{"id":1826,"date":"2019-05-24T22:50:40","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T22:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidlink.net\/news\/?p=1826"},"modified":"2019-05-29T01:03:46","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T01:03:46","slug":"u-s-government-credit-cards-and-micro-purchases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidlink.net\/news\/2019\/05\/u-s-government-credit-cards-and-micro-purchases\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Government, Credit Cards and Micro Purchases"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"GSA<\/a>
GSA SmartPay Credit Card<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U.S. Government Credit Cards and Micro Purchases<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.S. Government purchases supplies and services in a variety of ways such as posting solicitations for supplies or services they need to places like\u00a0 FedBizopps or DIBBS.\u00a0 They also purchase items, micro purchases directly from companies using their Government credit card.<\/p>\n

U.S. Government Credit Cards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Does the government use credit cards?<\/p>\n

Yes, the U.S. Government has used purchase cards (IMPACT cards, Credit cards) for over 30 years to buy supplies and services.\u00a0 The Government Purchase Card (GPC) program was created in the late 1980’s as a way for federal agencies to streamline the acquisition process by providing the end user an efficient way to obtain goods and services directly from vendors rather than processing request through Government procurement offices.\u00a0 The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 1998 said by October 1, 2000, \u201cat least 90 percent of all eligible purchases made by the Department of Defense for an amount less than the micro-purchase threshold shall be made through streamlined micro-purchase procedures\u201d.<\/p>\n

What is an IMPACT card?<\/strong><\/p>\n

International Merchant Purchase Authorization Card<\/p>\n

What is a micro purchase?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A micro purchase according the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is \u201can acquisition of supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures, the aggregate amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold\u201d.<\/p>\n

What is the micro purchase threshold 2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The micro purchase threshold according to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as of May 2019 is $3,500.\u00a0 There are some exceptions \u2013 see Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 2 – Definitions of Words and Terms https:\/\/www.acquisition.gov\/content\/part-2-definitions-words-and-terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Contract for Credit Card Services<\/strong><\/p>\n

The General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Office of Acquisition Operations, Office of Travel, Motor Vehicles and Card Services (QMA) recently awarded two $700 Billion dollar contracts for the GSA SmartPay program.<\/p>\n

\"BidLink<\/a><\/p>\n

GSA SmartPay Details:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is SmartPay?<\/p>\n

The SmartPay program is the largest government-wide charge card services program in the world.\u00a0 It is run by the General Services Administration (GSA) a department of the U.S. Government.\u00a0 It is said to support more than 560 agencies\/organizations around the globe.\u00a0 In fiscal year 2016 U.S. Government agencies\/organizations spent $28.5 billion using the GSA SmartPay purchase card.<\/p>\n

GSA established the SmartPay program in 1998 and the current program name is SmartPay 3.\u00a0 Over the past 21 years the program has evolved and grown.\u00a0 The previous master contracts were under the name SmartPay 2 which ended in 2018.<\/p>\n

GSA SmartPay covers four main areas: Fleet, Travel, Purchase and Integrated solutions.<\/p>\n

Fleet: Fueling and maintenance of vehicles, boats, planes or equipment.<\/p>\n

Travel: Travel such as Airfare, car rentals, lodging and meals.<\/p>\n

Purchase: Day-to-day business purchases necessary to run an organization.<\/p>\n

Integrated solutions<\/p>\n

Interesting SmartPay Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In December 2018 there were close to 3.3 Million government credit card holders under the GSA\u2019s SmartPay program.<\/p>\n

In November 2018 the Department of Defense had over 81,000 SmartPay \u201cPurchase\u201d credit card holders.<\/p>\n

Banks use what are known as a Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) to identify different types of businesses. \u00a0Merchant Category Codes are reported on some U.S. Government spending reports.<\/p>\n

Here are a few code examples with vendors who supplied the items:<\/p>\n

Code \u2013 Title \u2013 Vendor<\/p>\n

5942 – Book stores – Amazon<\/p>\n

5200 – Home supply warehouse stores \u2013 Home Depot<\/p>\n

5732 – Electronics stores \u2013 Apple<\/p>\n

Some government agencies block certain MCC codes to prevent misuse of the credit card.<\/p>\n

Who are the top 5 big box stores the Government buys from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2018 the U.S. Government spent a total of $74 Million dollars with the following companies using credit cards. The top 5 big box stores selling to the US Government are Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes, Office Depot, and Ace Hardware.\u00a0 Sales are based on 2018 SmartPay chip cards (credit card) data.<\/p>\n

See the chart below the breakdown of sales.<\/p>\n

\"top<\/a>
Top 5 Big Box Stores Selling to the US Government<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the U.S. Government encourages its employees to use credit cards to make purchase for supplies under the micro-purchase threshold of $3,500.00 they could potentially NOT buy from your company if you did not accept credit cards.\u00a0 One question as part of your System for Award Management (SAM) registration to get your CAGE code is \u201cdo you accept credit cards as a method of payment ?\u201d https:\/\/sam.gov\/SAM<\/a><\/p>\n

SmartPay Contracts \u2013 Details<\/p>\n

Previous Contract \u2013 This contract expired on November 2018<\/p>\n

Program name: GSA SmartPay 2 (SP2)<\/p>\n

Master Contract Numbers & Company:<\/p>\n

GS-23F-T0002 – J.P.Morgan Chase<\/p>\n

GS-23F-T0003 – Citibank<\/p>\n

GS-23F-T0004 – US Bank<\/p>\n

Current Contract – Began in November 2018, will continue through 2031 is all options are chosen.<\/p>\n

Program name: GSA SmartPay3 (SP3)<\/p>\n

Master Contract Numbers & Company:<\/p>\n

GS-36F-GA001 – US Bank\u200b<\/p>\n

GS-36F-GA002\u200b – Citibank, N.A.\u200b<\/p>\n

Solicitation Number GS10F17LPP0003<\/p>\n

General Services Administration<\/p>\n

Office: Federal Acquisition Service (FAS)<\/p>\n

Location: Office of Acquisition Operations, Office of Travel, Motor Vehicles and Card Services (QMA)<\/p>\n

Product Service Code (PSC) R710 Support- Management: Financial<\/p>\n

NAICS 522110 Commercial Banking<\/p>\n

Office code: 47QRAC<\/p>\n

The Office of Professional Services and Human Capital Categories (PSHC) is responsible for the strategic leadership, oversight, and management of FAS\u2019s professional services, human capital services, and charge card management programs and contracts.<\/p>\n

BidLink has been a leading provider of DOD procurement research tools and data for the past 20 years. Find defense contracts, solicitations, sources for items, and research competition. Learn more at www.bidlink.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Government Credit Cards and Micro Purchases The U.S. Government purchases supplies and services in a variety of ways such as posting solicitations for supplies or services they need to places like\u00a0 FedBizopps or DIBBS.\u00a0 They also purchase items, micro purchases directly from companies using their Government credit card. U.S. Government Credit Cards Does the … <\/p>\n

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