CAL-Card Program Frequently Asked Questions

As indicated on the CAL-Card Program home page, commercial card services (aka CAL-Card Program) are “offered to participating state and local government agencies”. Participation is contingent on credit approval (for local agencies) and upon execution of a properly completed (State/Local) Agency Subsidiary Agreement.

As stated in Participating Addendum (PA) 7-20-99-42 (available on the State’s Cal eProcure web page), Exhibit A (Scope of Work), Section 5.B (Eligible Participating Agencies), sub-section 1:

b.  “State Agency” is defined as any State of California government agency, department, bureau, board, or commission.

c.  “Local Agency” is defined as any city, county, district or other local governmental body or corporation empowered to expend public funds for the acquisition of goods, information technology, or services pursuant to Public Contract Code section 10298 (a) and (b) and 10299 (b).

In the User Instructions (available on the State’s Cal eProcure web page) for the PA, Section I, Sub-Sections B.1 and B.2, the CAL-Card Program is mandatory for state agencies and optional for local agencies.

In general, a list of state agencies can be found on the State Agency Listing web page.

Visit the CAL-Card enrollment web page for more information on program participation.

For questions or issues NOT related to CAL-Card operational questions or issues¹ such as terms and conditions of the State of California Participating Addendum (PA) or instructions on how to use the PA, agencies should:

• review the PA and User Instructions (UI) attachments on the Cal eProcure web page,
• review resources provided on the CAL-Card home page, or
• contact the agency’s Program Administrator or Procurement Office.

If the above resources do not address agency issues or questions, please email the CAL-Card Program Office.

CAL-Card is a payment method. Any IT or non-IT goods or services your agency can purchase using other payment method(s) can be purchased using CAL-Card. For any potential restrictions imposed by the agency, contact the agency CAL-Card Program Administrator or Procurement Office. State agencies subject to Purchasing Authority should contact PAMS@dgs.ca.gov to confirm any restrictions applied by the Purchasing Authority Unit. State agencies are advised to refer to the State Contracting Manual as the authoritative resource for procurement laws, policy, procedures, processes, rules, regulations, and best practices. Policy questions or issues should be directed to ppo@dgs.ca.gov. 

Caveats to the above are discussed in the following topics:

• Does CAL-Card have any restrictions?
• Can CAL-Card be used to pay for goods/services in advance of receipt of goods/services purchased (advance payments)?
• Can agencies link CAL-Card to a mobile payment service?
• Is CAL-Card subject to any Merchant Category Code (MCC) restrictions?
• Can agencies pay for travel-related expenses with CAL-Card?
• Can agencies pay for shipping associated with a procurement?
• Where can an agency find CAL-Card policies, procedures, laws, bills or regulations?
• Can CAL-Card be used for international purchases?

CAL-Card is NOT a procurement approach or acquisition method. It is a payment method only.

The CAL-Card Program Office does not govern, establish, or dictate procurement laws, policy, procedures, processes, rules and regulations, or best practices. These are determined by, and often specific to, each agency and applicable to all agency IT and non-IT acquisitions of goods and services regardless of the payment method used. Accordingly, agencies should contact their Procurement Office.

Further, each agency is required to develop internal policies and procedures, including limits and restrictions, for CAL-Card use for their cardholders. All cardholders should contact their agency's Program Administrator for internal CAL-Card policies.

Additionally, state agencies¹ should refer to the State Contracting Manual (SCM) for contract and purchasing policy. State agencies should refer to SCM, Volume 2, Section 19, for CAL-Card specific policy or procedures. Policy questions, applicable to state agencies¹, should be directed to the DGS Policy Unit.

¹Not applicable to local agencies.

Agencies are reminded that CAL-Card is a payment method. As such, all policy, laws, procedures, purchasing rules and regulations, etc., including those required by the agency, applies regardless of the payment method used for a purchase.

CAL-Card Program limitations, restrictions, and procedures are outlined in the State Contracting Manual (SCM), Volume 2, Chapter 19 (applicable to state agencies only). In addition, each agency is required to develop internal policies and procedures, including limits and restrictions, for CAL-Card use for their cardholders.

See the following related topics:

• What goods or services can be purchased with CAL-Card?
• Does CAL-Card have any restrictions?
• Can CAL-Card be used to pay for goods/services in advance of receipt of goods/services purchased (advance payments)?
• Can agencies link CAL-Card to a mobile payment service?
• Is CAL-Card subject to any Merchant Category Code (MCC) restrictions?
• Can agencies pay for travel-related expenses with CAL-Card?
• Can agencies pay for shipping associated with a procurement?
• Where can an agency find CAL-Card policies, procedures, laws, bills or regulations?

All agencies should be aware, per Participating Addendum (PA) 7-20-99-42, Exhibit D, a cardholder is defined as:

“An individual employee of a Participating Agency, that is designated by the Agency Program Administrator to be a CAL-Card card recipient, named as the holder of the Account or using the Account in the name of Participating Agency and make official government purchases.”

In addition, per CIV 1747.02 (d):

“Cardholder” means a natural person to whom a credit care is issued for consumer credit purposes, or a natural person who has agreed with the card issuer to pay consumer credit obligation arising from the issuance of a credit card to another natural person.”

Therefore, CAL-Card cannot be issued to non-employees, including contractors working on behalf of an agency and would be in violation of the PA with U.S. Bank (USB). CAL-Card also cannot be issued in the name of an agency or business.

State agencies should be aware that advance payments for goods/services are not allowed per the State Contracting Manual (SCM), Volume 2, Section 1901.2 – Advance Payments. Agencies should determine if the goods/services to be procured are subject to SCM, Section 1901.2, which may include, but is not limited to the following (current, future, ongoing or recurring) purchases:

• Training
•  Tuition
• Conference fees

Per SCM 1901.2, subscriptions, magazines and periodicals can be paid upon receipt of an undisputed invoice.

While local agencies are not subject to State of California policy as indicated in the SCM, these are high-risk purchases that could result in disputes that will not result in a favorable outcome for the agency. Advance payment for a product (i.e., subscriptions, magazines, periodicals, series of training classes) will require payment in full for the entire term of delivery of the product (i.e., one year subscription, 6 classes in a series of training, tuition for a semester of several courses) at the time an order is placed with the possibility that delivery of the product terminates prior to the end of the term.

Agencies should not link their CAL-Card to an online payment system such as PayPal, Venmo or Apple Pay. Transactions through a like service will not necessarily reflect the supplier nor the goods/services purchased using the service. Therefore, the necessary documentation trail to validate the legitimacy of the purchase for government use cannot be readily authenticated.

Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) considered to be high risk and/or cash-related are applied to all CAL-Cards and cannot be removed. If a purchase is declined, it could be because of the MCC transaction code applied to the purchase. For example, if a state agency CAL-Card is used for payment of a parking lot/garage fee (coded as 7523), it will be declined as a travel-related expense which is disallowed for state agencies. Please visit the MCCs web page for further information. 

State agencies cannot use CAL-Card for travel-related expenses including but not limited to:

• FasTrak
• Leasing/renting vehicles
• Charging of state-owned/leased vehicles

State agencies should contact the appropriate program for guidance including Fleet Card Program and the Statewide Travel Program.

In general, shipping terms and payment would be determined during the acquisition phase of the item(s) to be shipped. State agencies should be aware of SCM Sections 1101, 1102 and 1103 as it pertains to shipping charges. Questions related to shipping charges should be directed to the Transportation Management Unit.

The CAL-Card Program Office has not authored a policies or procedures document specific to CAL-Card. The CAL-Card Program does not make policy, influence nor dictate policy. For procurement policies and procedures, in general, state agencies are directed to the State Contracting Manual (SCM). The SCM web page provides access to Volumes 1 (non-IT service contracts) and 2 (IT goods and services). To navigate Volume 2, users can click on the Consolidated State Contracting Manual link and search for content specific to “CAL-Card” using the SEARCH ENTIRE MANUAL. Other policy issues or questions not found in the SCM should be directed to the Policy Unit.

Agencies should access the California Legislative Information website for laws, bills or regulations applicable to specific issues relative to procurements conducted in California.

Agencies are advised to work with their Procurement Office for internal policies and procedures.

Non-USD CAL-Card transactions (purchases conducted outside of the United States) are allowed. The agency’s Program Administrator should provide direction on international purchases and agency policies on CAL-Card use. A foreign transaction fee may apply to non-USD transactions.

State agencies are required to abide by California State Contracting Manual (SCM) policies and procedures which take precedence over any additions defined by state agencies.  Local agencies are not required to adhere to SCM policies and procedures.  All agencies must additionally adhere to all procurement laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and best practices as defined by the state (provided they do not conflict with SCM) or local agency which includes but is not limited to the application of all sales and use tax laws, rules and policies as applicable to the purchase. State agencies should be familiar with Chapter 9 of the SCM and particularly:

• SCM – CAL-Card Purchase Program
• SCM – CAL-Card Program Participation Requirements
• SCM – Executing Purchases Using CAL-Card as the Payment Method
• SCM – CAL-Card Statement Reconciliation and documentation Requirements

Available training offered by the contractor or by the State of California for state agencies can be found on the CAL-Card Implementation and Training page.

It is strongly encouraged that agencies develop a customized training program for staff participating in their CAL-Card program.

U.S. Bank (USB) can only work with a listed point of contact (POC), also known as the authorized Program Administrator (PA). If your agency's listed POCs are no longer current and need to be updated, USB will take you through the processes of verification and steps necessary to list new or update existing POCs¹ including the agency’s authorized PA. An existing PA can designate an alternative or replacement through Access® Online by following the instructions in the USB Point of Contact Quick Start Guide.

Often, authorized PAs leave an agency without assigning a replacement leaving the agency without a valid and current PA to manage its CAL-Card program. An individual requesting to be designated as the new PA must:

Send an email request to the CAL-CARD Team (calcard@usbank.com), designating themselves as PA. It is highly desirable to include a link to the agency’s public website and an individual in upper management who is listed on that public website should be copied on the email request.

• If the new PA is in management and listed on the agency’s public website, a copy of the request should be sent to a peer or staff member who is also publicly listed.
• The sender’s email address should match the format of those listed on the public website. USB cannot accept requests from a google, yahoo, hotmail, or other unofficial email domain.

¹Creating a POC, for a long-term employee not designated as a PA, may also alleviate some of the above issues. Due to the status of a POC, this individual is empowered to call the CAL-Card Team of Account Coordinators (or Client Services) at (877) 846-9302 (option 3) or email calcard@usbank.com to remove, add or update PA(s). For instructions to add or update a POC, a PA can request a Point of Contact Quick Start Guide by sending an email to calcard@usbank.com.

For security reasons, U.S. Bank (USB) cannot release Program Administrator (PA) contact information. Similarly, the State CAL-Card Program Office cannot release this information. Inquiries about an agency's PA should be directed to the following agency resources for assistance:

• Procurement Office
• Accounts Payable
• State Agencies granted purchasing authority by the Department of General Services additional resources:
  • Procurement and Contracting Officer (PCO)
  • Purchasing Authority Contact (PAC)

If sending a paper check via regular mail, the timing depends on the agency’s location in proximity to the address below, holidays, USPS delays, etc. It is recommended sending regular mail from California to St. Louis, MO, 7-10 business days in advance of desired posting date. Overnight delivery is also available for check payments made via overnight courier to the following address:

U.S. Bank Corporate Payments

3180 Rider Trail S.

Dept. 790428

Earth City, MO 63045-1518

The best practice is to send the check or warrant with the payment coupon from the agency’s Managing Account Statement. If sending remittance or check stubs from the agency’s financial system (i.e. FI$Cal, BidSync, etc.), it is also recommended to write the 16-digit Managing Account Number on the face of the check when possible. A full 16-digit Managing Account Number is required for posting. Check payments must be received by 5:00 PM CST for the payment to show as posted the next business day.

There are also other payment methods available:

• Autopay
• TelePay
• ACH
• Wire

If sending payment via ACH, initiate ACH payment at least 48-72 hours in advance of desired posting date. The demand deposit account (DDA) number should be the full 16-digit Managing Account Number. The 16-digit Managing Account Number(s) can be included in the ACH remittance addenda 7 record (field in the NACHA file sent with the ACH payment) which may vary depending on the file format options utilized per the ACH Client Support Manual. The U.S. Bank ABA number (bank routing number) is 091000022. ACH payments will only be accepted in a Corporate Trade Exchange (CTX) or cash concentration disbursement (CCD) format. ACH payments must be received by 4:00 PM CST for the payment to show as posted the next business day.

Overnight delivery is available for check payments made via overnight courier to the following address:

U.S. Bank Corporate Payments

3180 Rider Trail S.

Dept. 790428

Earth City, MO 63045-1518

An agency’s CAL-Card program is set up with two levels:

• Cardholder Accounts (where transactions occur), and
• Managing Accounts (where billing occurs)

An agency might have one Managing Account for their whole program or they might have a Managing Account for each department. For example, a small municipality might only have one Managing Account and a few cardholders but a large county is likely to have 20-40 Managing Accounts, one for each county department. Every Managing Account will generate a cycle statement (the bill) to be paid.

As cardholders are transacting through the month, at the end of the cycle (often on the 22^nd), all the cardholder transactions will roll up and post to the Managing Account level. The Managing Account cycle will close once a month, generate a statement, and sent to the Billing Official. Managing Account Statements are also available to Program Administrators in Access^® Online and may be downloaded in PDF format within 24 hours of cycle close.

The Managing Account Statement will contain the remittance address for payment: 

U.S. Bank Corporate Payments

3180 Rider Trail S.

Dept. 790428

Earth City, MO 63045-1518

Program Administrators (PAs) and/or Billing Officials should use the Managing Account Statement to ensure all payments sent the previous cycle have indeed posted to the Managing Account. The payments applied in the previous cycle are reflected in the Corporate Account Summary and Corporate Account Activity at the top of the Managing Account Statement.

If an agency is receiving an electronic statement billing file via transmission or data exchange, or using Access^® Online reporting, and is using the data file to reconcile and make payment to U.S. Bank, the PAs and/or Billing Officials should still use the Managing Account Statement to confirm all transactions are accounted for. Reports can be run incorrectly by the user, statement billing files could be missing transactions, or the upload project could result in unintended and unrealized rejected transactions. This will result in a past due balance/variance on the Managing Account. Always use the monthly Managing Account Statement to confirm the total purchases (credits) to determine the total balance due for the cycle. 

It is a recommended best practice for Program Administrators to schedule a monthly (or bi-monthly) past due report from Access^® Online:

• Log into Access^® Online
• Click Reporting
• Click Program Management
• Click Past Due
  • Under Account Information – Account Status, select “All”
  • Under Number of Days Past Due
    • Select “30 or more” or
    • Select “60 or more” (CAL-Card payment terms are 45 days so a 60-day past due status would be 15 days late)
    • Choose Output Type (Active Report, Browser, Excel, PDF)
    • Click Create Scheduled Report or Run Report

Per the California Prompt Payment Act (Government Code Section 927 et seq.), the CAL-Card program is subject to 45-day payment terms. Past due status (days late) are indicated as follows:  

Review all previous Managing Account cycle statements to ensure payments are paid in full for every cycle. If there was a short payment, research to determine the justification and also accounting of corresponding credits received. For example, perhaps a cycle was short paid due to a dispute. Research that short payment to ensure a credit was later received from the merchant. Also make sure a credit was not received twice. In other words, if account was short paid when the transaction was disputed but also applied the credit when it was received later, that would be considered taking the credit twice and would result in an unpaid past due variance to U.S. Bank (USB).

If payments appear to be missing, it is recommended the list of payments from Access^® Online be compared to the list of payments sent from your financial system. To obtain a list of payments:

• Log in to Access^® Online
• Click Reporting
• Click Financial Management
• Click Transaction Detail
• Under Date, choose “Posting Date Range”
• Enter Start and End Date for timeframe in which payments are missing
• Under Transactions Included – Transaction Amount
  • Select “< or =” and
  • Enter $0
• Select Include Payments
• Choose Output Type (Active Report, Browser, Excel, PDF)
• Under Group Report By, choose Account Number(s) (not by Processing Hierarchy Position)
  • Enter 16-digit Managing Account Number(s) (separated by commas) OR
  • Click Search for Accounts
  • Click Search for Managing Accounts
  • Enter Managing Account Number (Last 4 digits)
  • Click Search
  • Check relevant Account Number(s)/Names) boxes
  • Click Select
• Click Create Scheduled Report or Run Report
• If desired, apply a filter to the report on the Merchant Name column for the value “PAYMENT – THANK YOU” to further refine criteria

If research indicates a payment was sent, but not posted or posted incorrectly, check to see if it was cashed. The next step would be to provide USB with the missing payment(s) information. USB will need the warrant number, date issued, dollar amount of warrant, and date the warrant was cashed (if applicable).

If the check was never cashed and it has been more than three weeks since the issue date, email calcard@usbank.com a stop payment request. Agencies can request a stop payment using Request for Duplicate Controller’s Warrant / Stop Payment (STD 435) found by searching for STD 435 at the California Statewide Forms Directory. This form must be completed in full for USB to process the request. If the above actions do not resolve the issue and further reconciliation support or guidance is needed, the agency can email USB at calcard@usbank.com.

NOTE: It is important that an agency reconcile and pay their Managing Account every monthly cycle. If an agency account is not paid on time, in full, and each cycle, it will be more difficult for USB to offer reconciliation support.

It is every agency’s responsibility to reconcile their CAL-Card Managing Account and to ensure their accounts are paid correctly and on-time. U.S. Bank (USB) can offer some reconciliation support and guidance when there is a past due variance, but depending on how the account is paid, USB might not have access to enough information to reconcile completely.

Most common methods for payment of Managing Accounts include:

1. An agency sends one payment for the entire amount due each month, enough to cover the cycle statement balance due. This is the best practice and makes it easier for USB to offer reconciliation support. USB can help the Program Administrator (PA) identify which cycles were short paid, so that PAs can isolate which cycles to research further with their Billing Officials.
2. An agency sends one single payment for each individual transaction as transactions are approved. This is very uncommon but sometimes done via ACH if the agency’s financial system is set up to do so. This is not best practice and makes it difficult for USB to reconcile. Depending on the timing of the payments, they might not line up in chronological order consistent with the order of transactions. USB has no way of knowing which transactions were intended to be paid, especially if transaction amounts are common. If an agency is sending single payments to offset individual transactions, and an unpaid variance has been unidentified as past due, it is recommended that the PA or agency Billing Official obtain an Access^® Online Transaction Detail report of all transactions for the time period being investigated. The PA or Billing Official can compare the Access^® Online Transaction Detail to data contained within the agency’s financial system, in an effort to identify unpaid transactions.
3. An agency consolidates transactions together into a packet for payment and sends payments to the Managing Account as the packets are approved, resulting in numerous payments posted in a single cycle. This is very common, but it makes it difficult for USB to reconcile. Depending on the timing of the payments, they might not line up in chronological order consistent with the timing of transactions. USB has no way of knowing which transactions were intended to be paid, especially if transaction amounts are common. If an unpaid variance has been unidentified as past due, it is recommended that the PA or agency Billing Official obtain an Access^® Online Transaction Detail report of all transactions for the time period being investigated. The PA or Billing Official can compare the Access^® Online Transaction Detail to transaction data contained within the agency’s financial system, in an effort to identify unpaid transactions.

In payment methods (2) and (3), USB can sometimes help the PA identify which cycles were short paid, so that the PA can isolate which cycles to research further with their Billing Officials. But depending on the number of payments, the amount of short payments or overpayments appearing each cycle, etc., USB reconciliation support might not be possible.

NOTE: It is important that an agency reconcile and pay their Managing Account every monthly cycle. If a Managing Account is not paid on time, in full, each cycle, it will be more difficult for USB to offer reconciliation support. USB cannot support reconciliation of data that is older than 7 years.

The Access^® Online system will hold statements for 2 years. A Program Administrator (PA) can request archived statements dating back 7 years. PAs must provide the full 16-digit Managing Account Number when requesting archived statements.

The Access^® Online system will hold reporting transaction data for a 6-year period. Purged Transaction Level I data (minimum financial commercial card transaction data) is backed up, accumulated and retained for 15 years, and is available offline on request. Data within a Statement Billing File format (an automated custom report requested by the agency) is archived for 7 years.

To request Transaction Level I data or a Statement Billing File, the agency PA can contact the agency’s Account Coordinator at (877) 846-9302 (option 3) or email calcard@usbank.com.

It is important to record all information about all contacts you have made with Customer Support including the name of the individual you were in contact with, day and time of the contact, the issue or question raised to Customer Support, the response given by Customer Support, and the outcome of the contact.