Agency - the University of South Carolina arranges with the card issuer, Bank of America, for the issuance of purchasing cards to designated employees and agrees to accept liability for the employees' use of the cards.

Cardholder - an employee of the University of South Carolina who is approved by his/her department head to use the Purchasing card to execute purchase transactions on behalf of their department.

Card Issuer - Bank of America's services were contracted for/by the State of South Carolina, to issue Visa Purchasing Cards to University of South Carolina employees, to bill the University of South Carolina for all purchases made on the cards and to collect payment from the University of South Carolina on behalf of the vendors.

Department Head - University of South Carolina official must approve employee's request for a Procurement card, assign department liaisons, designate default account and object codes for purchases on the Purchasing Card, and submit applications to the Purchasing Card Administrator. Department Head approval delegates transaction authority to the Cardholder.

Department Liaison - an employee in each department/college responsible for proper use of the Purchasing Card within their assigned department containers. Each cardholder will be assigned to department liaison(s) by means of their department container, and the liaison will be responsible for reviewing transactions of individual cardholders to make sure the transactions are classified as an appropriate expense.

Purchasing Card Administrator - the central coordinator located in the Purchasing department who coordinates the Purchasing Card Program and acts as an intermediary in correspondence with the card issuer.

Vendor - the merchant from whom a cardholder is making a purchase.

The Cardholder must only use the Purchasing Card for legitimate business purposes. The Purchasing Card may not be used for food, travel, registration fees (that involve food and/or travel), entertainment, cash (gift cards, incentives and postage (stamps) are not allowed) and other categories as included in the Blocked Merchant Category Code list included in these policies and procedures. Misuse of the card will subject the Cardholder to disciplinary action in accordance with University of South Carolina Policies and Procedures relating to disciplinary action and termination for cause. The Cardholder responsibilities and procedures include:

• Ensuring the purchasing card is used only for legitimate business purposes.
• Maintaining the purchasing card in a safe, secure location.
• Ensuring the Purchasing Card is only used by the approved cardholder. Use by anyone other than the cardholder is strictly prohibited.
• Adhering to the purchase limits and restrictions of the Purchasing Card and ensure the total transaction amount of any single transaction does not exceed $4,999.99 inclusive of shipping/handling, taxes and any other applicable fees.
• Obtaining all back up documentation for the p-card to include sales slips, register receipts and/or Purchasing Cards slips and timely provide information for reconciliation and allocation of transactions in the Peoplesoft application.
• Electronically approving and signing monthly expense report in Peoplesoft. The approval certifies the purchase meets the University guidelines for payment approval. Approvals should be completed within thirty (30) days after the end of the billing cycle.
• Timely notifying Department Liaison if the default account and/or object code should be changed on a transaction.
• Attempting to resolve any disputes with vendor and/or Bank of America within sixty (60) days of the posting date. Note: 60-day period for resolution of disputes.
• Ensuring an appropriate credit for the reported disputed items(s) or billing error appears on a subsequent Cardholder's Statement.
• Not accepting cash in lieu of credit to the Purchasing Card account.
• Immediately reporting a lost or stolen card to Bank of America at 1-888-449-2273 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year).
• Immediately notifying Department Liaison and/or Purchasing Card Administrator of a lost or stolen Purchasing Card at the first opportunity during business hours.
• Returning the Purchasing Card to Department Liaison upon terminating employment with the university. If transferring to a different department, contact the Purchasing Card Administrator to coordinate the change and provide instructions for retaining the Purchasing Card.

Each Department Head may designate a maximum of two Department Liaisons for each department. A Department Liaison may also be the liaison for his/her own card. If the department liaison(s) is also a Purchasing Cardholder, it will be the responsibility of the liaison to have the monthly charges incurred on his/her purchasing card reviewed by the department head in Peoplesoft. The liaison responsibilities and procedures include:

• Attending all required training sessions. 
• Viewing vendor receipts from Cardholders and reconciles to Bank of America billing statement.
• Verifying itemized receipts for audit by internal and external auditors.
• Reviewing and approving expense reports in PeopleSoft.
• Approving and/or updating account and/or object codes and cost-sharing information on electronic billing distribution of individual Cardholder account within the specified deadline using PeopleSoft Expense Report Module.
• Identifying and updating transactions that require the submission of use tax and/or account changes using Peoplesoft, My Wallet.
• Perform documented monthly reviews of all transactions for assigned Cardholders to verify that there have been no non-allowable transactions.
  • i.e., no prohibited transactions, no split transactions, purchases are made from contract vendors when available, no deliveries to other than the business address(s), no blocked MCCs, etc.
• Creating a journal entry to correct the necessary charges that require a change in account code, fund, class or cost share. Journal entries should be submitted directly to the university's Controller’s Office.
• Notifying Purchasing Card Administrator of default account chartfield information changes for individual cards as needed. 
• Notifying Purchasing Card Administrator of lost or stolen cards.
• Sending immediate request to Purchasing Card Administrator to cancel a Cardholder's card e.g. (terminated employees, loss of purchasing card privileges) as approved by the Department Head.
• Collecting cards from Cardholders, cutting the card in half and forwarding to Purchasing along with the Card Cancellation Form. This includes when cardholders transfer to jobs not requiring a P-Card.

The Purchasing Card Administrator is responsible for the over-all Purchasing Card program. Responsibilities include:

• Providing a single point of contact with Bank of America for the University of South Carolina Purchasing Card Program.
• Utilizing Bank of America’s General Ledger System (WORKS) and PeopleSoft Expense Module for expense reporting. 
• Reviewing department approved applications for completeness of required information.
• Submitting completed applications to Bank of America for processing. 
• Training Department Liaisons and Cardholders before releasing Purchasing Cards.
• Ensuring Cardholder sign the Purchasing Cardholder Agreement after training, signifying agreement with the terms of the Purchasing Card Program.
• Handling disputed charges/discrepancies not resolved by Cardholder or Department Liaison.
• Initiating change of Purchasing Card default accounting chartfield information upon request of Department Liaison.
• Securing revoked Purchasing Cards and submitting information to Bank of America.
• Reviewing Bank of America's corporate monthly statement and preparing for payment.
• Reviewing usage of Purchasing Card data for appropriateness.
• Analyzing purchasing card spend for management review. 

The criteria to obtain a Purchasing Card is as follows:

• Applicant must be a full-time employee of the University of South Carolina.
• Applicant's request for a Purchasing Card must be approved by his/her Department Head.
• Employee must attend a training session before he/she may be issued a Purchasing Card.
• Each individual Cardholder must sign a Cardholder agreement and return it to the program administrator. 

The Purchasing Card is a corporate purchasing VISA charge card, which will not affect the Cardholder's personal credit. However, it is the Cardholder's responsibility to ensure that the card is used within stated guidelines of the Purchasing Card Cardholder Manual as well as University of South Carolina Policies and Procedures relating to the expenditure of University of South Carolina funds. Failure to comply with program guidelines may result in permanent revocation of the card, notification of the situation to management and further disciplinary measures that may include termination.

Cardholders are required to immediately report any lost or stolen Purchasing Card to Bank of America toll-free at 1-888-449-2273 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year). The Cardholder must also immediately notify his/her Department Liaison and/or the Purchasing Card Administrator about the lost or stolen card at the first opportunity during normal business hours.