardholders traveling with a team may use their travel card to pay for any team-related travel expenses.

Unallowable T&E Expenses

Cardholders are responsible for reimbursing the University for expenses on the travel card that are deemed unallowable.

Chief Financial Managers have the discretion to consider employee requests for an exception to this policy. See section Oversight/Compliance for additional information.

Amounts owed to the University will be collected:

  • by deducting from any amount to be reimbursed to the cardholder on the expense report that includes the unallowable expense(s); or
  • if the expense report does not include an amount owed to the cardholder, the cardholder must choose one of the following to pay for the unallowable expense:
    • receive a bill from the University or
    • a one-time payroll deduction.

Bills and payroll deductions for unallowable activity on the T&E Card are generated centrally. The amount due from the cardholder for unallowable activity may include the related sales/use tax when applicable. Departments must not pay for unallowable expenses on the cardholder’s behalf or create other methods for the cardholder to reimburse the University for unallowable expenses.

Card Eligibility

Cardholders who transfer between positions or departments may retain their card if their new position requires them to have either a PCard or T&E Card. The cardholder must notify the Department Card Administrator of the new unit with the type of card they have. New applications are not required, Travel & Expense Cards can be retained without additional permissions, but PCard retention is subject to the approval of the new department.

Cardholders who leave the University or transfer to a department where they no longer need their corporate card(s) must request that the card be canceled (and securely destroy each card) by sending the cancellation request to the Department Card Administrator before leaving/transferring.

Code of Ethics

All employees requesting a University corporate card must document a commitment to ethical purchasing practices by signing a Purchasing Code of Ethics (pdf). This Code of Ethics applies to any University of Minnesota employee who may indirectly influence a purchasing decision by establishing specifications, testing purchased products, evaluating contracted services, or otherwise having any involvement in the purchasing or contracting process. Textbooks and other course materials authored by an employee of the University are exempt from this process. Faculty may accept free samples of textbooks and related teaching materials. The signed Purchasing Code of Ethics should be completed annually and maintained by the department in a digital file. 

Activating Cards

Cardholders should follow the instructions that come with the card or call the number on the back of the card. Cards should be activated within 60 days or may be canceled.

Use the employee ID number (not the employee’s Social Security Number) to activate the card. If asked for the Organization's Short Name, provide “UMN01”.

Merchant Category Codes

Merchant Category Codes (MCC) are used by the corporate card industry to classify merchants and businesses by the type of goods or services provided. Both of the University’s card programs have a standard set of MCCs for allowable purchases. Some MCCs are blocked by the bank to reduce fraud and some are blocked by the University based on policy or risk to the institution.

If there is a need for incurring an expense at any of the merchant types mentioned above, and the funding source for the University account is appropriate, the Department Card Administrator (DCA) should submit a request to open the merchant.

Other merchant types may be blocked on either the PCard or the T&E Card to align with the policy for using the card.

Oversight/Compliance

Department Card Administrators (DCA) and Chief Financial Managers (CFM) are responsible for monitoring violations and helping coordinate the use of University corporate cards in a campus, college, or administrative unit.

Violations

CFMs have been delegated responsibility for monitoring violations and may set additional restrictions for use by those within their campus, college, or administrative unit. Violation of University or unit policies, or the cardholder agreement, may result in loss of card privileges or other penalties up to and including termination of employment.

At a minimum, these are violations of policy:

  • Split purchases to avoid the transaction limits set for the card
  • Personal purchases
  • Purchase of alcoholic beverages (on PCard only)
  • Purchases that violate Minnesota Statute 15.43

Chief Financial Manager (CFM)

  • The CFM may designate another individual in their unit to manage University corporate card activity, approve card applications, and suspend and cancel cards.
  • The CFM monitors compliance and may suspend cards for any reason. CFMs have the discretion to consider employee requests for and recommend to the Director of Purchasing an exception to this policy, for example, in situations of financial hardship, to allow travel meals on the T&E Card. Exception requests should be infrequent and require approval from the unit’s Chief Financial Manager and the Director of Purchasing Services before making the purchase.
  • The CFM may require travelers within their campus, college, or administrative unit to use the Travel & Expense Card. This card does not replace the Procurement Card (PCard) or purchase orders.

Department Card Administrator (DCA)

  • DCAs report cardholder transfers and card cancellation requests to Purchasing Services.
  • The DCA must ensure cardholders reconcile outstanding transactions.