UNCLASSIFIED   STATE   00044837 

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DE RUEHC #4837/01 1241209
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R 041204Z MAY 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 7096

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 044837 
 
FOLLOWING USOFFICE FSC CHARLESTON 00853 DATED 04/04/09 
SENT ACTION SECSTATE BEING REPEATED FOR YOUR ACTION. 
QUOTE: 
 
UNCLAS FSC CHARLESTON 000853 
 
MCO REPEAT TO ALDAC/POSTS INCLUDING MINIMIZE 
FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OFFICERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AFIN AFSN AMGT
SUBJECT: US DEBIT CARD PROGRAM FOR LES TRAVEL:  Q AND A 
 
REF: STATE 29421 DTD 02 MAR 2009 
 
¶1. Reftel announced a new program under the Department,s new 
Smartpay 2 task order, the US Debit Card (USDC).  The 
program allows LES employees to obtain travel advances on a 
branded prepaid debit card rather than to have to travel 
with sizeable cash advances.  A large number of posts have 
expressed strong interest in the program, and have asked a 
number of questions.  This telegram provides some of the 
answers, and shares additional guidance from our experience 
to date. 
 
¶2. Post-level Questions and Answers (Qs and As) 
¶1. Q: Who is eligible to participate in the program? 
 
A: The primary purposes of the USDC program are to (1) 
decrease the risk our Locally Engaged Staff (LES) 
colleagues face in performing official travel, and (2) to 
reduce the considerable workload and risks worldwide of 
managing cash travel advances.  Both of these objectives 
are unrelated to the LES, hiring agency, in fact the 
program is more effective and efficient by expanding the 
pool of eligible LES.  Therefore, the USDC program is 
available, at post management discretion, broadly to all 
LES under COM authority on the Embassy,s compensation 
plan.  Any LES participating in the card program must be 
payrolled by State GFS under ICASS in Bangkok or Charleston 
and the travel advance must be paid by an ICASS service 
provider with access to State financial systems (RFMS, 
WinDATEL or LanSPFMS).  Each post may have only ONE 
administrator, regardless of whether just State or multiple 
agencies participate in the program. 
 
¶2. Q: Is the program mandatory for all LES travelers? 
 
¶A. No.  Use of the USDC is entirely up to post management. 
It 
is an excellent tool at some posts where local banking is 
such that LES do not have credit or debit cards that may be 
used for travel, particularly internationally.  However, 
many posts will find that their LES have personal bank 
accounts and cards that can be drawn on easily and 
economically while on international travel.  In these 
cases, travel advances may be issued by EFT to the personal 
accounts of the LES traveler and the LES would use their 
own ATM, debit or credit card while travelling. 
 
¶3. Q: What is the cost to post of participating in the 
program? 
 
A: There is no initial setup fee for using 
the USDC program, and there is no fee for enrolling new 
cardholders in the program. However, the following fees 
will be levied at the cardholder level, to be claimed on 
the final travel voucher: 
 
-- Non-Citibank ATM transaction fee - this is a flat fee that 
is set by each bank. 
-- 2% ATM transaction fee - this fee will be debited from the 
balance of the card at the time of the transaction.  For 
example, if a cardholder withdraws $100.00 from an ATM, his 
card will be debited in the amount of $102.00. 
-- 1% international Point of Sale (POS) currency conversion 
fee - this fee is levied by Visa, and applies to all POS 
transactions that take place outside of the U.S. This fee 
will be debited from the card at the time of the 
transaction. 
 
¶4. Q: How do travelers get reimbursed for the costs of using 
the card? 
 
A: Travelers will incur costs when they use the card any 
place 
other than a domestic US point of sale.  These costs may be 
claimed on travel voucher claims.   All charges against the 
card will be denominated in US dollars, converted at a rate 
of exchange established by the contract bank.  The employee 
should claim the amount in dollars that is charged to the 
card. 
 
¶5. Q: How can travelers minimize the costs incurred in using 
the USDC? 
 
A: Official travelers must exercise the same care in 
incurring 
expenses that a prudent person would exercise if traveling 
on personal business and expending personal funds.  Pilot 
phase usage of the USDC cards shows that use of the debit 
card at point of sale (POS) incurs much lower costs than 
usage at an  ATM.  Because of the lower POS costs, posts 
should encourage their travelers to use the cards directly 
with vendors and NOT indirectly by obtaining cash at an ATM 
to later spend with vendors. 
 
¶6. Q:  Is the card only for international travel? 
 
A: The card is denominated in US dollars only.  Therefore all 
charges on the card will be converted to US dollars at the 
bank rate and then deducted from the card.  Circumstances 
in your country - including security of cards  may allow 
this card to be used domestically, and there is no 
restriction against it.  The purposes of the program are to 
reduce risk -- on both travelers by precluding the need for 
a large cash advance and the considerable risk of our 
cashiers handling cash travel advances. 
 
¶7. Q: Does the USDC program offer a non-personalized card? 
 
A: The GSA SmartPay2 contract and State,s task order allows 
for emergency use non-embossed debit cards.  However, this 
feature has not yet been rolled out.  Currently the only 
available debit cards are personalized with the card- 
holder,s name. 
 
¶8. Q: How long are the cards active? 
 
A: The debit cards are active for 3 years after the date of 
issue.   Within 30 days of expiration, the cardholder must 
contact the customer service area for reissue.  Funds will 
transfer to the new card. 
 
¶9. Q: How long does it take to receive a card once it has 
been 
ordered? 
 
A: A card is issued within one week of a cardholder being 
enrolled in the Citibank USDC. The card is then sent via 
FedEx directly to post. As such, posts can assume an 
average of a 2-week timeframe for receiving the card after 
it has been ordered. 
 
¶10. Q: How long does it take for funds to be loaded onto the 
card? 
 
A: After post processes a voucher to post an ACH payment to 
the card, the funds should be delivered to the card within 
the next two days.  However, regular post payment 
procedures and cutoff times for your servicing USDO as well 
as advances issued through the GET (e2) system will also 
impact how quickly he funds get onto the card. 
 
¶11. Q: How will post obtain the information to set up the ACH 
payment? 
 
A: This information is provided on a tear-off portion of the 
initial card package that is sent to the cardholder. This 
documentation includes the Bank Name, Account Number and 
Routing Number. 
 
¶12. Q: Is post responsible for monitoring cardholders, 
transactions? 
 
A: No. Neither post,s program administrator nor GFS has 
access 
to cardholder transaction history. The funds are considered 
to be -cardholder owned,- which means that once the cards 
are loaded, GFS has no oversight in the manner in which the 
funds are used. In this sense, loading a travel advance 
onto a debit card is equivalent to paying a travel advance 
in cash. 
 
¶13. Q: Can a cardholder use the card to make a purchase in 
excess of the balance on the card? 
 
A: No - there is no credit associated with these cards. They 
are only -good- for the amount of the balance on the card 
at any given time. If the cardholder attempts to use the 
card to make a purchase in excess of the card balance, then 
the transaction will be declined. 
 
Cardholder-level Questions 
¶14. Q: Do cardholders have access to their transaction 
history? 
 
Do they receive statements on their accounts? 
 
A: Cardholders do not receive statements, but they do have 
access to a website that provides 24-7 access to their 
transaction history. The website information is provided in 
the initial card package that the cardholder receives, as 
well as a Customer Service phone number. To check balance 
and account info online go to www.myecount.com or call 
866-326-8689.  Overseas callers who cannot call US toll 
free numbers may call collect on 610-941-4607. 
 
¶15. Q: What are "Holds" or "Blocks" when reserving hotel 
roomsand renting cars? 
 
A: Credit and debit card blocking (or holds) are a common 
business practice for US hotels and rental car companies. 
Hotels and rental car agencies will often place a hold on 
the funds of a card, in excess of the amount of the final 
bill. Businesses place these holds in order to account for 
possible additional expenditures that the cardholder might 
incur, such as room service or excess mileage.  Posts and 
travelers under the USDC need to be aware of this practice, 
as it will limit the use of the card in many cases. 
Blocking generally takes place when a consumer checks into 
a hotel or rents a car, instances where a credit or debit 
card is needed prior to actual payment.  In such cases, the 
clerk usually contacts the company that issued the card to 
provide an estimated total.  Once the transaction is 
approved, the balance on the card is reduced by this 
amount.  Hotels and car rental companies will estimate on 
the high side and can lock in the hold for three days or 
more, until your actual charges clear and are posted.  This 
is a -block- which some companies refer to as a -hold-, and 
it can prevent the traveler from being able to use the 
card.  If the hotel or car rental bill is a lot less than 
the balance on the USDC, this will not be an issue. 
 
One consumer web site recommends: 
 
When checking into a hotel or renting a car, find out if 
the company is blocking, how much will be blocked, how the 
amount is determined and how long the block will remain in 
place.  If the hold amount appears unreasonably high, GFS 
advises that the cardholder withdraw cash from an ATM in 
order to pay the hotel lodging bill or rental car fee up 
front.  Alternatively, arrangements may be made where a 
deposit is established and charged up front. 
 
If you check in using the USDC, also check out using it to 
pay.  Citibank will lift the block on the card within three 
days if they see the charge hit the card against the 
blocked amount. 
 
If you pay in cash or with a different credit card, remind 
the hotel to lift the block on the USDC promptly. 
 
¶16. Q: What happens if a cardholder forgets the card PIN that 
they have selected? 
 
A: After 3 incorrect PIN attempts, a cardholder,s account 
will 
be locked for 24 hours, and they will not be able to use 
their card for any transactions. After 2 failed attempts, 
the cardholder should call the Customer Service phone 
number (1-866-326-8689 or 610-941-4607 collect from outside 
the US)  provided on the back of the card, and select a new 
PIN. 
 
¶17. Q: What happens if a card is lost or stolen? 
 
A: The back of each card lists a number to call (1- 
866-326-8689 or 610-941-4607 collect from outside the US) 
in the event that the card is lost or stolen. As it is 
highly likely that a cardholder whose card has been stolen 
will not have access to this information, travelers should 
make a note of the number and keep it where they can access 
it.  Or, he/she can contact the post debit card program 
administrator for assistance. The post administrator can 
contact Citibank directly, or contact GFS for assistance in 
reporting the lost or stolen card. Citibank will cancel the 
card and reissue a replacement card, which will be sent 
directly to post. 
 
¶18. Q: Can a cardholder supplement the debit card balance 
with personal funds? 
 
A: No. The only way in which the cards can be loaded is via a 
post-initiated Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment, that 
is, post with process a payment directly to the card 
account via EFT. 
 
¶19. Q: What does a traveler do with any money that is left on 
the card after a trip has been completed? 
 
A: As with any travel advance, the money is given to the 
traveler to assist in paying for costs incurred while 
traveling.  Any money remaining is theirs to keep, unless 
they owe the USG because the advance was higher than their 
reimbursable expenditure.   To "clean out" the card, 
travelers may wish to withdraw any remaining money from 
their travel advance before returning to post.   This money 
is theirs to keep or, if  the cardholder owes the USG money 
 
from his travel advance, they may use this money to pay off 
the amount due to the USG.  Frequent travelers can leave a 
balance on their cards for use in conjunction with future 
travel.   Any funds left on the card will not be a factor 
in calculating future travel advances. 
If the funds to be withdrawn are less than the minimum 
withdrawal amount, then the cardholder should  contact GFSB 
or GFSC to find a solution for extracting the remaining 
funds from the card. 
 
End of Qs and As 
 
¶3.  Points of Contact standing by to answer any questions 
you might have are: 
 
(a)  RM/GFS Debit Card Program (Charleston) Manager 
Margaret Arrants (843-746-0527 or IVG 6-0527, email 
ArrantsMR@state.gov); 
 
(b) RM/GFS Debit Card Program (Bangkok) manager Pattranit 
Soparkdithapong (Bangkok, 662-205-5694 or IVG 675-5694, 
email SoparkdithapongPA@state.gov); and 
 
(c) The GFS Debit Card program email box (GFSUSDC@state.gov 
or "GFS USDC Admin" in the GAL.) 
 
¶4.  Minimize considered. 
MILLETTE 
UNQUOTE  CLINTON