Purchasing card

A purchasing card (also abbreviated as PCard, P-Card, or ProCard) is a form of company charge card that allows goods and services to be procured without using a traditional purchasing process. In the UK, purchasing cards are usually referred to as procurement cards.

Purchasing cards are usually issued to employees who are expected to follow their organization's policies and procedures related to P-Card use, including reviewing and approving transactions according to a set schedule (at least once per month). The organization can implement a variety of controls for each P-Card; for example, a single-purchase dollar limit, a monthly limit, merchant category code (MCC) restrictions and so on. In addition, a cardholder's P-Card activity should be reviewed periodically by someone independent of the cardholder.

Regular reviews should be part of an organization's ongoing purchasing card program management efforts. A variety of factors can contribute to its success or, conversely, its stagnation. There are common P-card program pitfalls to avoid, with the goal of developing success strategies that can put (or keep) a program on the right path.^[1]