Credit Cards

UCalgary Corporate Cards are a cost-effective, streamlined procurement method for University business-related materials, travel, meetings and services. The use of the cards simplifies ordering while minimizing out-of-pocket expenses.

Credit Card News and Updates

Credit Card distribution schedule for March 2024:

March 21:           3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

March 26:           9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

March 27:           11:00 a.m. – Noon

* Cards will only be available if the cardholder or card applicant has received a ‘ready for pickup’ email with details on location and distribution requirements from cardhelp@ucalgary.ca.

All posted Visa transactions for both PCard and Travel & Expense (T&E) Cards are loaded into PeopleSoft and available for reconciliation daily. Reconciliation deadlines remain the same; i.e., the 15th of the month following the previous month's statement.

Corporate Card training courses are available via D2L on the portal. Please contact finance@ucalgary.ca to register. 

Corporate Cards

How to apply for a Corporate Card:

  • Ensure you read and understand the regulations outlined in the Corporate Card Program Handbook prior to submission.
  • Submit a completed Corporate Cardholder Agreement to the Corporate Card Program at finance@ucalgary.ca.for either the T & E or PCard.
  • Once the agreement is reviewed and approved, the new Cardholder will be registered in D2L to complete a mandatory training course. Once completed, the card will be ordered and available for distribution. 

Travel and Expense Card

Do you incur hospitality expenses or travel expenses on behalf of the UCalgary? The Travel and Expense Card (T&E Card) allows you to book travel and pay for expenses without being personally out of pocket.

Purchasing Card

Do you purchase materials and supplies for your lab, department or faculty? The Puchasing Card (PCard) empowers you to make these purchases without requisitions and purchase orders, saving time and administrative cost. 


Reconciliation

Both PCard and T&E Card have a quick access point for reconciliation on the my.ucalgary.ca portal: My Work > Finance and Supply Chain > Reconcile Credit Card. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to the PCard Reconciliation Guide and T&E Card Reconciliation Guide.

Monthly credit card statements are emailed on the 26th of each month, with the transactions to be reconciled by the 15thof the following month. To add or remove a reconciler to a card profile, please submit a maintenance request form, which can be obtained under Forms & Resources > Forms > UCalgary Credit Cards.


Card Security and Maintenance

  • To protect account security, cardholders who have received their Visa cards must o to the CentreSuite website to change the temporary password and create their personal login. The four-step quick reference guide Using Centresuite to access Visa card statements provides the web link and temporary password.
  • Note: transactional data and statement downloads are only available for six months. The Visa PDF statement is emailed directly to the cardholder on the 26th of each month from notifications@centresuite.com. Cardholders are recommended to add this to their safe sender list. Alternatively, cardholders may log into their CentreSuite account to review current transactions and to download their card statements.
  • All cardholders have signed their cardholder agreements acknowledging that they have read and agree to comply with the program requirements and handbook. Review the Corporate Card Program Handbook.
  • To update the card profile for the following areas, please submit a maintenance request form found under Forms & Resources > FOrms > UCalgary Credit Cards.
    • Name change, phone number, UCalgary email address, default chartfields for PCard, department change for the cardholder, adding or removing a reconciler, cancellation of card, suspension of card and absence from a position for longer than 3 months (parental leave, leave with pay, medical leave, sabbatical) and reinstate card.
  • To request a temporary or permanent limit increase on the card, please submit a limit increase form found under Forms & Resources > Forms > UCalgary Credit Cards. 

Card Program Contacts and Resources


Corporate Card Program

For assistance with the following, email finance@ucalgary.ca:

  • Card maintenance, limit increases and activity reviews
  • Card agreement processing
  • Reset locked cards or CentreSuite accounts
  • Changing your contact information or default chartfields
  • New cardholder orientations
  • Card user refresher sessions
  • Card and travel programs, program management, handbook and reporting

Scotiabank Visa

For assistance with any of the following items, calls Scotiabank Visa at 1.888.823.9657:

  • Declined charge
  • Do not recognize charge
  • Fraudulent transaction
  • Unauthorized transaction
  • Billed for different amount than the receipt shows
  • Billed for merchandise not received
  • Disputing quality of merchandise or services received
  • Billed for cancelled service
  • Returned merchandise with no credit received

When calling Scotiabank Visa, you will have to provide the Date of Significance. If you do not have this, contact finance@ucalgary.ca 

UService

Contact UService at finance@ucalgary.ca, 403-210.9300 or in person on Main Campus Math Sciences 773 or Foothills Campus in Health Sciences Centre G351 if you need help with:

  • Reconciliation in my.ucalgary.ca
  • General inquiries


Card Applications FAQs

All cardholders must submit a Visa Cardholder Agreement for one or both the Purchasing Card (PCard) or the Travel and Expense (T&E) Card. Agreements must have the sign-off of the Reports-to Manager and the Department Budget Owner. Department Budget Owners cannot sign their own agreement - it must be a one-up Approver.

The Purchasing Card (PCard) is intended for low-risk and low-dollar goods and services for your unit or area. Examples might be books, subscriptions, safety and laboratory expenses. Catering expenses up to $5000 are allowed on the Purchasing Card if a T&E Card is not available. 

The Travel and Expense (T&E) Card is intended to accommodate all travel-related and meeting expenses. This would include dining and entertaining. Catering charges should be charged to the T&E Card.

Each card serves a different function and has specific workflow controls and approvals associated with purchases of good and services. Consequently, the administration of each card is unique. They are easily identifiable by embossed labels and unique images on both cards. 

A cardholder application must be submitted and approved. Then they will be sent email invitations for mandatory card training sessions (one for each card). When training is completed, the card(s) will be ordered from Visa and arrive approximately 5-10 business days later at Supply Chain Management offices. The cardholder will be sent a distribution email approximately one week prior to the time and date to come and pick up the respective card from our offices.

Card Maintenance FAQ's

Cardholders accept the responsibility of being issued a University Credit Card. Responsibilities are are listed on the card application on which they signed-off. Cardholders are responsible for adhering to the Corporate Card Program Agreement terms and conditions, program guidelines and University policies. They should never be used by anyone else other than the cardholder themselves.

Reconcilers or delegates are optional and can be assigned by the cardholder to reconcile transactions of their behalf for both PCard and T&E transactions.

Reconcilers are a great option to assist with reconciliation and can often expedite the submission process. However, the cardholder is still responsible for ensuring adequate supporting documentation (statements, receipts, invoices) are provided within the card program’s reconciliation timeframe and will be held accountable for reconciliation deadlines even if the reconciler is absent or on vacation.

For PCards a maintenance form is required to be completed and submitted to the card program via finance@ucalgary.ca.

For T&E Cards, this can be done directly by the cardholder through Employee Self-Service>Travel & Expenses>User Preferences>Delegate Entry Authority

A .pdf statement is emailed directly to the cardholder on the 26th of each month from the email ‘notifications@centresuite.com'. Be sure to set this as a safe sender in your email and be sure to review the transactions for accuracy. Cardholders may also log on to CentreSuite to download statements. Please use the Quick Reference Guide using CentreSuite to access Visa card statements. Statement requirements for reconciling transactions are based on project, grant or department requirements. Check with your finance team for requirements.

Card Reconciling FAQ's

Transactions from Visa are uploaded into Peoplesoft nightly for both PCards and T&E Cards. Cardholders will receive their Visa statement/s from notificationsgcentresuite.com on the 26th of the month; however, transactions close to the statement date may not appear in Peoplesoft for an additional day or two.

If the cardholder identifies that a transaction is not valid, call Scotiabank immediately at the number on the back of the card and report the fraudulent charge. Then email finance@ucalgary.ca to advise them of the path forward (cancel/replace card/refund). Include the cardholder name, card type, date of contact with Scotiabank. Once the disputed amount is resolved, a credit for the amount will allocated to the replacement card.  Reconcile both the fraud charge, and the credit as usual which will net zero the charge. More detailed instructions for reporting fraud are listed in the Corporate Card Handbook on the University Corporate Card website.

All charges, including fraud routing in Peoplesoft must be reconciled within regular Corporate Card deadlines. Reconcile both the fraud charge, and if received within deadlines, the credit as usual which will net zero the charge. Alternatively, once the credit is received, reconcile it separately. If any charges remain unreconciled they will be subject to regular card program escalation and card suspension processes. If you don’t recognize a charge, please see the FAQ “How do I handle a charge I don’t recognize”. Instructions for reporting fraud are listed in the Corporate Card Handbook section 6.11.

All charges listed on PCard statements and T&E statements (including fraud) issued from Visa on the 26th of every month must be reconciled by the 15th of the next month (example; statement/s received on January 26th must be reconciled by February 15th) The only exception is when the transaction is for future dated travel.  If statement transactions remain un-reconciled the cardholder will move into the escalation process which will include a warning email, card suspension and possible allocation of the transaction(s) to Department funding. Due to an extended reconciliation timeline, extension requests for reconciling such as vacation schedules, funding issues, and credit issuance may not be approved.  More details regarding card program escalations are listed in the Corporate Card Handbook section 7.3.

Credits will be treated as any other charge. They will be loaded into PeopleSoft and should be reconciled against the same account to which the original charge was allocated.

There is a feature available in My Wallet. When there is a transaction for future travel, the cardholder can apply a future travel date to each applicable line and complete the expense after the travel has occurred. This is important as it alleviates any email reminders from the Card Program that their reconciliation is past due. Please refer to Step 3 in the 'Submitting a Travel & Expense Card Claim' Quick Reference Guide on how to allocate a future travel date.

On the 26th of each month, Scotiabank will issue a new statement containing the posted transactions. The cardholder has until the 15th of the following month to reconcile and submit the transactions for approval unless they are future dated for travel.