J.P. Morgan VISA Purchasing Card FAQs

Also known as the “PCard” or “J.P. Morgan Visa Card”, the Purchasing Card is simply a tool that allows state agencies to efficiently and cost effectively process low dollar transactions. It allows purchases from a wide range of suppliers which may be for commodities or non-travel services.

The PCard simplifies the process of purchasing commodities & services – the end user can easily purchase and pay for their needs while eliminating the lead time associated with the requisition process. Additionally, PCard transactions reduce administrative costs (per OSC: the PCard saves the state more than $78.00 per transaction) compared with processing a traditional voucher. 

State employees who currently process purchase requisitions with State funds. Based on program need, certain employees in field offices or remote sites might also be considered. 

This would depend on spending limits and established purchasing regulations or guidelines.  Spending must be program related, documented, and justified. No travel or fuel purchases are allowed using the PCard. Other restrictions include, but are not limited to:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Cash advances
• Cash back on purchases
• Cash refunds
• Gasoline purchases
• Medical services
• Non-employee compensation
• Personal use
• Gifts, gift cards
• Rents
• Travel and entertainment, i.e. airlines, car rentals, restaurants

Most (but not all) vendors accept the VISA card. Any vendor that accepts VISA will accept the  J.P. Morgan VISA Card.

The responsibilities of the cardholder include:

• Acknowledge receipt of the card and the terms and conditions for its use
• Make purchases in accordance with established purchasing practices
• Record all transactions on the procurement log
• Reconcile the monthly J.P. Morgan VISA statement with the procurement log
• Obtain supervisory approval on the reconciled monthly statement and log
• Submit the reconciled statement, procurement log & original receipts/sup-porting documentation to SUNY Canton Purchasing Dept. for audit and certification
• Retain copies for your records

These questions are best answered by quoting the NYS OGS:

J.P. Morgan Will Not Do Credit Checks on State Employees. Employees Are Not Liable for Legitimate State Charges

Questions have been raised whether J.P. Morgan will be doing a credit check on State employees receiving travel credit cards or procurement credit cards. There are no credit checks of State employees. The State’s contract with J.P. Morgan calls for the State of New York to be responsible for paying the credit card bill in the name of a State employee. With this arrangement, Citibank does not need to, nor does it, do a credit check on the individual named on the card.

State employees do not have any liability for payments of the credit card bill for charges incurred for legitimate State purposes. Even if the State is late in paying the bill, it will not be reported to any credit reporting bureau.

If a State employee uses the card for personal or fraudulent use, the employee will be personally liable for those personal or fraudulent expenses improperly charged to the card. The J.P. Morgan credit cards are not for personal use.