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March 2011. CitiBank Travel Card Program. CitiBank Travel Card Program. State of Texas Comptroller has awarded a contract for Procurement and Corporate Travel Charge Card services to Citibank. The initial term of contract is through August 31, 2013, with three one-year renewal options.
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March 2011 CitiBank Travel Card Program
CitiBank Travel Card Program • State of Texas Comptroller has awarded a contract for Procurement and Corporate Travel Charge Card services to Citibank. • The initial term of contract is through August 31, 2013, with three one-year renewal options.
CitiBank Travel Card Program • This program provides a convenient means of charging travel-related expenses incurred while conducting official University business. • Recommended changes have been approved by CMO
CitiBank Travel Card Program • Travel “Credit” Card Types: • Individual Billed Account (IBA) • Central Bill Account (CBA) • Corporate Liability Individual Billed Account (CLIBA) Note: Currently, the UTSA Procurement card (ProCard) program is separate from the Travel card program.
Individual Billed Account (IBA) • Cardholder responsible for protection & proper use of the card & timely payment. • The employee bears responsibility for account repayment in full. • Card is issued with the expectation it is used for official business travel only • Issuance is based on individual’s personal credit history • Not a revolving credit card; any amounts not paid within 60 days are suspended and subject to finance charges
Individual Billed Account (IBA) • 319 UTSA employees have IBA cards issued from JP Morgan Chase Bank • Recommendation: that UTSA no longer administer this program • There is limited value-added to UTSA • Many universities that issue these cards do so because they do not provide travel advances.
Individual Billed Account (IBA) • We will notify affected employees of the date when the current Chase IBA card will no longer be valid. • After August 31, 2011, all cards will be deactivated
Central Bill Account (CBA) • Payment is guaranteed by UTSA and issued in the name of a department • Card issuance was done without establishing explicit responsibilities, e.g. on time payment in full • A central bill account administered by DTS was also established for departments who did not have a CBA.
Central Bill Account (CBA) • This program has many problems: • Originally implemented for airfare only; some cards were later opened up for other charges • Since 2003 when the program began, we have significantly increased the number of cards • unpaid charges have also increased significantly • Bank considers all CBA’s issued to UTSA departments to be one account • Reporting is limited • All data is consolidated • Standard reports for monitoring activity such as ‘aging’ or ‘spending history’ are unavailable
Central Bill Account (CBA) • This program has many problems: • Difficult to reconcile: • Charges are consolidated on one single statement for the entire university and not tied to authorized travelers • Memo statements are provided to department with only current charges. • Doesn’t show total amount outstanding • Manual process • Full payment is frequently late because of departmental delays for many reasons
Central Bill Account (CBA) • Recommendation: Discontinue all CBA cards and issue CLIBA cards upon receipt of authorized application packets
Corporate Liability Individual Billed Account (CLIBA) • Payment is guaranteed by UTSA but issued in the name of an individual, not department • Credit limit will be based on estimated monthly requirements as approved by Financial Affairs
Corporate Liability Individual Billed Account (CLIBA) • Department can have one or many CLIBA cards but an individual (typically the department head) will be responsible and required to sign a cardholder agreement: • Individual will agree that each month’s charges will be paid in full unless formally disputed through vendor established process • Account on file for the card will be charged for amount due to assure timely payment
Corporate Liability Individual Billed Accounts (CLIBA) • Benefits: • Individual will receive separate monthly statement • Allows future opportunity to automate payment process • Similar to CBA, university guarantees payment and assumes liability • Eliminates reconciliation issues experienced with CBA • Individual can contact Citibank directly while traveling • Declined card • Disputed amounts Currently issues must be resolved through DTS!
Proposed Features of UTSA CLIBA Program • General CLIBA Card –used for Hotel, Airfare, Transportation, and Conference Registration
CLIBA Implementation Activities • Timeline is in flux • CitiBank is inundated with other agencies • Have just been learning details – not all are well understood • State wanted the transition to be completed by 2/28/2011 • Due to delays by CitiBank, we have more time to implement. Extended to 8/31/11 but we will convert before that time.
CLIBA Implementation Activities We will: • Complete Cardholder agreement form, internal application, guideline, FAQ documents • Schedule a launch meeting & begin transitioning from JP Morgan/Chase to Citibank • Develop a training class on payment requirements & online access to Citibank
Travel Advances • Processing checks is costly and inefficient • Discussion that the state will mandate ACH and direct deposit for all employee transactions • It is recommended (CMO approved) that in the future all travel advances be issued only as: • Direct Deposit to the employee’s bank account, or • CitiBank Travel Advance Debit Card
CitiBank Travel Advance Card • Features: • Card is activated with credit limit established from an approved travel advance form • Issued in traveler’s name with a fixed activity length and appropriate MCC codes • Statement is received, reconciled and paid • Card can be refreshed for additional future authorized travel for an individual
CitiBank Travel Advance Card • Benefits: • Traveler will not have to bear out of pocket expense • Alternative to CLIBA Card for employee who does not frequently travel and or does not want to use his/her own credit card • Increased efficiency and control
Travel Advances Recommendation: After reasonable notification and direct deposit set-up campaign, we will: • Transition to Travel Advance Cards as the preferred method of providing travel advances (when practical) • Requires guideline, training class and form changes • No longer issue checks for travel advances • will allow direct deposit to employee’s bank account when travel advance card is impractical • Exceptions for hardship or unique circumstances