December 22, 2008 — The University of Virginia's state-administered purchasing card program will switch from GE MasterCard to Visa from Bank of America in mid-February. The new card is accepted by many of the same vendors and offers many of the same features.

The Commonwealth's Department of Accounts expects the switch to cause minimal disruption to cardholders, and there should be no loss of flexibility. U.Va.'s Office of Procurement Services will keep card users informed as it learns more details, such as when to destroy the old cards and when and how the new Visa purchasing cards will be distributed.

In the meantime, Procurement Services advises departments to:

• Follow up with vendors on outstanding GE MasterCard credits and/or charges as needed to ensure that all transactions clear by Feb. 15.

• Effective immediately, do not establish any new vendor accounts linked to your current GE MasterCard Purchasing Card. Procurement Services will provide details on how to handle existing vendor accounts as soon as it has more details.

To prepare for the conversion from GE MasterCard to Visa, Procurement Services will stop processing purchasing card applications between Jan. 1 and mid-February. Procurement Services hopes to begin issuing the new Visa cards by mid-February.

Questions regarding this change or the University Purchasing Card Program in general should be directed to purchasing card administrators Carrie McGowan (csd6n@virginia.edu, 434-924-3147) or Dolores Hildebrand (djh2c@virginia.edu, 434-924-4233).