A UW Ghostcard is a Visa purchasing card available for departments to charge merchant specific purchases. These cards can be used for recurring transactions for specific merchant category codes such as shipping, cell phones, catering, utilities and much more. The accounts are set up under the department name and restrictions applied to the account for reduced risk.
New Card Application Process
Eligibility: UW faculty and staff are eligible to apply for a Ghostcard with department/unit approval.
- The cardholder completes and submits the Ariba card application, choosing type "Ghostcard"
- The cardholder specifies in the notes what type of ghost account (Shipping, cell etc)
- The department ProCard approver must approve the application
- The ProCard Office reviews and approves the application on Friday
- An email will be sent to the cardholder when the account information arrives in the ProCard office, typically in 7-10 business days
Renewal Application Process
Ghostcards auto renew and new information will be emailed to the cardholder once the information has arrived in the ProCard Office approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the month end of the expiration date.
Department Responsibilities
Departments must ensure that every transaction is subject to a documented, independent review by someone other than the cardholder. In addition, it is strongly recommended that documentation of the review is completed within 30 days of the monthly cycle end date.
PaymentNet is a JPMC transaction review system used by cardholders and reviewers to ensure that the charges are valid, and that proper account codes and budgets are assigned to each transaction. Departments must designate individuals who are responsible for reviewing the transactions. Usually, the reviewer is the fiscal expert for the department and is assigned the responsibility for appropriate account code assignment.
Card Security
The Ghostcard should be treated with the same security as a regular ProCard.
The department issued Ghostcard should be used only by the person to whom the card is issued (the cardholder) and should not be shared or lent to other staff.
Only use reputable vendors.
Beware of requests for credit card information - These are email scams that can be very convincing as they attempt to extract account information from the recipient. Never reply to these email 'phishing scams'.
Please contact ProCard Office at procard@uw.edu if you ever have any questions or concerns regarding a suspicious email or phone call.