University Barclaycard Regulations

  • Departmental credit cards (‘cards’) must be used solely for business purposes. Use for personal expenditure is expressly prohibited and may result in disciplinary action.
     
  • Cards must only be used for the purchase of goods or services that cannot be obtained through the usual channels by the creation of a purchase order on the University’s finance system.
     
  • Cards must not be used for personal expenses, disallowed expenditure such as non-business entertaining, or for making cash withdrawals. Further guidance on allowable business entertaining can be found on the Expenses page on the Finance Division web site.
     
  • All departments are eligible to join the scheme, but must demonstrate a clear need for a card over and above the usual purchasing and expenses procedures. Cards can be issued for general departmental use, or to individuals who incur regular expenses of at least £200 per month, e.g. when travelling on University business.
     
  • All applications must be made on the correct form. Note that a security password is requested on the form - this will only be used by Barclaycard to identify the cardholder, if required, over the phone.
     
  • All application forms must be authorised by the Head of Administration and Finance or Head of Department using one of the following methods, before being submitted to the Chief Cashier at the Finance Division for approval and further submission to Barclaycard for processing:
    • Wet signature on original document
    • Signed and scanned
    • Signed using secure electronic signature software
  • Cards and PINs, together with PIN Sentry devices will be sent from Barclaycard in the first instance via secure post to the Finance Division. Applicants will then be invited to collect the card in person and sign for its receipt.
  • Card limits should reflect the normal level of expenditure seen through each account on a monthly basis, and will be monitored/amended centrally to ensure that they are maintained at an appropriate figure.
     
  • If required, a temporary limit increase can be arranged quickly and easily to cover any expenditure over and above the normal monthly limit. An email should be sent from the cardholder, or their authorised representative, to Cashiers quoting the name on the card, the limit required, reason for the increase, length of time needed, and the last 4 digits of the card number. Specific approval is required from the cardholder's line manager, Head of Admin and Finance, or Head of Department before the limit request can be actioned.
  • Each card is issued to a named cardholder who will be asked to sign the card immediately upon receipt and will have responsibility for the custody of that card, ensuring that it is used only for the purposes described in these regulations.
     
  • Barclaycard provides cardholders and any nominated representative(s), if applicable, with access to their online system, which is a secure, web-based access point to real-time account and transaction details for the card provided. The system can also be used to identify reasons for declined transactions. A separate application form is required if a cardholder wishes to delegate access to their account to a nominated representative. It should be noted that nominated representatives are not able to speak to Barclaycard on behalf of the cardholder.
     
  • The cardholder must take all reasonable steps to ensure proper security of the card. As with cash holdings, it is recommended that access to the card is strictly limited and controlled.
     
  • The cardholder is responsible for ensuring that the monthly statement reconciliation process is followed and completed within the required timescale.
     
  • Lost or stolen cards must be notified to Barclaycard (via the telephone number which can be found on the statement, on the Barclaycard website or on the paperwork accompanying the card) as soon as the loss is identified. Notification should also be sent by  email to the Cashiers at the Finance Division.
     
  • When a cardholder (or nominated representative) leaves the Department, or a card is no longer required, then the Chief Cashier must be notified immediately so that the account can be cancelled, and the card must be surrendered.
  • University financial procedures, as governed by Financial Regulations, apply to the usage of cards for purchasing and expenses.
     
  • Purchase requisitions will not be required on Oracle for purchases made by card. Departments must follow the reconciliation process as detailed on the relevant web page, to ensure that all card transactions are correctly transferred to Oracle in a timely and accurate fashion. Statements are issued on or around 9th of each month, and emailed directly to the cardholder. Barclaycard statement transactions must not be input to Oracle within departments.
     
  • When a purchase is made using the card, the purchaser must ensure that a proper VAT invoice or receipt is requested to support each transaction. This document will usually be delivered with the goods or services purchased.
     
  • Any unauthorised transactions appearing on the account must be reported immediately, direct to Barclaycard on the telephone number that can be found on the back of the card.
     
  • All cardholders will be assigned a default Oracle cost code for card purchases. Departments which fail to complete the steps above within the required deadlines will have all charges for the month posted against the default code, which should then be cleared by the Department. This should happen only under exceptional circumstances and not on a ‘business as usual’ basis. Persistent defaults will result in the card facility being withdrawn.
     
  • The Payments Team in the Finance Division has access to the online service for all cards registered to the University. This allows for all transactions to be reviewed and independently verified if necessary. Departments may be asked from time to time for further details on specific transactions. This will be for the purposes of spot checking for compliance with these regulations; such requests must be actioned promptly.
     
  • Usage of cards will be monitored by the Cashiers. Cardholders who do not comply with these Regulations will initially receive a reminder, followed by a warning, which, if ignored, will result in the card being cancelled and may also lead to disciplinary action, depending on the nature of the default. The decision of the Director of Finance in these instances, will be final.

In the course of completing this application form, you have provided information about yourself (‘personal data’). We (the University of Oxford) are the ‘data controller’ for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and associated data protection legislation.

How we use your data

We will use your data to register you as a member of the Barclaycard scheme, either as a cardholder or nominated representative, in order to provide you with the services you have requested.

We are processing your data for this purpose only because you have given us your consent to do so, by signing this form. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at cashiers@admin.ox.ac.uk. In this event, we will stop the processing as soon as we can, and arrange for the closure of your account with Barclaycard. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before your withdrawal of consent

We will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another related reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent to use it for that new purpose.

Who has access to your data?

Access to your data within the University will be provided to those who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above.

Your data will be shared with Barclaycard who provide the services to us, such as for administering your Barclaycard account and allowing you access to Barclaycard systems. Barclaycard are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your data in line with our policies. We do not allow them to use your data for their own purposes. We permit them to process your data only for specified purposes, and will seek to share the minimum amount necessary.

Please refer to the Barclaycard web-site for information regarding the way they handle your data: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/privacy-policy .

Retaining your data

We will only retain your data for as long as we need it to meet our purposes, including any relating to legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. 

Security

Your data will be held securely in accordance with the University’s policies and procedures. Further information is available on the University’s Information Security website: https://www.infosec.ox.ac.uk .

Where we store and use your data

We store and use your data on University premises, in a manual form.

Your rights

Information on your rights in relation to your personal data are explained here: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/councilsec/compliance/gdpr/individualrights/ .

Contact

If you wish to raise any queries or concerns about our use of your data, please contact us at: cashiers@admin.ox.ac.uk or should you wish to exercise your rights as mentioned above, please contact: information.compliance@admin.ox.ac.uk .

In the course of completing this application form, you have provided information about yourself (‘personal data’). We (the University of Oxford) are the ‘data controller’ for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and associated data protection legislation.