General Card Information

• Updated P-Card Policy
• Obtain P-Card
• P-Card Activation
• Cardholder Responsibility
• Individual vs. Departmental Accounts
• Proper Usage
• Sales Tax
• Unique Identifier

Updated P-Card Policy

A new version of P-Card Policies is available.

See the new Policy here

Obtain P-Card

Apply for a P-Card using the electronic version of the US Bank procurement card application.

Online Procurement Card Application

P-Card Activation

When you receive your new P-Card you should activate it immediately. The card can be activated by phone within 10 minutes.

P-Card Activation Steps

Cardholder Responsibility

Although the card has many built-in controls, there are certain steps that you as the cardholder must take to ensure the responsible use of University funds. You should first become familiar with the Principles and Standards of Purchasing Practice. This is the code of ethics that was developed by the National Association of Educational Procurement. The IU Purchasing Department operates in accordance with this code and as you conduct business using the IU Purchasing Card, you will be expected to abide by these standards as well.

Secondly, you must keep in mind that IU is a publicly funded University and that we, as its employees, have a duty to ensure that its resources are spent in a responsible and efficient manner.

IU Purchasing Card program uses both internal management controls, as well as, extensive reports to manage and audit the process to ensure that procedures are followed.

The card is a privilege granted to you by the University and it is expected that you will use it responsibly. The University will seek restitution for any inappropriate charges made to the card. Fraudulent or intentional misuse of the card will result in revocation of the card and/or possible criminal charges.

Direct questions or comments to the P-card manager at the appropriate campus location.

Individual vs. Departmental Accounts

If the card is issued to an individual then only the authorized cardholder may use the card. Delegation of authority is not permitted unless your card is issued in the name of your department. Merchants require that the signature on the card match the signature on the receipt. In general, your Visa card should be used in a responsible manner for purchases that are in the best interest of the University.

If the card is issued to an organization (department) then the card should not be signed.

Proper Usage

Appropriate

• Conference registration fees
• Hospitality payments
• Memberships (professional only, social memberships are restricted on the P-Card)
• One time purchases to suppliers that are not in BUY.IU
• Small dollar transactions under $4,999 and not on the “Not Appropriate” list (shown below)
• Suppliers that do not accept purchase orders (for example, web-based vendors)
• The P-Card can be used to purchase flowers for bereavement if IU funds will be reimbursed by an IU Foundation account that allows such purchases. Contact IU Foundation at iufap@indiana.edu to verify if your Foundation funds are unrestricted.

Not Appropriate

• If purchase can be made in the Shop Contracts section of KFS (commonly known as B2B).
• For further information please See Policy 2.0.
• If paying an IU department (payments to IU departments should be completed in BUY.IU)
• If item is on the restricted list
• Recurring monthly charges
• Split or “stacked” transactions (dividing large purchases into smaller payments to avoid the $4,999 limit)

Sales Tax

IU is tax exempt. The tax exempt number is 0003123294.

For the convenience of our P-Card holders, the sales tax exemption number is printed on the face of all cards. It is the cardholder's responsibility to ensure that tax is not charged. If you are charged tax, please contact the vendor and request a credit for that amount.

Unique Identifier

To comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the Office of Procurement Services has created the addition of a 12-digit alpha-numeric unique identifier for each card.

The purpose of this number is to provide greater security and to comply with the PCI DSS requirements. The unique identifier will be embossed as the second line on the card plastic and printed on the card statements. The numbers are randomly issued with no two being alike. The unique identifier number will also be the number that shows up in KFS on the PCDO document in place of the credit card number.