Payment Cards

IMPORTANT: NYU is retiring GRAM and switching to Travel & Expense (Concur) on October 30, 2023

• Verify monthly charges are accurate
• Upload appropriate receipts or other supporting documentation to GRAM
• Provide a clear description of the expense
• Modify chartfield if necessary (i.e. each card has a default chartfield)
• Make sure the appropriate box is checked off ( “review” for cardholder, “approve” for approver)

• Transactions should be reviewed & approved weekly
• Reconcile all purchase transactions on a monthly basis via the GRAM system. 
• Suggested deadline for payment card review is the 5^th day of the month
• Deadline for card approvers is the 7^th day of the month
• Personal expenses are prohibited on payment cards
• Ensure that vendors are not in I-Buy
• Excessively priced item(s) will be flagged for reimbursement

• Monthly Credit Limit – The maximum monthly transaction limit is now customized by each card based on Calendar Year (CY) 2019 spending.
• Single Transaction Limit – The single transaction limit has been tailored based on CY 2019 activity.
• Non-Permissible Expenses – Transactions via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Uber and Lyft are also prohibited.
• Compliance - Cardholders that do not adhere to the expense policies will forfeit the ability to use cards in the future.
• Amazon Business – Amazon purchases are prohibited on payment cards. Effective immediately, Amazon has become a punchout vendor in the I-Buy portal.

Note: These changes are effective immediately. In addition, further adjustments surrounding payment cards maybe implemented in the future.

• Monthly Credit Limit – The maximum monthly transaction limit is currently capped at $15K. 
• Compliance - Cardholders that do not adhere to the expense policies will forfeit the ability to use cards in the future.

Note: These changes are effective immediately. In addition, further adjustments surrounding payment cards maybe implemented in the future.

The Travel Card is an American Express Travel and Entertainment (T&E) personal liability card that is used to pay for business travel and entertainment expenses.

The cardholder is responsible for submitting expense reimbursement requests via AP Workflow. Due to the individual liability on the card, the cardholder's credit rating may be impacted if payment is delayed.

AMEX Payment Methods: The university will remit payment either directly to American Express on the cardholder’s behalf or as a reimbursement to the cardholder for school/departmental approved charges.

• Pay bill directly via AP Workflow – Cardholders can request to attach AMEX cards to their AP Workflow profiles to pay American Express directly via the university system. In order to do this, cardholders should reach out to askfinancelink@nyu.edu and provide the last four digits of their card number and their net ID. Similar to standard reimbursement process, a copy of the bill and receipts are required to document the business purpose of expenses incurred. Requests must be submitted to Accounts Payable at least 15 days prior to the payment due date.
• Pay bill directly using personal funds – This method requires cardholders to cover the charges with personal funds until the reimbursement is processed and paid. Similar to standard reimbursement process, a copy of the bill and receipts are required to document the business purpose of expenses incurred.

AMEX Resources:

• AMEX Corporate Card Application
• AMEX FAQs

How do I reset my password if I get locked out?
You can email payment.cards@nyu.edu to reset your password.

How can I change the chartfield where charges are posted?
Before the monthly deadline the cardholder can change the chartfield allocation in the GRAM system. After the deadline a journal entry must be executed to reclass charges. Please send an email TandonFinanceOffice@nyu.edu with back-up to initiate the adjustment.

What are my alternatives for Uber and Lyft business related expenses?
These expenses can be funded through APWorkflow provided there is proper supporting documentation (i.e. receipts) and a valid business purpose.

What should I do if my card gets lost or stolen?
Cardholders should execute three steps (1) call the bank immediately at (888) 449-2273 (2) review the latest transactions in GRAM for fraudulent activity and (3) alert the Finance office.

Can I attach receipts after the period has been reviewed and approved?
If this occurs before the 7^th of the month the transaction can be unlocked. In this event the transaction will need to be reviewed and approved again. If this occurs after the 7^th of the month the cardholder will need to retain the supporting documentation for a period of 3 years. The cardholder should also email the receipts to the Finance office for auditing purposes.

What happens in the event that a transaction is declined?
If a transaction is declined two steps should follow: (1) ensure that the purchase is within your card limit (2) review the expiration date on the card. If these two do not present an issue please reach out to the payment card team at payment.cards@nyu.edu for assistance.

What happens if the payment card is used for personal expenses in error?
In an instance where personal charges appear on a payment card a NYU Personal Expense Transmittal form will need to be completed. The completed form must be submitted within 14 days of the expense date to Bursar Office, 383 Lafayette, New York, NY . Checks should be made payable to New York University.

How can I increase my single transaction limit?
Before requesting an increase in your single transaction limit check to see if another payment card within your department can be used. In the event that this is not possible please send an email to the Fiscal Officer representative (Alex Berthoumieux) stating the reason this one-time adjustment is needed. The request is then routed to NYU central for additional approvals by the Payment Card team and NYU Treasury.

What should I do if I see fraudulent charges?
Contact Bank of America (BOA) and the Finance team immediately. Cardholders are responsible for resolving statement discrepancies with third-parties (BOA and/or supplier).

What kind of back up should I attach for meal expenses?
Meals require itemized receipts and a list of meal participants per the NYU Business Expenses Policy. 

What type of files and back up can be uploaded to GRAM?
GRAM only accepts PDF and JPEG files for supporting documentation. In addition, only one upload can be executed per transaction.

Can I keep my payment card if I transfer to a different school/department/unit?
For P-Cards a new card would be required. Conversely, CTA cards can be transferred to a different unit. Please notify the Finance office of any transfers.

I noticed my card is about to expire, what should I do?
A new Cardholder Agreement form needs to be completed. This should be mailed to the Finance office. In addition, the cardholder and approver will need to complete refresher training via iLearn.

In order to get a payment card what iLearn courses should I take?
In order to attain a payment card iLearn tutorial FIN210-R needs to be completed.

What are some of the prohibited uses on payment cards?
A full listing of prohibited uses can be found in the payment card policy.

Where can I find all the payment card related forms?
The forms can be found on the Accounting office shared drive.

Payment Card Policy