University Commercial Credit Card – One Card

Introduction

The Western Colorado University One Card is a University-sponsored, State tax-exempt, U.S. Bank Visa credit card issued to qualified University employees at no charge. The One Card should be utilized for the following University business purchases: 1) low dollar orders of University business-related goods and merchandise. 2) All travel expenses including airfare, lodging and car rentals. The goal of the One Card program is to eliminate the need for out-of-pocket expenses and is designed to provide an efficient way to process low dollar orders of University related goods and travel related expenses.

Although the purchases related to the One Card are centrally billed, the cardholder is still responsible to ensure all purchases made with the One Card are in conjunction with University Procurement Rules, the Procurement One Card Manual, Travel Fiscal Rules and Western’s Travel Procedures Manual. Cardholders are required to reallocate their charges to the correct Workday spend categories, and upload all supporting receipts for approval. All One Card purchases are billed centrally to the University and paid to the card sponsor, U.S. Bank, on a monthly basis.

Program Monitoring

Each new Cardholder goes through a probationary period where the Program Administrator will review each new Cardholder’s One Card transactions/statements for their first 3 months of use in addition to their normal Supervisor. The probationary period greatly reduces the number of common oversights of new users and promotes very good results for the first annual review of a new Cardholder.

An exit review is conducted on the final transactions of cardholders whose employment is terminating.  Exit audits may go back to the last review. As soon as the Program Administrator is notified of a cardholder’s employment termination, the final day for transactions and account closure is set and a review is scheduled to occur before the employee’s last day of work.  Routine review of the final transactions is performed along with identifying the location of the cardholder’s statements in the department and discussing how the department’s purchases will be handled after the terminating employee’s departure.

Transaction Documentation

Every transaction MUST have valid and complete supporting documentation from the merchant, to support every transaction charged to the Card.  All documentation must be uploaded into Workday.

Valid supporting documentation includes:

• An itemized point of sale receipt from the vendor
• A packing slip for the delivery
• Order forms for dues, subscriptions, registrations, or similar items that indicate the purchase and applicable timeframe
• Detailed invoice showing credit card payment
• E-mail confirmation from the merchant
• A completed Missing Receipt Form if all other supporting documentation is unobtainable

Information contained in supporting documentation should include:

• Your Name
• Vendor Name
• Date of purchase
• Description, unit price, and quantity of each item purchased
• Total cost of the order, including shipping and handling charge
• Per item cost if available from the vendor

Additional Documents that are required to upload with the invoice:

• Explanation of the reason for the purchase, if it appears unusual
• An Official Function Form if the purchase was made for food or beverages
• An HSR (Hardware Software Request Approval Email) for any items needing approval from IT

Sales Tax

The University is exempt from Colorado state sales tax and local taxes and should not be charged sales tax on transactions using the One Card.  The State tax exempt number is 98-04524 and is included below the Western Logo on the front of the One Card. If a merchant requires a copy of the State Tax-exempt certificate it can be found here: (CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION FOR COLORADO STATE SALES/USE TAX ONLY) for WCU is available here.

Card purchases made where delivery or travel is taken in another state or foreign country are not exempt from those state and local taxes.

The cardholder is responsible to communicate to the vendor that the card is tax-exempt. If a cardholder is charged Colorado state sales tax, they should work with the merchant to get the sales tax credited back to their card. However, if the merchant is not willing to do so, sales tax is not a disputable charge with the bank. The cardholder should complete a Violation Warning Form and keep with their transaction.

Convenience Fees and Surcharges

Effective July 1, 2022, per C.R.S. § 5-2-212, to cover the cost of processing a credit or charge card transaction, and pursuant to section 5-2-212, Colorado Revised Statutes, merchants may impose a processing surcharge in an amount not to exceed 2% of the total payment made for goods or services purchased or leased by use of a credit or charge card.

What does this mean for One Card Users?

The surcharge amount should not be more than 2% of your total payment.

The amount must be disclosed before the purchase is made and it should be shown as a separate line item on your receipt.

If the vendor is trying to charge more than 2%, talk to them about the Colorado Revised Statute. Contact Procurement and Contracts if the vendor will not work with you.

A Convenience Fee may be charged.  For merchants who offer an alternate payment channel (i.e., phone, internet) for customers to pay for goods or services, a convenience fee may be added to the transaction amount.  If the merchant chooses to assess a convenience fee to its customers, the merchant must adhere to the following rules:

• The fee is being charged for a bona fide convenience of using an alternative payment channel outside of the merchant’s normal business practice.
• The fee must be disclosed to the customer as a charge for the alternative payment channel convenience.
• The fee is applied only to non-face-to-face transactions.
• The fee must be a flat or fixed amount, regardless of the amount of the payment due.
• The fee is applied to all forms of accepted alternative payment channels.
• The fee is included as part of the total transaction amount.
• The fee cannot be added to a recurring transaction.
• The fee is assessed by the merchant that provides the goods or services to the cardholder and not a third party.
• The customer must be given the opportunity to cancel prior to the completion of the transaction.

Declined Transactions

Contact U.S. Bank at 1.800.344.5696 to find out the reason the transaction was declined. Possible reasons and remedies for decline:

PIN # – You have exceeded your PIN# too many times. Reset your PIN# on the Access Online home page.

Card Limits: The transaction exceeds your card limits such as your Single Purchase Limit. Contact the University’s Program Administrator.

Billing Address: The Card address is 1 Western Way, Gunnison, CO 81231

MCCG Exclude: The merchant’s 4-digit Merchant Category Code (MCC) is one of the University’s excluded codes.  Ask the merchant for its MCC code.  Occasionally merchants sign up with the Bank selecting a code that may not accurately represent its business.

Transactions to avoid on the One Card

• Please work with your chair/director on flowers or gift purchases. (Employee hospitalizations, funerals, retirements, birthdays, etc.)
• Computers/Software (unless authorized by the IT Department) This includes all Software and all computers, monitors and anything that will plug into a computer. Please contact IT Services for information.
• Services (window washing, carpet cleaning, guest speakers, etc.) will be paid through a Purchase Order. Contact Procurement and Contracts for specific information regarding if a service is allowed on a One Card. We must have proof of insurance before any services can start.
• You are not allowed to stock up your department breakroom with coffee and snacks for staff. Please review the Official Function Policy on what is allowed.
• Entertainment Expenses such as bars, cocktail lounges, nightclubs and movie theaters.

Prohibited Transactions/Significant Violations

Personal Purchases – if this happens, please contact Procurement and Contracts right away. An inadvertent personal transaction must receive an immediate credit transaction on the account from the merchant or reimbursement to the University must take place immediately upon discovery of error. Refer to the inadvertent personal purchase section on page 17 of this manual.

Cash Transactions – A cash transaction is one where cash is refunded in exchange for a credit card charge, i.e., merchandise return or sales tax adjustment. A refund must go back on the card. Money orders, traveler’s checks and ATM transactions are prohibited.

Split Purchases – The maximum amount you can spend on your One Card in a single transaction is $10,000. Under University Procurement Rules and State of Colorado Fiscal Rules, it is prohibited to split a purchase in order to circumvent Procurement Card limits. A split purchase is defined as:

The purchase of a single item costing over $10,000 (including shipping) with the purchase being divided (split) into more than one transaction; or,

The purchase of a group of items totaling over $10,000 (including shipping) for a single purchase need. A single purchase need identifies a group of items that are similar enough in nature to be purchased from a single source and that are all known to be needed at the time of the first purchase transaction. Purchases cannot be different delivery locations, differing functionality of the items, etc. For example: A Cardholder shall not purchase two $2800 computers from a single source using two separate transactions if both computers are known to be needed at the time of the purchase (and, therefore, the total purchase need is known to be $5,600)

Lack of Documentation (willful or negligent default) – Accountability for appropriate use of a One Card requires that every Card transaction is supported by complete and accurate documentation. Lack of documentation that appears to be willful or negligent is strictly prohibited.

Handing your One Card or One Card number over to another – The One Card cannot be used by anyone other than the person to whom the card has been assigned.

Gift Cards, Gift Certificates or Gifts over $50 – Any Gift Card or Gift Certificate of ANY amount or any tangible Gift above $50 must go on the Gift Prizes or Awards Purchas Request Form. IRS Regulations require that gift cards and gift certificates of any amount and tangible gifts over $50 purchased with university funds be reported as gross income to the recipient and must be reported on an employee or a student employee W-2. For students, gifts can impact their financial aid package and result in other aid being returned. Student gifts should be approached cautiously.

Repeated Taxes – The University is exempt from Colorado state and local taxes and should not be charged sales tax on transactions. Repeated tax charges on transactions are apparent negligence by a Cardholder to inform merchants that purchases are tax-exempt or to obtain credit.

Alcohol – No alcohol shall be charged to the One Card.

Reallocation – Not reallocating transactions in time allotted.

Violations and Consequences

The Cardholder is responsible for purchasing only items that are necessary to carry out the Cardholder’s job requirements and for complying with WCU Procurement Rules, Fiscal Rules, and Program policies and procedures.

Violation Notifications will be issued to cardholders who misuse the One Card. Violations can be reported by anyone including Supervisors, Program Administrators, Auditors or Cardholders themselves.

Violations will be investigated and could result in termination of the One Card and/or criminal prosecution. In the event of willful or neglectful default in cardholder responsibility, the University shall take any recovery action deemed appropriate, which is permitted by law.

Personal purchases, not reported immediately by the Cardholder, cash transactions, and lack of documentation that requires Card violation warning, will be investigated as suspected fiscal misconduct which could result in corrective or disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, and possible criminal prosecution.  Be particularly alert to these significant violations and report them to the Program Administrator immediately to ensure that no further violations occur.

Lost or Stolen Card

Cardholders must report a lost, stolen or compromised Card to the Bank immediately.  Call U.S. Bank directly at 1-800-344-5696 and provide any information requested about the card or account and initiate a fraud case if necessary. A new card shipped to the “Bank Hold Address” (which means it will be shipped to Western’s Program Administrator) will be expedited in a 2-3 delivery period via UPS. The Cardholder must also inform the Program Administrator that the card account will be closed and a new card will be sent. Western is not liable for any unauthorized charges made prior to the lost or stolen card being reported to the bank. If the replacement card needs to be shipped overnight or to another address besides the “Bank Hold Address” the Program Administrator must initiate the call with U.S. Bank. Please note that the Program Administrator may not be able to do this outside of normal work hours.

U.S. Bank Contact Information: Call 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week

Access Online Cardholder Support: Help Desk	1.877.887.9260
Report a lost or stolen card: U.S. Bank Customer Service	1.800.344.5696
Report Fraudulent charges: U.S. Bank Fraud Department	1.800.523.9078

https://www.access.usbank.com/