Using the GPC for low value ad hoc business purchases which are NOT covered by existing contracts (advice can be sought from the Procurement Department), can realise significant savings in the administrative costs associated with such purchases compared to conventional methods, if the GPC is used properly and in accordance with the instructions set out in this guide.

Every Cardholder must use the card in accordance with these instructions (and any additional instructions issued by their Card Officer or the Card Controller) and within their transaction limit and monthly credit limit. The use of Cards outside these limits is strictly forbidden. Cards must not be loaned or borrowed, even between Cardholders, and all purchases must be for office use only.

The GPC must not be used for the withdrawal of cash. In addition, the Card Controller may further restrict the type of goods or services for which the Card may be used.

The deliberate misuse of a card for gain will be treated as fraud in accordance with the disciplinary rules and procedures set out in The RoS Staff Handbook.

If a supplier were to knowingly help a Cardholder to make incorrect use of his or her card, this would result in the termination of their contract and may result in criminal proceedings.

Proper separation of duties must be maintained between the Cardholder and the Card Officer in accordance with this User Reference Guide.

It is essential that there is separation of duties between cardholder and card officer, i.e. ordering of goods and the subsequent approval of the statement received from Royal Bank of Scotland must be carried out by different individuals with the appropriate authority.

Card details should never be e-mailed to suppliers as this information could be forwarded and misused. In addition, if goods are being purchased via the Internet, extreme caution should be exercised. Only reputable and well-known companies with secure web sites should be used. Secure web sites are usually indicated by a padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser with ‘https:// ‘ in the address. Please contact Royal Bank of Scotland if you require assistance with website security issues or to inform them of a suspicious website or transaction.

If at any time a Cardholder has any doubts or uncertainties about the use of the GPC, the Card Controller or Royal Bank of Scotland, should be contacted for advice.

The GPC must not be used to purchase the following categories of goods and services:

Any goods or services currently purchased by RoS under contracts or frameworks unless there is a valid reason for doing so.
Any item for IT, peripherals, hardware, software, etc, unless being purchased by a Cardholder who is a designated IT Services team member. See Cardholders ordering and payment procedures for further information.
Any training courses, seminars or conferences (however as per Cardholders ordering and payment procedures these can be booked by designated HR/Training team members when the correct procedures are followed).
The purchase of alcohol is strictly forbidden.

If a requirement falls into any of the above areas, the Cardholder must have Budget Holder authorisation to purchase those goods and/or services. The Budget Holder can authorise individual transactions or delegate full authorisation* e.g. IT staff who are Cardholders do not require prior authorisation for individual purchases. If the Budget Holder or Card Controller does not approve the purchase via the Cardholders GPC, the Budget Holder and/or Cardholder should make alternative arrangements or arrange the purchase through the Procurement Department. (See How to use the Mastercard Government Procurement Card.)

*If any transactions are to be delegated to another cardholder within a different department, Procurement should also be notified to ensure the correct budget account codes are available within Smartdata.

The GPC must not be used to circumvent procurement policy, including the requirements for competitive tendering. Please refer to the Purchasing Manual (Section 8 of the Finance Manual) for guidance on procurement policy, procedures, procurement thresholds and for general procurement advice.

All transactions by the Cardholder should appear within their own login in the Royal Bank of Scotland/MasterCard Smartdata system. It is the Cardholder's responsibility to allocate the correct Cost Centre, Account Code and Activity Code to each transaction. Any relevant requisitions, quotes, documentation and MasterCard Vouchers/VAT receipts/invoices for each transaction must be kept and presented for authorisation to the Card Officer and the Card Controller. The monthly Royal Bank of Scotland statement and all documentation must be presented to the Card Officer timeously for authorisation. Within 5 working days of receipt of the monthly Royal Bank of Scotland statement, Cardholders should ensure that all transactions are coded correctly within Smartdata and authorised by their Card Officer and then submitted to the Card Controller for safe keeping.

a) The monthly statement cycle runs from the 4^th of the month to the 3^rd of the following month.
b) The Cardholder receives notification by email from the Card Controller that they have incurred spend in the previous reporting period. They should code all transactions to the appropriate financial coding and then collate their requisitions, quotes, delivery notes, transaction receipts – MasterCard vouchers and VAT receipts, etc. together and issues all the documentation to their Card Officer and Card Controller for authorisation.
c) The Card Officer checks that all documentation is present and correct and authorises the monthly transactions. Any missing paperwork should be expedited by the Cardholder as soon as they receive their goods/services. If any paperwork is missing at the Card Officer authorisation stage, the Card Officer should bring this to the attention of the Cardholder who should then expedite the required paperwork as soon as possible.
d) Once the Card Officer is satisfied with the Cardholder's documentation, they should approve the transactions within Smartdata.
e) Steps A to D should be completed within 5 working days from receipt of the Card Controllers email.

ESCALATION PROCEDURES

Failure to complete all tasks within Smartdata and to also submit the supporting documentation in accordance with these procedures will be brought to the attention of the Card Officer and will then be escalated as follows:

a) Failure to provide the Card Controller with the authorised documentation within 5 working days, will result in the Cardholder receiving an email, copied to their Card Officer, asking for the documentation to be sent as soon as possible.
b) If, after a further five working days [or ten days after receipt of statement] no authorised documentation has been received by the Card Controller, a missing documentation email may be escalated to the Head of Procurement.

Failure by the Card Holder and/or the Card Officer to comply with the above may result in the removal of the GPC privileges and further investigations into misuse of GPC.

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