Maryland Receives $5.7 Million Rebate on Its Purchases
Maryland employees at 77 government agencies using state purchasing cards spent about $285 million last year, earning the state a $5.7 million rebate from U.S. Bank, the Comptroller’s Office reported.
The rebate covers the period from April 26, 2017 to April 25, 2018.
As a point of comparison, the $285 million is about 0.6 percent of the state’s $43.5 billion in expenditures in fiscal 2018 — which runs from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.
Purchasing cards can’t be used for gift cards, cash advances or money orders, according to the Comptroller’s Office.
The state limits the cards to $5,000 purchases; however, the largest purchase during the period totaled $26,800 for 40 employee screenings at the Department of Natural Resources, according to information provided by the Comptroller’s Office.
The Board of Public Works approved the exception by inking the competitively bid contract, and credit card payment was a part of the contract, the office said.
The rebate, which amounts to 2 percent of purchases, is set by a competitively bid contract with the state. The current contract expires April 16, 2019. The Comptroller’s Office is preparing a new RFP expected to be issued this summer.
The cards add accountability to agency purchases and allow vendors to be paid in a timely manner, Comptroller Peter Franchot said in a statement about the rebate.
Each agency determines who receives a card. Each purchaser has someone in the agency who reviews purchases. And each agency has someone who reviews monthly statements. At a minimum, each card statement is reviewed twice, according to an email from the Comptroller’s Office.
The card program allows the Comptroller’s Office to issue a single payment each month to U.S. Bank for card purchases. VISA pays merchants directly, usually in two business days of the purchase. Normally, the credit card company pays on a 30-day cycle.
U.S. Bank pays a rebate when the state reaches pre-set levels. The Board of Public Works approved the current purchasing card contract in 2013; U.S. Bank is paying a higher rebate percentage than the previous contract.
The State of Maryland first began using the VISA corporate purchasing card program in March 1997. Since then, Maryland has purchased more than $4 billion worth of goods and services while earning $62.6 million in rebates.
“Maryland taxpayers expect us to make sure we protect their financial best interests and look for ways to save them money,” Franchot said in the release.
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