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CTE Card Announcements Archive

Jul12024
Introducing UCSC Instant Card – A replacement for Travel Cash Advances
We are excited to announce the UC Santa Cruz Instant Card program starting July 1, 2024, for UCSC employees and students who are traveling for official university business.

​This new travel card program is intended to replace Travel Cash Advances. The original communication is also available for reference.​​​
Email Subject: Introducing UCSC Instant Card – A replacement for Travel Cash Advances

July 1, 2024

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We are excited to announce the UC Santa Cruz Instant Card program starting July 1, 2024, for UCSC employees and students who are traveling for official university business. This new travel card program is intended to replace Travel Cash Advances.

What is it?

Instant Card is a temporary virtual USBank Visa credit card (no plastic issued) that can be added to a traveler’s smartphone wallet, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and can be used where credit card payments are accepted. This will reduce and, in some cases, eliminate cash advances and out-of-pocket expenses for employees and students.

Purpose

  • To reduce out of pocket expenses and replace the need for travel cash advances
  • A simple and secure payment option for employee or student travelers conducting business on behalf of the University and do not have a CTE card due to infrequent travel or other reasons
  • For emergency situations, such as a lost or stolen CTE card and needing an immediate payment solution

Benefits

  • The Instant Card is easy to receive, view and add to a virtual wallet. No need to pick up a plastic card because the card only exists in your smart phone
  • It’s integrated with CruzFly. Your Instant Card transactions will automatically post to CruzFly for streamlined reconciliation and expense reporting
  • The Instant Card has multiple layers of encryption, and it can be added to a mobile wallet and Apple Pay on iPhones or Google Pay on Android devices

Requirements

  • The cardholder MUST have a mobile device with the ability to download the US Bank Instant Card mobile app to receive and use the Instant Card
  • Cardholder must be able to access email on their mobile device to receive the virtual card notification and to complete registration
  • There must be a valid business purpose to request the card
  • Fully completed and signed Instant Card User Agreement Form must be submitted through Docusign.
  • For UCSC Student Travelers, a UCSC Employee Sponsor/Delegate must be assigned to each student and this employee will also sign and submit the Student Instant Card User Agreement Form, and provide their Vendor ID as the UCSC Employee Sponsor/Delegate will have access to the Student’s Instant Card transactions and will be able to reconcile the Student’s transactions on their behalf in CruzFly
  • Instant Card transactions flow into CruzFly and must be reconciled as soon as the trip is complete and no later than 60 days
  • The Instant Card should only be used to make purchases that are aligned with UC Policy requirements

Important Links:

Learn more about the Instant Card here

Apply for and request an Instant Card here

Find answers or get help with the Instant Card from our team at InstantCard@ucsc.edu

For travel policy questions, get help from travelhelp@ucsc.edu

For CruzFly system questions, get help from CruzFly-help@ucsc.edu

Thank you,
Scarlett Schwarz
Associate Director of Accounting Services​

May282024
Scheduled Site Maintenance Complete
The site maintenance has been successfully completed, and full functionality has been restored.

This was a significant upgrade to the underlying service that powers our website.
If you notice any website issues, please contact the web team at finaff-tech@ucsc.edu.
May202024
Scheduled Site Maintenance and Content Freeze Over Memorial Day Weekend
Beginning Friday 5/24 @ 5:30pm through Tuesday 5/28 @ 7am the Financial Affairs website will be undergoing scheduled maintenance. While the site will remain available in a read-only mode, some services will be impacted.

Notably, the Entertainment Dashboard and ERF/MET forms will be unavailable during this scheduled maintenance period. If you have questions or issues regarding this maintenance, please contact the web team at finaff-tech@ucsc.edu.
Apr152024
Update to UC Travel Reimbursement Policy G-28
Attention travelers, there has been a recent update UC Travel Reimbursement Policy G-28. As of 1/1/24, the CONUS lodging cap of $275 has increased to $333 per night before taxes and fees.

If you have any further questions about the update to the UC Travel Reimbursement Policy G-28, please email travelhelp@ucsc.edu.​​​​
Feb282024
CTE Card Submission Requirements
Effective May 1, 2024, Corporate Travel & Entertainment card expenses not reconciled in CruzFly for over 60 days will result in suspension of card usage until submission of reconcilation is complete. Please refer to the email sent to all CTE cardholders on February 27, 2024.

DATE: February 27, 2024

SUBJECT: CTE Card Submission Requirements


Good afternoon,

This message is being sent to all US Bank Corporate Travel and Entertainment (CTE) cardholders. When CTE cards were issued, each cardholder agreed to submit all required receipt documentation within 60 days of when an expense was incurred. Currently there is a large number of unapproved CTE card transactions in CruzFly that are more than 60 days old and this is a significant amount of expense that has not posted in our accounting system that could impact our fiscal close and the accuracy of our financial information.

The CruzFly system automatically sends reminder emails weekly to cardholders who have unsubmitted or unapproved transactions and it is apparent that the reminder emails are not effective at reducing the volume of delinquent unapproved transactions; consequently, as of:

May 1st, any cardholder with unsubmitted transactions in CruzFly that are older than 60 days will have their card suspended and the card will not be reactivated until the delinquent submission and approvals are complete.

June 1st, if a cardholder has unsubmitted transactions in CruzFly that are older than 90 days, the card will be cancelled and the individual will not be eligible for future travel cash advances.

Please note for those submissions that are stalled in the approval process, we will separately investigate and reach out directly to the approvers to complete the review process in a timely manner.

Login to cruzfly.ucsc.edu to reconcile and approve expenses and contact cruzfly-help@ucsc.edu if you have any system related questions. For CTE card support and policy related questions, please contact ctecard@ucsc.edu.

Thank you for your cooperation in clearing the delinquent unapproved transactions and for managing the card approval process appropriately going forward.

Biju Kamaleswaran

Associate Vice Chancellor and Campus Controller
Feb262024
Financial Affairs Website: Planned Outage on 3/3/24 from 2:30am - 5:30am
The Financial Affairs website will be unavailable for 3 hours on Sunday morning, March 3rd, from 2:30am to 5:30am for scheduled system maintenance. This will impact access to systems such as CruzBuy, CruzPay, CruzFly, ERS, and FIS. Please plan accordingly and contact finaff-tech@ucsc.edu with any questions.​​​​
Sep82022
Increase in Meal Rates for Business Travel and Entertainment
Changes to UC Business and Finance Bulletin G-28 "Travel Regulations" ​have been approved by the UC President for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
The changes increase maximum meal rates for both Travel and Entertainment related events.

  • Travel: Maximum daily reimbursement for meals and incidentals (for domestic travel) ​has increased from $62 to $79.
  • Entertainment: The maximum meal rates for entertainment and business meeting meals have increased for all meal types.

Please see the full announcement for more detail on these changes.​

Travel Meals

Business and Finance Bulletin G-28, Travel Regulations (Travel Policy) defines the Meal and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) Reimbursement Cap as the maximum amount authorized for the daily meal and incidental expenses established by the University. This is for all business travel of less than 30 days in the continental United States, which includes the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.

The maximum M&IE rate for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 is $79.00 and is based on the highest per diem rate available for all UC locations as published by US General Services Administration for Fiscal 2023. We will continue to follow this methodology to select a new M&IE rate for future fiscal years and will update the Travel Policy accordingly.


Entertainment Meals

The maximum meal rates for entertainment and business meeting meals have been increased in response to soaring food prices. The new rates are as follows:


Breakfast $31
Lunch $54
Dinner $94
Light Refreshments $22

As a reminder, these amounts include the cost of food and beverages, labor, sales tax, service, and delivery charges. The cost of room rental, room set-up fees, media rental, and decorations, etc., are not included in the per-person costs.
Jul272022
US Bank Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Coming Soon
On August 13, 2022 US Bank will require users to setup Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) when logging into the Access Online system.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new process, please log in to Access Online and check the email address listed in your user profile for accuracy.

Please see the Multi-Factor Authentication for US Bank Access Online FAQ for additional information. ​​​
Jul72022
Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Year-End Closing Schedule
Fiscal Year 2021-2022 has closed, except for central office accrual activity.

The annual budget carryforward process is scheduled for Tuesday August 2nd, 2022. Remaining FY22 budget balances will be carried forward to FY23.

A detailed calendar of closing events is posted on the Financial Affairs website. Please take the time to review the Fiscal Close 2021-2022 Schedule.
Sep172021
New CTE Card User Agreement, Powered by DocuSign
The CTE Card User Agreement has been rebuilt as a DocuSign enabled web based form and added to the Financial Affairs Forms Directory.

The web based version of the CTE Card User Agreement will automatically generate a DocuSign envelope and route it to the proper recipients for review, approval, and processing. Please ensure that new applications are submitted using this version of the form.
Oct292020
Notice to Employees: Process for Emergency-Related Purchases During COVID-19 Shelter-in-place
For approval of emergency supplies, evacuation, or other related purchases using your Corporate Travel and Entertainment (CTE) Card please email your request to ctecard@ucsc.edu. If the request is approved, include the approval email with your monthly CTE Card reconciliation submission.​
Aug192020
Financial Affairs Response Times Impacted
As with many campus units, there are a significant number of Financial Affairs staff impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. Response times for all Financial Affairs departments may be slower than usual. Be safe, everyone.
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Aug172020
Notice to Employees: Remote/Zoom Meal Expenses not Allowable During COVID-19 Shelter-in-place
Many campuses have been receiving requests from employees for reimbursements of various expenses associated with working from home during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place. It is important to remember that employees who are working from home are not on travel status as defined in Business and Finance Bulletin G-28, Travel Regulations, as “the period during which a traveler is traveling on official University business outside the vicinity of their headquarters or residence.” Because employees who are working from home are not on travel status, they are not eligible for meal reimbursement. If they have to travel to the regular office where they would normally work, that is a non-reimbursable commuting expense.

Similarly, requests for reimbursement of meals taken at home (or delivered) during a Zoom business meeting are not reimbursable under policy. Per Business and Finance Bulletin BUS-79, a business meeting requires an in-person host, and is intended for on-premises and/or in-person meetings of employees. Since none of those factors occur on an at-home Zoom meeting with colleagues, the related charge is not allowable for reimbursement nor can it be charged to a UC paid credit card (i.e. CTE or Procard).​
Apr132020
Financial Affairs Response to COVID-19
During this unprecedented time, our entire UCSC community has been directly impacted by the magnitude of the global COVID-19 crisis. Many temporary adjustments have been, and continue to be, made to our financial policy and processes in order to accommodate our UCSC community and to help our campus navigate this difficult period.

For more information on the response and related resources, please visit our Financial Affairs Response to COVID-19 page.​
Aug22019
We’ve had a lot of great feedback about the UCSC Corporate Travel Card Program. We are excited to offer this program that delivers great value to UCSC's departments and their cardholder's in many different ways. With that, we have TWO very important reminders to keep this program successful:
  • An updated CTE Card User Agreement CTE has been added to the forms library. Please ensure that any new applications are being submitted using this form. A notice of the updated User Agreement will be sent to all Cardholders, Expense Approvers, and Divisional Contacts on record.
  • Per UC Travel Policy, post travel expense claims (e.g. CTE Travel & Entertainment Reporting Forms aka “TERF”) must be submitted to our accounting office (via ctecard@ucsc.edu) within a reasonable amount of time; not to exceed 45 days after issuance of the monthly statement. We recommend submitting each month’s reconciled TERF to your business office within 30 days of the statement date to avoid any conflicts with this policy. Travel reimbursement requests, TERFs, and ERAs submitted after 45 days may be reported as TAXABLE INCOME to you via the payroll system in which standard payroll deductions would apply. We currently have a large number of CTE cardholders that are in violation of this UC Policy and we will be sending individual delinquent notices. Please submit all of your FY18-19 TERF forms as soon as possible. We are here to help you with the forms and the process. If you have any questions or just need to submit, please email ctecard@ucsc.edu.
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