Business Office

Credit Card Policies

On an "as needed" basis the College will allow an employee to obtain a Mercyhurst College corporate credit card. Authorization to be issued a card must come from the department's budget director and or area director. To obtain a card, please contact the controller.

The following rules cover expenditures made using the Mercyhurst College corporate card:

• The credit card program is affiliated with Platinum Plus for Business and utilizes a MasterCard Corporate Credit Card administered by the Mercyhurst College Business Office.
• It is essential that appropriate documentation be forwarded to the business office each month when the balance is due. The following policies govern monthly statement submission:
• The original statement and all items enumerated below must be submitted to the business office a minimum of 12 days prior to the statement's due date .
• Each and every charge on the statement must be clearly classified using a 13-digit general ledger number.
• A check payable to "Platinum Plus for Business" in the amount of the total of all personal charges included on the statement must be included. Each of the personal charges must be clearly identified on the statement.
• The statement must be signed and dated as "ok to pay" by the department budget director or area director.
• If there are any disputed charges, the cardholder must initiate the investigation through the credit card company and notify the business office when the billing statement is submitted for payment.
• The College policy on Expense Substantiation must be adhered to with respect to supporting documentation.
• The use of the card is intended solely for conducting College business, the College does, however recognize that situations may arise whereby the card may be necessitated for purchases of personal items. These transactions should be both unusual in nature and infrequent in occurrence.
• The individual using the credit card takes the responsibility of notifying the supplier that Mercyhurst College is tax exempt. Therefore, no sales tax should be charged or paid.
• It is the cardholder's responsibility to maintain the proper receipts and to summarize and remit them to business office in support of the charges. The same IRS guidelines and Mercyhurst College policies and procedures apply to this credit card as apply to all travel related expenditures.
• The individual using the card is responsible to ensure that the supplier forwards an itemized invoice with the shipment, and is also responsible for communicating to the supplier that all applicable delivery charges, freight, etc. must be included when transacting the credit card charge. The individual using the card must instruct the supplier not to charge sales tax.
• Each cardholder must furnish their social security number. The use of the social security number is only for identification in an emergency situation to verify card possession in the event of a lost or stolen card.
• In cases where appropriate documentation has not been obtained by the cardholder, custodians should ascertain that the cardholder made every reasonable effort to obtain such documentation. The merchant name, item description, price, and date of transaction should be recorded, with an explanation of the efforts made to obtain documentation. These notes should be kept on file in lieu of the missing receipt.
• If a cardholder fails to produce adequate documentation for three or more purchases in a six-month period, the custodian should contact the Controller. Missing documentation may result in suspension or revocation of the credit card.
• Other instances of continuous or repeated failure by a cardholder to follow these policies should be reported to the Controller.
• All credit cards are to be kept in a secure location and credit card account numbers, etc. should never be given out to anyone at any time. Improper control and/or unauthorized use of a card may cause suspension of credit card privileges.
• These policies and procedure apply to all credit cards issued.
• Failure to adhere and comply with these policies and procedures could result in the revocation of an individual's card and/or purchasing privileges. The Controller may revoke the purchasing privileges, temporarily or permanently, of a cardholder who fails to comply with these policies.
• The cardholder is required to contact the Controller immediately should a cardholder terminate employment in their specific department or with the College.
• It is vital to the financial well being of the College that financial transactions are handled in a business-like manner and on time.

Individual cardholders may access their account information and charge detail online via the card issuers website. Please contact the Controller to arrange for access.

• New Credit Cardholder Request [831 KB]

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