SmartPay® FAQs - Cardholders

Cardholders

1. How do I get a government charge card?

2. How do I qualify to get a government charge card?

3. What may be purchased with government charge cards?

4. Why should I get a government travel card?

5. Why would I get a government purchase card?

6. Do I have to have an official government travel card?

7. Does my government charge card exempt me from paying taxes on my purchases?

8. What policies exist regarding use of charge cards?

9. I took the training and need to reprint a copy of my certificate. How can I get a copy of my training certificate?

10. Can I use my card to fund alternative payment mechanisms, such as PayPal?

11. Can I use my card to purchase items from another federal agency?

12. What is card misuse, and what are the potential penalties?

13. What is delinquency?

14. Can I view/ pay my travel card bill online?

15. Who should I contact for help with my card?

Cardholders

1. How do I get a government charge card?

Charge cards need to be obtained through your agency’s charge card program. Each agency has different criteria for distributing charge cards to employees. Contact your supervisor or your agency’s program management office for more information on applying for a government charge card.

2. How do I qualify to get a government charge card?

Depending on the card type and agency/organization, there are different qualifications for applicants to obtain a government charge card.

• In order to obtain a purchase card, an employee must be recommended by their supervisor to apply for the card. Potential purchase card holders must complete purchase cardholder training before using the purchase card.
  
• Depending on the frequency of travel, agency or governmentwide policy may require that an employee obtain a government travel card to make travel related purchases. Travel card applicants may be subject to a creditworthiness check and must complete travel cardholder training before using the travel card.
  
• Fleet cards are generally assigned to a vehicle, rather than an individual. Users of a government vehicle should contact their fleet program manager to learn more about how to use vehicle fleet cards.

3. What may be purchased with the government charge cards?

Each charge card type is designed to make different types of purchases. Below is a short description of the types of purchases that can be made using each card type. Contact your agency program management office for more information on proper card use.

Purchase Card – Purchase cards are the preferred contracting and payment mechanism for micro-purchases of supplies and services in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (micro-purchases are generally less than $3,000, with some exceptions). Only a few categories of purchases are excluded, such as:

• Long-term rental or lease of land or buildings;
  
• Travel related expenses (excluding conference rooms, meeting spaces, and local transportation services such as Metro fare cards, subway tokens, etc.);
  
• Cash advances (unless permitted as a value added service under the agency task order).

For purchases above the micro-purchase threshold, the purchase card may be used as an ordering and payment mechanism, not a contracting mechanism. These purchases will require a separate contract.

Travel Card – Travel cards may be used by individual government travelers to pay for all official government travel-related expenses. Cardholders are expected to submit vouchers to their agency for all authorized travel-related expenses within five days after the travel is completed (or within 30 days if on continuous travel) and must pay their travel card bills.

Cardholders are not authorized to use their cards for anything other than official government travel-related expenses. Some agencies authorize the use of travel cards for local travel purposes - check with your supervisor or agency/organization card program management office to learn more about agency/organization policy.

Fleet Card – Fleet cards may be used for purchasing fuel and maintenance services for government vehicles.

4. Why should I get a government travel card?

Depending on how frequently an employee travels, or their agency or organization’s travel policy, they may be required to obtain a government travel card to make travel-related purchases. The government travel card offers a number of benefits:

• It provides access to the City Pairs Program, a discount airfare program for the U.S. government.
  
• Use of a travel card is less risky for travelers as it saves them the trouble of carrying large quantities of cash or travelers checks. If a travel card is lost or stolen, a replacement travel card can usually be sent to the cardholder within 24 hours.

5. Why would I get a government purchase card?

Government purchase card holders are personnel that are requested by their supervisor to get a purchase card to make work-related purchases on behalf of their particular office. This streamlines an office’s ability to make purchases, rather than relying on a centralized purchasing office.

6. Do I have to have an official government travel card?

The Federal Travel Regulations require travelers who travel more than five times a year to use a government travel card for their travel expenses. Travelers who travel less than five times annually may be able to obtain a travel card at the discretion of their agency management.

7. Does my government charge card exempt me from paying taxes on my purchases?

In some cases, when using certain types of cards, government cardholders are exempt from taxes on their purchases. Transactions against federal government accounts made within the United States that are directly paid by the government are exempt from state and local taxes. These are considered centrally billed accounts.

• In many cases, for individually billed accounts, merchants will accept state tax exemption letters. These letters should be downloaded and taken with the traveler when in an official capacity.Download the tax letter for the state you are traveling.

8. What policies exist regarding use of charge cards?

There are a number of policies that govern the use of government charge cards, depending on the type of card. The GSA SmartPay®2 training courses outline many of the regulations that apply to each type of charge card. Policies include:

• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR);
  
• Federal Travel Regulations (FTR);
  
• Federal Management Regulations (FMR);
  
• OMB Circular A-123 Appendix B;
  
• Treasury Financial Manual for Guidance of Departments and Agencies.

9. I took the training and need to reprint a copy of my certificate. How can I get a copy of my training certificate?

Training certificates are required by many agencies as proof that a cardholder has taken the appropriate GSA SmartPay® training course. Cardholders have two options for obtaining their training certificate:

• Reprinting the original certificate: If the cardholder has previously taken the course and passed the quiz, they may reprint the certificate with the original course completion date by going to the training home page and clicking on the training course quiz section.
  
• Taking the refresher quiz: If a cardholder wishes to print an updated training certificate, they may take the refresher quiz. A passing score will enable the cardholder to reprint the certificate with a refreshed date.

10. Can I use my card to fund alternative payment mechanisms, such as PayPal?

Depending on agency policy, charge cards may be allowed to fund e-commerce accounts to make purchases. However, the use of third party payment mechanisms like PayPal are discouraged because it is extremely difficult to determine the merchant from which the product/service was obtained for reconciliation and 1099 filing (when necessary).
Check with your agency/organization card program management office to learn more about agency/organization policy.

11. Can I use my card to purchase items from another federal agency?

Government charge cards can be used to make purchases from any entity that accepts charge cards, so long as the purchase is made in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.

12. What is card misuse, and what are the potential penalties?

Intentional use of a government charge card for other than official government business constitutes misuse, and depending on the situation, may constitute fraud. Each agency develops and implements policies related to employee misuse of charge cards. Examples of misuse include:

• Purchases that exceed the cardholder's limit;
• Purchases that are not authorized by the agency;
• Purchases for which there is no funding;
  
• Purchases for personal consumption, and
  
• Purchases that do not comply with the policies that govern each particular card type.

Potential consequences for the cardholder may include: counseling, cancellation of the card, a written warning, notation in employee performance evaluation, reprimand, and/or suspension or termination of employment.

In the case of purchase card or centrally billed accounts (CBA) travel card misuse, the employee may be held personally liable to the government for the amount of any unauthorized transactions. Depending on the agency and the circumstances, there are a number of applicable laws that can result in fines or imprisonment.

Additionally, in certain cases, the program’s charge card vendors are authorized to take certain actions against cardholders whose accounts are cancelled for delinquency, such as:

• Assessing late fees;
• Utilizing collection agencies to recover the delinquent balance;
• Reporting the delinquency to national credit bureaus, and
• Salary offset.

13. What is delinquency?

Delinquency is when undisputed charge card account balances remain unpaid more than 61 days past the statement date. Individually billed account (IBA) cardholders are liable for payment on their account regardless of whether they have received reimbursement from their agency. Account balances that are in dispute or being reviewed are not considered delinquent.

14. Can I view/ pay my travel card bill online?

Each bank allows for the cardholder to view current statements, payment history, and account information, and to make payments electronically. However, not all online access systems will look the same. The website will display different options and information depending on bank and agency policy or preferences.

Click on the link below that corresponds to your bank to access its website:

• Citibank 
• JP Morgan Chase 
• U.S. Bank

Cardholders should contact their Agency/ Organization Point of Contact or bank customer service number listed on the back of their card for any questions concerning online access.

15. Who should I contact for help with my card?

First contact your Agency/ Organization Point of Contact (A/OPC). A/OPCs can answer most card related questions including:

• How do I apply for a card?
• What is considered proper use of my card?
• What is my spending limit?
• What are merchant codes and how can I request lifting these codes?
• What is delinquency? What is fraud? What are the consequences for my agency?
• Why has my card been suspended or canceled?
• How do I get set up for online access?

Cardholders can also contact the bank directly using the customer service phone number listed on the back of their card.

• Citibank, 1-800-790-7206
  
• JPMorgan Chase, 1-888-297-0781
  
• US Bank, 1-888-994-6722