The specifications of the card for corporate employees

1. Introduction

The card that is being specified in this documentation is a card designed to work for corporate employees. There are several features of the corporate card, including the ability to make purchases online, the ability to set spending limits for employees, and the fact that the card can help employees of a company to overcome unexpected expenses. These features will be of benefit to the corporation in terms of both managing its financial expenditures and ensuring that workers are provided the support they need when it comes to everyday expenses such as travel, especially when undertaken in the line of duty. The fact that the corporate card can be tailored to meet individual needs is something that makes it stand out from other types of business cards and will be discussed at a later stage in the documentation when referring to certain features of the card.

1.1 Purpose of the Card

The key element in determining the effectiveness of the program is to clearly establish what the purpose of the card is. This is what both the business and the employees hope to achieve from the program. One of the major components of the success of the program will be this section. It is important that the team involved in writing the program takes the time to consider the needs and the motivation of the business and the employees. This section should focus on not just what the business and the employees may need now, but also what they may need in the future. By clearly defining the purpose of the card, it is likely to make sure that the program is able to move with the changing needs of the employees and the business. By doing that, the authors of the program are helping to ensure that the program remains a vibrant, relevant and positive influence on the working environment. In many ways, the more effort that goes into defining the purpose of the card, the easier all of the other sections of the program will be to write. This is because a clear understanding of the purpose of the program will allow the authors to make sure that the aims of every section of the program are drawn together to move towards that purpose. In addition, the authors of the program should not be surprised if the purpose section needs to be revised several times as the program as a whole takes shape. This is not a sign that the team is failing to write the program correctly. On the contrary, it is an indication that the team is sensitively and sensibly addressing the nature of a working environment, which is always subject to change and development.

1.2 Benefits for Corporate Employees

From booking flights and hotel rooms to purchasing company assets, the card can be used for a diversity of corporate purposes. That the corporate card is safer and more suitable than other forms of payment is a key advantage for corporate employees. At work, fear of identity theft can make it impractical to use personal credit cards for the procurement of office supplies and other company goods. Yet most corporate employees would resist providing their signatures fifty or sixty times to produce confusion and increase their susceptibility to fraud. With the card, users need only provide their signatures once, which lessens the probability of fraud, identity theft, and unwarranted employee anxiety. The constraints on the corporate card’s use do not adversely impact the authority and autonomy of corporate employees. Because a hierarchy of spend authorization levels can be set by management – for example, certain employees may be given the power to make purchases up to a specified financial limit – the card can be customized to suit the setup of individual companies. The approval process for card spend, which requires a user to obtain digital agreement from a line manager prior to the execution of procurement, also guarantees impartiality and the prevention of maverick or extraneous spending. Furthermore, the adoptive use of a card enables savings in two respects. Firstly, the automation of the card’s web-based administration system offers the ability to accurately monitor and control expenditure while simultaneously effecting reductions in the amount of paperwork generated with traditional purchasing methods. Secondly, a financial gain may be made by negotiating any potential rebates that could be offered by Kentucky Purchasing Card suppliers. Through the accumulation of benefits and recent advancements in card protection technology, it is no longer intellectually tenable to argue the case that an administrator should not make the switch to card-based procurement for fear of operational irregularities or employee insecurity. As consumers, we are continuously encouraged to consider the environmental impact of our purchasing, and the corporate world is no exception. The ability to control spending – the corporate card necessitates that purchases are made within specified financial limits – coupled with the potential for electronic receipt capture and digital approval processing, makes the card a leading player in fostering sustainable, carbon-neutral procurement.

2. Card Features

Each corporate credit card is issued with a credit limit, which is the maximum outstanding balance that the cardholder is permitted to have on their account. The credit limit is determined by financial and credit information available at the time on the account, and is subject to periodic reviews and evaluations by the bank. A credit limit is not to be construed as a spending target; rather, the cardholder is expected to use the corporate credit card within the credit. Sometimes, it may be necessary to request an increase to the credit limit for a specific purpose, such as meeting the costs of an extended business trip. This request should be made by the relevant budget holder to the approver set out at section 3.6, and should be made on either a temporary or permanent basis, depending on the nature of the requirement. Corporate credit cardholders will never be charged for making a request to increase a credit limit on a card; however, consumer credit cardholders will be assessed an additional fee for such a request. All credit limit increase requests should be submitted to the bank in the first instance and should include a profile of the cardholder whose credit limit we want to increase.

2.1 Credit Limit

Let’s talk about how your credit limit is derived. This is a type of revolving credit and is based on various criteria such as your personal or your organization’s credit rating. As this is a corporate card, your personal credit rating is not relevant and the card provider will look at the credit rating for the organization. The credit limit is usually determined by the company’s ability to pay off credit card bills. So if the card provider believes that your employer will not be able to clear the balance, it will give a low credit limit. However, if your company is considered to be very profitable and can clear the balance easily, then a high credit limit will be given. The credit card provider will also look at things such as your organization’s ability to survive and the risk to its existence. This is why often with start-up companies, the assigned credit limit may be lower. Finally, credit card companies are required to carefully assess the financial circumstances of each client to whom they wish to provide a credit card, so the credit limit is not too high in relation to what the client may be able to pay back. This is based on the company law statute of responsible lending. Of course, every credit card company has its own set of internal lending criteria, but it is very unusual for a corporate card to be given a credit limit that is over and above what is provided in the individual’s personal credit card.

2.2 Rewards Program

The XYZ corporate card carries a very attractive rewards program that not only benefits the cardholder, but the company as well. XYZ employees are automatically enrolled in the rewards program from the moment they receive their card. The user-friendly program is designed to transform ordinary business transactions into opportunities to earn rewards. For every dollar spent on the XYZ corporate card, the cardholder earns one reward point. These reward points can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, travel vouchers, and more. Alternatively, cardholders can convert reward points to cash contributions which may be paid annually to a non-profit organization or used to offset the environmental footprint of their business-related travel. This flexibility in redemption options makes this rewards program unique and quite beneficial. The rewards program also allows cardholders to earn double rewards for every business transaction with one of our preferred vendors – after all, XYZ wants to thank those business partners for their support. This innovative approach increases card usage and ensures that XYZ benefits from maximum rebates, which may be passed on to the company through lower card fees and directly back to the cardholder in the form of yet more attractive rewards options. Cardholders automatically receive periodic communications containing special promotions and offers from some of the program’s redemption partners. These collaborations ensure that cardholders are regularly exposed to new ways to use reward points and are a mechanism to drive further card usage. Conversely, the best redemption value of gift cards and merchandise is offered through the online rewards portal; an internal website where users can track their spending, view their reward point balances and redeem rewards seamlessly. The site also allows cardholders to top-up account balances by making cash contributions straight to their chosen charitable organization. Dedication of funds through the rewards program has the potential to make a significant contribution to a chosen non-profit organization, by providing consistent financial support. However, with the more traditional warehouse or store rewards provider, the same TV that costs 100,000 points in the online program may cost some 150,000 points. By linking reward redemption values to the online platform, users are encouraged to engage in more environmentally friendly shopping. It seems that the warehouse provider is not known for any efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of their distribution network, because switching to such a system could pave the way for customers to choose greener, more energy-efficient options; starting with XYZ rewards.

2.3 Travel Insurance Coverage

In general, the travel insurance coverage is designed to protect against everything from medical expenses to flight delay or cancellation, lost or damaged baggage to trip abandonment. This insurance is particularly valuable, as many of the corporate employees who are eligible for this card are likely to in some cases find themselves travelling for work purposes both domestically and abroad. There are many different facets of the insurance, so the section will provide a summary of the key elements to give a clear understanding of what it covers. First of all, it is necessary to be travelling, whether that it be already having begun the trip or within the policy of cover and something happens. This includes within the country where the cardholder lives, but also extends to travelling to a different location, provided that the insurance was arranged before the trip began. A lovely aspect of this insurance is the inclusion of the cardholder’s partner and children also. As long as some of the trip is paid for using the card, the whole family is secure in the knowledge that accidents or mishaps will be covered by the insurance as well – the only exclusion being family holiday travel that is purchased using points alone. Additionally, the insurance pays up to £300 for emergency dental treatment to cover the costs caused by an injury during the trip. This covers the cardholder traveling either in or outside of the United Kingdom. With the value of foreign currency, things such as prescription expenses or any other payments easily add up and can make a significant dent in planned activities of a trip. This is where the insurance can help because 24 hour replacement cover exists for a lost or stolen passport, travel tickets and other money up to a maximum of £300. For cash not connected to the card that is lost or stolen, the policy allows for up to £500 to be claimed as well. Also in a nutshell, the policy covers up to a maximum of £20,000 for legal costs, any necessary treatment, compensation or expenses in the event that the cardholder or any insured person dies, is injured, is taken ill or suffers of disease or a condition during the trip. Claims can be submitted via the administrator for the Personal Travel Accident (common carrier) claims – this is a nice added bonus for families and something to be highlighted to anyone else looking to obtain this card.

2.4 Fraud Protection

It is important to inform the users of the Insurance Credit Card about the fraud protection features of the card to ensure that the users are properly protected against any form of fraud or unauthorized use of the card. The current card makes use of an embedded microchip which is aimed at providing an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access to card information. This feature is very functional when the card is used at stores that have chip-enabled card readers. Most cards that make use of magnetic stripe technology come with a static information stripe. This means that the information is always the same and can be easily copied to create a clone card. However, the microchip technology offers dynamic data and when used in conjunction with the user’s personal identification number or PIN, it becomes very difficult for unauthorized persons to access the user’s account. This is because each transaction is uniquely encrypted and therefore, merely possessing the card’s encoded information cannot enable an unauthorized person to create a clone card. The information sent to the card issuer for transaction approval is also secured by a technology known as point-to-point encryption. This is a feature that ensures that the sensitive card information is protected at each step of the transaction, starting from the card reader up to the processing network. The card makes use of an end-to-end encryption feature to protect card information and transaction data and to prevent the interception of any data during a transaction. The card is also equipped with a new technology known as ‘3-D’ secure technology which adds another layer of user authentication and authorization during card not present transactions such as online payments.

3. Application Process

In order to request a corporate card, a corporate employee first needs to ascertain that they comply with the company’s existing policy, whether the employee is aware of the policy and its provisions or not. In addition to a duly signed corporate card request form, the employee may need to attach a copy of the offer or letter from the respective HR department in circumstances where the cardholder is not registered with the company. The request form should be filled in duplicate and submitted to the respective HR department. The provided form, however, is not limited to the generic type of form, but it should be specifically designed for corporate card requests and clearly include important sections. For instance, a typical corporate card request form will include personal data sections such as full legal name, date of birth, citizenship, social security number, home address, mobile and fax contact information, employment details, and the employee’s specified office location. It should also contain a professional data section including the official title in the company and the relevant department, the employee ID number, the immediate supervisor’s full name, the date of employment, and other necessary details as may be prescribed. The “Eligibility Criteria” outlined specifically in the “3.1 Eligibility Criteria” section may require the employee to have worked for the company for at least a certain number of months or be receiving income at a level equal to or above the assigned card limit.

3.1 Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility to apply for the Corporate Card is based on the following criteria: all full-time employees except business associates and affiliated agency staff, people who are lecturers or scholars, or whose employment conditions do not allow application for credit cards, and those who have a contract or consultancy type of employment. It is said that generally the Corporate Card is for incurring business-related expenses and is thereby not to be used for personal purchases under any circumstances that cardholders are made aware of and agree to. However, this statement does not reimpose the general guidance given in the Expenses Procedure in relation to non-salary payments to employees. All applications for the Corporate Card will be moderated to assure that they satisfy the eligibility criterion before being submitted. Eligibility of a staff member will be checked both through analysis of the staff file on the HR network and through the applicant’s status proposed by the Cards Administrator as having an active employment. Card administrators also need to verify the applicant’s eligibility. However, it is said that when a cardholder leaves the employment or no longer meets the eligibility criterion, his/her card will be collected and destroyed. Also, any charges and penalties that may arise due to non-compliance with the Bank are paid by the cardholder’s department, and deduction will be taken from that department’s budget share. Also, if the Corporate Card was used wrongfully, the Bank may terminate the agreement with the University. And should the card be cancelled for whatsoever reason, the Card Manager has to see that the destroyed card is properly disposed of and is no longer in use. Card administrators will have the duty to retrieve these cards when a member leaves the employment. On an annual basis, the Card Manager is obliged to provide a list of all valid Corporate Card holders to the Bank and the Department for Education whenever the request is made.

3.2 Required Documents

Some required documents like the completed Corporate Card Application and Agreement, traveler’s visa and a copy of the traveler’s visa, and an Approval Code Form I-9 are necessary. This will not only apply for the Business Leader MasterCard and Visa credit card, and the Corporate Lodge Card, but also for the individual cardholders under the Corporate Account. As a reminder, the Corporate Card Managers is going to be the one helping with the submission of the application and the required documents to the Service Office. Also, the Service Office will perform all the necessary background checks and confirm the approval of the Corporate Card Executor, before the Corporate Card Managers and the cardholders are being assisted to complete the electronic application. After the submission and the completion of the card activation process, all the new cardholders will have to perform the fingerprint recognition at the Service Office. The required documents for the disposable Travel Card include the entire application and the Physician’s Statement Form. The card is going to be issued directly to the Service Office and will be kept as a standby card for international business trips and lifelike emergency events. The entire disposable card application must be submitted along with all the required documents and it should be backed up by the relevant justification. The Corporate Cards, which include the Business Leader MasterCard and Visa credit card, and the Corporate Lodge Card, and the individual cardholders under the Corporate Account will have a valid period that lasts for three years. After the expiration of the current card, the cardholder should submit a request for the renewal of the corporate card together with the required documents. The new Oklahoma State University Affiliation Cards request should be forwarded to the manager in such a way that the approval process can be easily regained. Each and every request for the new cards must be submitted with the completed “Affiliation Card Request Form” and an approval of the local department authority. The expired cardholders should forward the expired card to the OSU Service Office and the Backup Corporate Card Manager will help in the cancellation process and the disposal of the old card. All these requests for the new cards can be easily obtained from the OSU Service Office.

3.3 Approval Timeline

The detailed application timeline aims to provide departmental head and Human Resources sufficient time to process the application before the deadline. Explaining from the beginning of the year, by the end of January, the Human Resources shall review all pending business card applications and if necessary, they may request further information from the employee or his/her manager. By the end of February, completed application with all required documents will be reviewed by the HR. From March to June, it is the period for the business card supplier to make timely orders and deliver the cards before the new financial year. The production and delivery time frame will be taken into consideration by the HR when processing the business card applications. COO and CEO shall approve or reject any application as soon as practicable. It is required by officers legislation to ensure that the decisions for approving or rejecting a card are made in accordance with the specified timeline in the legislation. The HR will inform the applicant of the decision within 10 working days of the decision being made and the card will be produced and delivered in accordance with the timeline set out above. By the end of October, any progress that has been made on the application shall be reviewed by the HR operations manager and necessary proceed should be taken as provided by the guidelines.

3.4 Activation Process

In order to activate your card, the company policies require the concerned HOD/Manager/Administrator to validate the card request for security purposes. After completing the application process and uploading required documents, the employee will log in to the card management system using the credentials provided during the registration process. From the apps tab, the employee will select the “activate card” app and scan the QR code at the back of the card using the camera on the mobile phone. The employee will be prompted to select the card type and enter the last four digits of the card number as shown on the screen before clicking on the “activate” button. After successful card activation, the card will be ready for use within the specified timeline as provided in the user manuals. All the functionalities and features of the card will be enabled upon successful card activation. The system will generate a confirmation message once the card activation process is successful. The new card will be loaded on the employee’s mobile wallet where applicable and the Web Card Management System will be updated to reflect the activation status. On the other hand, the existing card will be invalidated and reflected as “deactivated” in the card management system upon successful activation of a new card.

4. Card Usage and Management

This section fundamentally explains how the card can and should be used, and the controls we have put in place around it. The employees shall be primarily liable for all charges made using the card. However, in case of a dispute or a “charge back,” the issuer generally deals with the vendor and credits the cardholder – which may relieve the employee of any obligation regarding the charge. All cards are issued with a predefined PIN number, which the employee can change to a number known only to them. The PIN is required for the card to be used in any ATM. However, it is general best practice to make sure that employees do not write down their PIN number. This is because, in the case of the card being lost and an unauthorized person finding it, they would be able to withdraw cash using the contactless functionality without needing the PIN. If an employee finds out that their card has been lost or stolen or that their PIN is known to someone else, they must report it to the issuer immediately. Also, a lost or stolen card must be reported to the local issuer and formal report – providing all the details of when, where, and how the loss or theft occurred – will need to be made to the appropriate authorities. This section also takes you through the controls and mechanisms in place to monitor and manage the usage and transactions of the card. Such controls include daily spending limits and MCC (Merchant Category Code) restrictions. All cardholders must also report any change to their personal details, such as name or address, to the issuer immediately. Also, any unauthorized transaction discovered in the cardholder’s periodic statement must be reported to the issuer within 60 days of the statement date. In addition, employees must follow the procedure for challenge due to a dispute on an individual transaction found in the statement. It is the responsibility of each cardholder to reconcile receipts and attachments and submit them for approval to his/her approving official before the 15th day of each month. However, approving officials can set earlier deadlines than this and shall be responsible for those deadlines being met.

4.1 Making Purchases

When using their cards to make purchases, cardholders should keep in mind the following guidelines: Whenever possible, cardholders are encouraged to use the corporate card in person rather than making a purchase on the phone, through the mail or over the internet. This limits the possibility of fraud and unauthorized use, since a signature is required for in-person purchases. If a cardholder needs to make a purchase over the phone or internet, the transaction must be made through a secure website or over the phone with a reputable merchant. If a cardholder’s card information is stolen or misused as a result of an internet transaction, the cardholder may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including revocation of card privileges. Whenever possible, cardholders should make purchases directly from any vendors rather than through a third party. This helps to promote good relationships between the University and its vendors. Also, there will be no question that the third party is acting as the cardholder’s purchasing agent, which some vendors may find inappropriate. Finally, no cardholder may split the cost of a single purchase among two or more payment methods for the sole purpose of staying within individual transaction dollar limits. Any such action will be considered misuse of the corporate card and may result in card suspension or cancellation. Cardholders should pay particular attention to the permissible uses section, which provides that the card may only be used for: 1. Reasonable and necessary expenses for UT business. 2. Expenses that comply with UT’s policy on allowable expenses. 3. Airfare classes permitted by the travel regulations. 4. Meals related to travel that comply with UT’s travel expenses and reimbursement policy.

4.2 Online Account Access

There are also different methods in which you can make your payment through an online account access. You will also have the advantage of scheduling a future payment.

If you are the administrator of an account that is composed of several cardholders, you will get access to an additional level of capability in terms of viewing and managing data, as well as viewing and printing reports. Through the online account access, you have access to making payment. It normally takes 2 days for your payment to reflect in your credit card account.

To get started with online account access, you need to first register for online access as a new user. For this, you will have to provide your credit card number and your billing address zip code. After you are initially set up on online account access, you will have the chance to make an online payment at any time that’s very convenient to you. You will also have the chance to detach yourself from the paper billing statements.

Online account access is a fast and easy way to view your card information, transactions, and reports. The following is a simple list of the type of information that’s available to you online: the cardholder profile information, card and account information, billing account information, transaction details, and accounting code change requests.

4.3 Payment Options

Along with the convenience of using the corporate card for expenses, employees also have a say in how they pay off their balances. Full payment options, also referred to as ‘default’ payment, are generally set to ‘full’; for employees, this means the entire card balance is settled using monies from the Corporate Liability Payment Account each month. However, providing there is an agreement in place and the system’s capabilities support it, employees can choose to pay a fixed amount each month, such as 3% of the balance. Alternatively, they may choose to consider ad-hoc payments at their discretion. Opting out of full payment is quite rare, particularly if an employee’s job role does not give rise to occasional use of the card for personal spend. Also, some payment plans may not support full payment, such as Direct Debit arrangements. Most employees pay their credit card balance by Direct Debit, meaning the Payment Solutions team does not have to intervene, for example, to apply an employee’s manual payment of their balance; these can potentially hinder the ability to manage the card account through automated methods. The issuing bank, HSBC, is receptive to requests to make changes to payment options, particularly if the change is relative to all cardholders. For example, in 2016 employees moved from a Self-Bill arrangement to a system where individual card statements had to be used as part of the expenses file presented to the Company each month. In this instance, the IT, HR and Delivery team had to be satisfied software changes coped with enabling Invoice Approval team members to access card statement data that was previously auto-imported on behalf of approvers. Such amendments are usually requested by the Company’s relationship manager. As for the company director who manages the implementation of such changes within the different supporting services, she would have to document and justify the change, often requiring consultation with involved internal and external stakeholders. Also, companies often have a contractual arrangement with the bank which gives critical responsibilities and obligations to the employer regarding the use of cards and managing user behaviour. By customising the payment options to suit different employee requirements, it is possible to promote the card as a valuable asset for company expenses, so long as robust, efficient card account operation is ensured by both employers and employees alike.

4.4 Card Statements and Reports

Every month, cardholders are required to certify their cardholder statement of account by signing a printed version of the statement. The signed statement and the transaction support documents should then be submitted to the approving officer within ten (10) working days from the statement date for reconciliation. The approving officer will also certify the statement to confirm that a review has been made on the transaction. All supporting documents should be attached to the certified statement and all non-billable transactions must be crossed out and initialed by the cardholder before passing to the approving officer for verification. Card billing statements are sent to the respective cardholders’ billing addresses (both email and postal addresses). The statements are also uploaded into an electronic repository called CardReady. Through scheduled card reports, approving officers are able to monitor their cardholder’s charges and verify the same. The reports are sent to the approving officers via email and are expected to be received by the second (2nd) working day of the month. Cardholders who are on leave for more than seven (7) continuous working days would have to make arrangement for collection of their statements and ensuring that their transactions are duly reconciled. An alternative officer will be assigned to monitor the transactions in the absence of the approving officer and cardholder. Expected to review the transactions and verify the same. All ad-hoc reports are distributed to the respective approving officer through CardReady. The approving officer can also access the reports via the ‘Report’ function in CardReady. Personal cardholders’ ad-hoc reports are disseminated by Fleet and Corporate Services (FCS) while Centre Head will coordinate the distribution of the corporate cardholders for different Centres.