INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD PROGRAM: FOURTH QUARTER CARDHOLDER BULLETINS Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 11:07:57 -0400 To: "AO - All Administrative Officers", "HS - Headquarters Secretaries" From: "Alice A. Sabatini, Division Administrative Officer, WRD" Subject: Departmental Guidance on Charge Card Issues Cc: "Elizabeth A Brenner, Management Assistant, Reston, VA ", "Vicki Bass, Chief, Mgmt. Support Section, Reston, VA " Please note! The following Departmental notification bulletins contain some major changes/issues in the bankcard program. Here's a summary: o The grace period for delinquencies ends in August. o Balances are due on the date indicated on the bills and must be paid promptly. Delinquencies are calculated from the bill date not the date due. Cards will be suspended when payment is not received 61 days from the bill date. Cards will be cancelled when payment is not received 96 days from the bill date. o Incorrect balances must be disputed promptly to avoid card suspension and/or cancellation. o Card usage will be mandatory in January 2000 (personal cards can no longer be used for official travel expenses). o Cards cannot be used for personal expenses--misuse and delinquencies are a large problem now and supervisors will be encouraged to take disciplinary action against employees. o Bank of America logos will begin to show on August invoices. o Cards will be reissued in the 1st quarter FY 2000 to implement a renumbering to enforce tax exemption. Please make sure all travelers in your cost center receive this information. July 30, 1999 Memorandum To: Assistant Directors for Administration From: Debra E. Sonderman, Director /S/ Office of Acquisition and Property Management Subject: INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD PROGRAM: FOURTH QUARTER CARDHOLDER BULLETINS Please find attached for distribution to your respective charge cardholders, fourth quarter bulletins containing information updates, reminders, and advice related to the Department of the Interior (DOI) Integrated Charge Card Program. More specifically, these bulletins cover account/payment delinquencies, logo changes resulting from the NationsBank - Bank of America merger, card reissuance, card misuse, and the newly published Federal Travel Regulations concerning charge card use for travel. Copies of the bulletins will be posted on the Office of Acquisition and Property Management's charge card web site: http://www.doi.gov/pam/charge.html. Bulletins will be issued periodically on various card program issues. Any comments or suggestions regarding bulletin features or topics are welcome. Electronic copies of the attached bulletins are also being provided to you for general transmittal to cardholders or incorporation in your bureaus' internal guidance and/or web pages. As we proceed through the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1999, and into the next fiscal year, our DOI Charge Card Implementation Team and other representatives will continue to administer the charge card program both as a Departmentwide group and as leaders and members of eight newly-formed focus groups. The focus groups will concentrate their efforts in the following areas: Card Reissuance Invoicing Fleet Management Communications EAGLS Rollout Travel Delinquencies Reports Management Controls The focus groups will identify issues, develop action plans for completing our implementation, coordinate with Department and Bank of America officials, and report to the main Charge Card Implementation Team in their areas of specialization. We expect that these groups will be able to pinpoint any potential problem areas and resolve them in an expedited manner. Thank you for supporting the charge card program and for permitting your staff to participate in our charge card groups' important work. Attachments -------------------> U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD BULLETIN Fourth Quarter - Fiscal Year 1999 July - September 1999 Issue # 1 - Bulletin # 1 DELINQUENCY GRACE PERIOD ENDS IN AUGUST Our contract with NationsBank, now Bank of America, your own cardholder agreements, and the Department of the Interior Integrated Charge Card Program Guidelines (November 1998) require that charge accounts be suspended if any undisputed individually billed transactions remain unpaid 61 days after the billing/closing date on the statement of account. If any undisputed individually billed transactions remain unpaid 96 days after the billing/closing date on the statement of account, the account will be canceled. A grace period, suspending this standard policy, was temporarily put in place in order to allow our contractor time to correct transaction processing backlogs and billing errors. That grace period is scheduled to expire at the end of the August billing cycle, i.e., August 27, 1999, and the standard 61 day-suspension/96 day-cancellation policy put back in force. You are obligated to pay the individual balance due on your account on time each month, whether or not you have received reimbursement. If payment is overdue on your charge card account, please correct any delinquencies before August 27th. If the delinquency is the result of an error or billing problem, contact your Agency/Organization Program Coordinator (A/OPC) and ask for their help. Charge card account delinquencies may jeopardize your eligibility to maintain your existing card and receive a replacement when the charge cards are reissued in Fiscal Year 2000. Remember, authority to have and keep your personal charge card depends a great deal on your ability to maintain your account in good standing. This same principle holds true for the Government charge card. If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact your A/OPC. For more information on Interior's charge card program, access: http://www.doi.gov/pam/charge.html. Send suggestions, comments or requests for other bulletin topics to Delia Emmerich@os.doi.gov. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD BULLETIN Fourth Quarter - Fiscal Year 1999 July - September 1999 Issue # 1 - Bulletin # 2 IT'S OFFICIAL - NATIONSBANK IS NOW BANK OF AMERICA NationsBank has merged with the Bank of America. Up until now, your billing statements and charge card related correspondence have featured the NationsBank logo with which we have all become familiar. However, account statements and correspondence issued between August and October 1999 will feature the logos of both NationsBank and the Bank of America. Beginning in November, only the Bank of America logo will be used. Please keep this in mind when you receive charge card related correspondence and/or billing statements over the next few months. If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact your A/OPC. For more information on Interior's charge card program, access: http://www.doi.gov/pam/charge.html Send suggestions, comments or requests for other bulletin topics to Delia Emmerich @os.doi.gov. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD BULLETIN Fourth Quarter - Fiscal Year 1999 July - September 1999 Issue # 1 - Bulletin # 3 DEPARTMENTWIDE CHARGE CARD RE-ISSUANCE PLANNED FOR FY 2000 Due to contractor error during the Governmentwide charge card transition, Department of the Interior charge cards were not given the general Governmentwide tax exemption code that was to be a standard in the 16-digit charge card account number for cards issued under the General Services Administration's SmartPay contract. This error has resulted in taxes being improperly assessed against DOI transactions. The charge card contractor, NationsBank, now Bank of America, has agreed to reissue charge cards Departmentwide. The Department's Charge Card Implementation Team is working together with the Bank of America to resolve any outstanding issues that may complicate the card re-issuance process. Individual cards will be issued in a phases on a bureau-by-bureau basis during the First Quarter of FY 2000. Vehicle-assigned fleet cards will be reissued beginning in January 2000. A detailed plan is being developed and should be completed by mid-August 1999. We will update this bulletin regularly as plans are developed and preparatory steps identified. In the meantime, continue to use your current individual and fleet cards. They will remain valid until you receive and activate your new cards. If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact your A/OPC. For more information on Interior's charge card program, access: http://www.doi.gov/pam/charge.html Send suggestions, comments or requests for other bulletin topics to Delia Emmerich@os.doi.gov. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD BULLETIN Fourth Quarter - Fiscal Year 1999 July - September 1999 Issue # 1 - Bulletin # 4 CHARGE CARD MISUSE While the vast majority of DOI charge card holders use the charge card in a responsible and compliant manner, there have been some abuses. On June 23, 1999, the Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management, issued a Charge Card Program Advisory to Assistant Directors for Administration. The advisory was issued as a reminder of possible administrative and criminal penalties associated with charge card misuse. (Please call (202) 208-1906 if you would like a copy of the advisory.) Thanks to reporting technology now available from our contractor, the Bank of America, reviewers can identify abuses and take corrective measures faster than ever before. Under past charge card programs, reviewing officials and auditors were heavily dependent on paper charge card transaction statements, that could be lost or destroyed. Newer charge card programs offer centralized electronic transaction reporting with special features that allow reviewers to access, among other data, electronic "Exception Reports." Exception Reports can identify to the transaction any questionable expenditures or expenditures that vary from a cardholder's standard buying practices. Within DOI, our Exception Reports are working. The Department is analyzing transactions and referring cases directly to Agency/Organization Program Coordinators and the Office of Inspector General. Charge card misuse will result in suspension or cancellation of your account, and disciplinary action against you, up to and including removal. Remember - your Government charge card may ONLY be used for official government business. ATM cash withdrawals are ONLY permitted for expenses related to official government travel. Let's all do our part to keep the charge card program an effective and compliant one. If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact your A/OPC. For more information on Interior's charge card program, access: http://www.doi.gov/pam/charge.html Send suggestions, comments or requests for other bulletin topics to Delia Emmerich@os.doi.gov. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INTEGRATED CHARGE CARD BULLETIN Fourth Quarter - Fiscal Year 1999 July - September 1999 Issue # 1 - Bulletin # 5 FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION: MANDATORY USE OF THE TRAVEL CHARGE CARD - INTERIM FINAL RULE ISSUED In the July 16, 1999, issue of the Federal Register, the GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy issued its interim final rule on mandatory use of the travel charge card (Volume 64, Number 136, pages 38527- 38531), part of the Federal Travel Regulation. The interim rule implements Public Law 105-264, October 19, 1998, and covers required use of the travel charge card, collection of amounts owed, and reimbursement of travel expenses. The interim rule was effective on July 16, 1999, and applies to payment of expenses in connection with official Government travel performed on or after December 31, 1999. If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact your A/OPC. For more information on Interior's charge card program, access: http://www.doi.gov/pam/charge.html Send suggestions, comments or requests for other bulletin topics to Delia Emmerich@os.doi.gov.