The Procurement Card is a payment method available to Commonwealth of Massachusetts departments. It provides all the convenience of a credit card, plus enhanced functionality, superior security controls, and a faster payment turn around.
P-Card holders can use it for travel, small purchases, emergency purchases, and to pay vendors not on statewide contract. Instead of entering 30 small transactions in MMARS every month, holders can switch subscriptions to the P-Card and pay one bill.
If your department is seeking to use a P-Card for the first time, the Chief Fiscal Officer must complete the Procurement Card Company Setup Form and submit it to [email protected]. The Department Head must approve the department’s enrollment in the program.
If your department already participates in the P-Card program and is seeking to add a new cardholder, complete the Employee Procurement Card (P-Card) Setup Form via DocuSign. Each cardholder must undergo training, at which the department’s Chief Fiscal Officer must be present. All cardholders must sign the Procurement Card (P-Card) Employee Use Agreement.
Massachusetts sales and meals tax exemptions apply to users of the P-Card. Hotel Room Occupancy Tax is not tax exempt. Federal taxes apply.
The Massachusetts Tax Exempt ID is found on the reverse of the card: 046002284.
Cardholding departments must:
The P–Card is an alternative payment method for Commonwealth of Massachusetts departments and municipalities. It’s managed by the Office of the Comptroller and cards are issued from Bank of America. It works like a credit card but is more customizable and has tighter controls.
Any Commonwealth of Massachusetts statewide department or municipality can use a P–Card. It’s common for the CFO, Department Head and other senior staff to have P-Cards. Other departments may choose to issue them to staff that travel frequently, procurement departments, or field staff.
Just about anything your department needs that is not on statewide contract can be paid for with the P-Card. The only prohibitions are:
Departments can add additional restrictions based on their needs.
Yes, it can. The Office of the Comptroller will work with you to set high or low credit limits, and restrict purchases to certain categories. The P-Card can be customized down to the cardholder level different areas of a department can have different purchasing needs.
Departments use their P–Cards in many ways. The most frequent purchases are travel related such as airfare, hotel and conference registration. Subscriptions to newspapers or professional organizations are also popular. But it can be used to purchase just about anything (except alcohol, legal services and gift cards) that a department needs that is not under statewide contract. P-Cards are great in an emergency and were instrumental in getting supplies into the Commonwealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yes, the P–Card has built in security. The Bank of America fraud team is excellent at identifying fraudulent transactions and working with cardholders.
Cardholders must immediately notify their Chief Fiscal Officer, who will notify the Office of the Comptroller. They must also notify Bank of America at 1-888-449-2273. If the card is stolen, this must also be reported to the State Auditor’s Office.
Forms to administer departmental and individual use of a P-Card
