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).
[1] Use of purchasing cards have seen a dramatic rise in recent years with many government organizations now using them to remove “red tape” and reduce costs.
[2] Organizations typically use purchasing cards to target low-value goods and services, as it offers a mechanism to do these transactions at a significantly lower cost than traditional methods.
Organizations have started to use purchasing cards as a strategic form of payment in accounts payable (A/P), in addition to the traditional high-volume, low-dollar transactions.
The company captures the rebates associated with p-card transactions and sidesteps the work processing check payments involved.
End-users employ varying approaches in response to the challenges; for example, educating suppliers on the benefits of card payments—a task that is often completed by program management and/or procurement staff."