I am the treasurer of our local gun club. We have substantial assets as well as a relatively large sum of cash on deposit at a chain bank branch in our little town.

I called them and requested two corporate credit cards for our maintenance folks so they can buy supplies and materials for their jobs.

The bank responded that I would have to be personally responsible for the cards and debt before they would issue them.

I told them that was ludicrous and I would not do that.

I want them issued in the corporation name and the corporation held responsible as we maintain a large deposit with them at all time ($100+K).

Am I being unreasonable?

Thanks,

RMD

Find another bank.

No expert, but every corporate card I've seen has personal liability to the person holding it. I don't think the company is liable at all (maybe on the back end).

Try a credit union. They are usually more accommodating than banks.

The company I retired from had a policy that certain of us had to have a corporate credit card. They got all the benefits (miles, rebate etc...) but I was personally responsible for any and all debt. It was supposed to be for official business travel only and they hounded you if you didn't pay if off promptly each month. Needless to say mine went in the safe and was never used.

I doubt you will find a credit card company who will waive personal liability. Generally credit unions, banks and others don't issue credit cards. They act as agents for the big guys. American Express, Visa and MasterCharge issue them. Their rules.

Its somewhat unavoidable.

Even when I got Amex for my company they had me as the principal person responsible for debt in case the co defaulted.

Why not set up a separate account at the bank for maintenance expenses. Keep a small amount in there for normal expenses, say $500-1000. Have the bank issue a debit card that is associated with that account only. Make sure the account linked to the debit card is not associated with the main account. You then transfer $ from the main account to the maintenance account as needed when the funds run low or for a big project.

For a number of years I had corporate credit cards that were the responsibility of, and paid for by, the companies in whose names they were issued. Then, at some point, that changed. The cards still had the company name on them, but the responsibility was mine. I had to pay the bills and file expense reports.

I gave up my corporate card, after that, and used my own. Was the same burden for me, either way, so why carry another card?

I own my own business and I have a business credit card. While the company is liable for any debt I also give a personal guarantee that the debt will be repaid. This is the way it has always been for me.

An easier way, have them use their own credit card and reimburse them from the receipts they give you.

Why not establish a separate checking account for maintenance expenses and issue debit cards? I see I'm on the same wavelength as Herkdriver.

You really don't need an open credit line for the situation you are trying to solve for, just the convenience of electronic payment, so corporate credit card is not the right solution. I'm somewhat surprised your bank wouldn't have suggested this.

.

Go with credit card vs. debit card as you have more protection under Federal Law for any 3rd party fraud.

I've had a corporate card since 2005. The card has my name and my company's name printed on it. The credit card company has my home address and my SSN as the card holder and the company's address for billing. The card max limit was just increased to $2,000 due to inflation and gas prices.

I never see the bill but I am required to submit scanned copies of each charge via cell phone picture text to a corporate email address created just for my expenses. Along with the pic, I text the reason for the charge and I have specific categories I must use along with the description (travel airfare/hotel/rental car/food, etc.. I'm not sure but I think the categories are related to IRS business expense rules???

I encourage you to have the bank make the two-maintenance people responsible for their own cards. Having them sign a document for their HR file stating they accept responsibility for their cards will help ensure they act as if the money spent is theirs and are careful about how the card is carried.

If the maintenance people are required to obtain permission prior to the purchase or if they are permitted to make purchases on their own judgement should be included in the responsibility document. For the first couple of years I had the card, I was required to have purchases pre-approved by my manager. That ended based on my performance managing the card.

The HR document needs to spell out how non-approved charges are handled. Once, I accidently used my corporate card at the grocery store. For my company, they realize that will happen and I just had to reimburse the charge by paying my company. I say this because I didn't know what I had done until the monthly bill arrived and the company's finance people matched up my texts with the line items on the statement.

Keep in mind that Federal Law protects credit card holders from fraud unless the person who owns the card is committing the fraud. That is why the company wants a person responsible ~ I think?

.

Thanks for all the replies.

The issue is two fold: 1. I won't be treasurer for ever. In fact my term ends in June. I do not want to be on the hook for actions or lack thereof for the next treasurer. We have had some really shitty ones.

2. I don't want these people to have to apply for these cards as I doubt their credit would pass muster even at the low limit I am seeking.

Thanks again for the responses. I am going to talk to my credit union about transferring the account there IF they will issue cards in the manner I propose.

RMD

Look into "reloadable" cash cards.

Issue to employees, that you can trust the most, with a limit of spending that should cover most issues they will encounter.

Most cards can be managed online, so if they have an expenditure that exceeds the balance on the card, they call and it gets added. A few minutes inconvenience.

Have them maintain a PO, either issue to individual or department in blocks and just like clearing/reconciling invoices and other purchases to audit spending on a weekly basis.

Have them briefed and signed on the responsibility and expectations. (no personal spending allowed, must follow procedure, report loss card immediately. cards like keys turned in on termination, etc.).

Then run it by your legal beagle for a sniff test.

Then the can can always be kicked down the road to the next treasurer.

Add me to the group that suggests a separate account and debit cards.

I don't use my debit cards much anymore, but my bank has a phone app that gives me 100% control over them. I could cap the amount which could be spent to any dollar amount, adjust that on the fly, and get notifications every time it was used.

You won't earn any points or rewards, but it's free and easy to control with no personal liability.

second the suggestion to just get 'pre-loaded' visa gift cards and keep a running tally.

say load it with $500 and go from there-- keeping receipts.

----------------------------------

Plus, my debit cards have the ability to be turned off from the Bank app. They could need to request to purchase, and then the card is turned up for that usage, then turned back off until it is needed. Definitely tight control. As long as the treasurer does not mind getting the request to turn it on in advance of the need to purchase, and turning it back off when not needed.

quote:

Originally posted by cruiser68:
I own my own business and I have a business credit card. While the company is liable for any debt I also give a personal guarantee that the debt will be repaid. This is the way it has always been for me.

Yep.

I would go with the reimburse expenses after they submit to you. In other words, reimburse them as per their expense report.

Maybe I'm a bit risk averse, but why on earth would you give the maintenance guys CC's? I'd think it far more appropriate to find the local business they are purchasing through and setup an business account with them where they invoice you monthly for whatever the maintenance guys have bought. I'd also put a max limit on how much could be purchased per month to limit the club's liability.