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PaymentNet: A New Way to Manage Purchasing Card Activity
May 22, 2007, Volume 53, No. 34

The University of Pennsylvania has collaborated with JPMorgan Chase over the past 10 years to provide purchasing and fleet card services. As part of the P2P initiative, this partnership is pleased to announce the next-evolution purchasing card management system: PaymentNet. Scheduled for its University debut in July, PaymentNet is a new self-service, web-based application that will allow University cardholders and their School and Center management to better track and manage purchasing card activity online.

The new system will operate in “real-time,” allowing cardholders immediate access to their individual purchasing card transactions and transaction statements. Cardholders and their managers will now have at their fingertips the ability to closely monitor purchasing activity. With the introduction of PaymentNet, cardholders will be able to view any purchasing card transactions online as well as see how much money remains available for use on the purchasing card—no need to contact the purchasing card administrator. The cardholders will also generate their monthly statement online immediately at the end of the purchasing cycle, eliminating the typical waiting period for email statements. Additional reports and ad hoc query capabilities for both cardholders and their managers will also be available through PaymentNet.

While cardholders will continue to provide all receipts and supporting documentation for purchases, the added plus with PaymentNet is the new Notes section, in which the cardholder can list exactly what was purchased and specify the reason for the purchase. In addition, cardholders, after exhausting all avenues with the supplier to resolve a discrepancy with a transaction, will now be able to enter the dispute online and monitor its progress. Cardholders or their managers will also be able to initiate ad hoc reports on cardholder activity. In summary, cardholders will have more access to information and the need to contact the purchasing card administrator will be greatly reduced through PaymentNet’s self-service approach to managing cardholder activity.

To prepare for the activation of PaymentNet and to ensure a clear understanding of University financial policy, all cardholders, as well as School and Center administrators who approve and review purchasing card activity, must successfully complete a web-based PaymentNet online training course. Cardholders who do not successfully complete training by the end of July will have their purchasing card privileges suspended until training has been completed. As of June 11, 2007, additional information on PaymentNet required training will be available at:  http://Knowledgelink.upenn.edu.

Once PaymentNet is activated, users will need a PennKey and a web browser to access the system. Users will simply point their browsers to a URL and log in to the PaymentNet application. Instructions for obtaining a password will be made available in the PaymentNet Quick Reference Guide, available at the completion of the training course.

Should you have any questions concerning the introduction of PaymentNet, please send an email to pnet@pobox.upenn.edu.

–Ralph Maier, Director, Purchasing Services
–Tom Slavinski, Associate Comptroller

Almanac - May 22, 2007, Volume 53, No. 34