COMPTROLLER OF MARYLAND
GENERAL ACCOUNTING DIVISION
CORPORATE PURCHASING CARD POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL
Page 8
telephone, Internet, facsimile). Remind the merchant that this is a tax-exempt
purchase. Note: As a point of information, the merchant will not request an
authorization for the purchase until the employee receives the items purchased
and/or shipment is made via an appropriate carrier.
b. The merchant typically uses an electronic point-of-sale terminal to submit the total
purchase for authorization. If automated equipment is not available, the authorization
request is telephoned into the card vendor.
c. The cardholder number is used to determine whether any limits or restrictions for that
employee, at both the statewide level and agency level, have been exceeded or
controls have been breached by using the card at this time and with this merchant.
Authorization typically takes just a few seconds. If authorization is granted, the
purchase is completed and the database is updated to include the authorization. If
authorization is denied, this is also noted on the card vendors' database.
d. The merchant summarizes daily receipts and submits them to the merchant-processing
bank for payment, usually at the end of the business day.
e. The following day the merchant’s account is credited by the bank. The bank’s
corporate card processor transmits transaction detail and daily reporting information
to the card vendor.
f. The card vendor provides reporting information to the State of Maryland in a web-
based format. Individual state agencies may view the database in real-time. The
General Accounting Division receives a file monthly containing the billing
information for all state agencies. When interfaced into R*STARS, transaction details
can be viewed in ViewDirect by requesting A30USB04 - Detail Transaction Report
for R*STARS Interface.
g. Return of merchandise to the merchant and/or disputes resulting in the issuance of a
credit to the cardholder are posted each day along with the purchase transactions and
are updated in the database for subsequent transmittal to the State of Maryland.
h. The General Accounting Division settles with the card vendor for purchase amounts
on an agreed upon schedule. The General Accounting Division verifies the
transaction count and the total of the bill received from the card vendor and then
distributes the charges and/or credits to the appropriate agencies.
SECTION 9 CORPORATE PURCHASING CARD USE
.01 Normally, a card will have a Single Purchase Limit up to $5,000 per transaction.
Emergency Response cards are set to $25,000 per transaction. Transactions may not
be split to circumvent the Single Purchase Limit.
.02 Corporate Purchasing Cards shall only be used for authorized purposes that “further
the business of the State”:
a. The CPC cannot be used for airline, trains or other travel charges. (Rental
car and hotel/motel transactions are allowed by the state - cardholders should
check with their PCPA’s to verify that these transactions are allowed by their
agency).
b. A separate travel account is available. See Section 22 for details.
.03 Specific restrictions apply to the following Merchant Category Code Groups
(MCCG):
a. Money - MCC #6010 through #6051 - Total Group Restriction (Financial
Institutions, Securities Brokers, Timeshares, etc.).
b. Personal Service Providers - MCC #7221 through #7299 (Except #7296 –
Clothing, Costume and Uniform Rental). Restrictions on Photographic
Studios, Beauty and Barber Shop, Shoe Repair-Shine Shops, Funeral
Services and Crematories, Dating and Escort Services, etc.). Cardholder