Applying for and Activating a new Procurement Card
If you are interested in applying for a new procurement card, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Submit a signed Cardholder Account Form
The Cardholder Account Form serves as both your application for a procurement card and a way of keeping your business information current. Fill out the form with your data and ask your unit's Authorized Signer to sign both pages of the form; once they've signaled their approval by signing, submit the form via email to creditcard@berkeley.edu.
The Card Program has a separate form for each of our different card types:
Link to the bluCard Cardholder Account Form
Link to the Event Planner Card Cardholder Account Form
Link to the Travel Study Card Cardholder Account Form
All forms can be completed and signed electronically within Adobe Acrobat; no need to print out and physically sign the forms. If you run into any trouble filling out the form, please don't hesitate to contact the Card Program at creditcard@berkeley.edu and we will assist you in doing so.
Step 2: Submit a SARA request
In order to view and reconcile procurement card transactions in Berkeley's financial system (BFS), you'll need to submit an access request via the SARA system:
While the Card Program offers several different types of procurement cards, SARA only contains two roles relevant to the Card Program: bluCard Reconciler and bluCard Approver. Select one or both roles depending on your function in the Card Program:
- If you are applying for a new card and will be the Cardholder, select the 'bluCard Reconciler' role.
- If you will be acting as a backup Reconciler for another employee's card use, select the 'bluCard Reconciler' role.
- If you will be acting as a primary or backup Approver for another employee's card use, select the 'bluCard Approver' role.
- If you will be acting as the Reconciler for either your own card or another employee's card use, AND will be acting as the Approver for another employee's card use, select both the 'bluCard Reconciler' and 'bluCard Approver' roles.
You'll need your CalNet ID to log in to the SARA system; requests can be input for both yourself and other employees within your unit. All requests made via SARA are routed to management within your unit, and then to the BFS Security team for approval. If you have questions about which role would the most appropriate one for you, you can contact the Card Program at creditcard@berkeley.edu for assistance; if you are having trouble with the SARA system or would like a status update on your request, please contact the BFS Security team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.
Step 3: Complete required training modules
Before your card can be activated by the Card Program, you'll need to complete the required training courses for the procurement card you're applying for. Please note that training must be completed by all participants in the program; backup Reconcilers and primary/backup Approvers must complete the same training that a Cardholder would before they they can be added to the program and given access to transactions in BFS.
- bluCard applicants must complete the bluCard Basics (BEPRO2021) course, which can be found at the UC Learning Center.
- Event Planner Card applicants must complete the Event Planner Card Basic Training course (BEPRO320), which can be found at the UC Learning Center.
- Travel Study Card applicants must contact the Card Program at creditcard@berkeley.edu to arrange for in-person training sessions.
In addition to the initial training, all participants in the Card Program will periodically be required to take refresher training courses.
Step 4: Sign and submit the Cardholder Agreement Form
When ordering cards from US Bank, the Card Program (as a security measure) always sets the inital single-purchase limit at $1. This prevents our cards from being intercepted/stolen and activated by someone outside our organization. Once you've received your card in the mail from US Bank, you'll need to submit a signed Cardholder Agreement Form to creditcard@berkeley.edu before your card will be activated and ready to use.
Link to the Cardholder Agreement Form
This form lays out in detail the specific terms you must agree to in order to use a UCB procurement card; please read the form in detail before signing. This form cannot be completed and submitted until the physical card has arrived in the mail. The form can be signed electronically within Adobe Acrobat and only the signature of the Cardholder is required.
Step 5: Activate your card with US Bank
Finally, in order to begin using your card, you'll need to contact US Bank via the phone number provided with the documenation you received with the card. The bank may require you to enter information from the back of the card in order to activate it; if you run into any issues doing so, you can contact the Card Program at creditcard@berkeley.edu for assistance.
Step 6: Register for Online Access and Fraud Alerts
Once a new card has been activated, all bluCard and Event Planner Card holders should sign up for on-demand access to their account using US Bank’s Access Online service. Doing so allows users to monitor their charges in real-time and to sign up for text or email alerts for suspicious fraudulent activity. For instructions on how to do so, please see the following job aid:
US Bank – Online Access and Real-Time Fraud Alerts for Cardholders