Bookstore Charge Card

Penn Bookstore Charge Card: Working with Penn’s P-Card provider, JP Morgan, the University has established the Penn Bookstore Charge Card. This card can only be used at the Penn Bookstore and support purchase in which the shopper might not know the exact item or manufacturer until they see the item first-hand and determine which one meets their needs, in other words “shopping”. The Penn Bookstore Charge Card is available in two forms:

Individually Issued Bookstore Charge Card: This follows the same processes and policies as the individual Pcard except that it can only be used at the Penn Bookstore. The Bookstore Charge Card is designed to allow for smaller, spontaneous purchases.
Department Issued Bookstore Charge Card: This card is the same as the Individual Issued Bookstore Charge Card, however this card is issued to a custodian as delegated by each department. An individual in a department will apply for the card and serve as its custodian. This charge card is safeguarded by the custodian and can be used by any individual as determined by each department.

Individuals who are issued Bookstore Charge Cards as well as any Custodian of the Department Issued Bookstore Charge Card will be required to take training and will be subject to the University’s policies and procedures. Dollar thresholds will default to the Pcard values; however, they can be adjusted upon agreement and approval of the School/Center business office and Procurement Services.

Starting in FY’21, the Penn Bookstore accepts Purchase Orders. Purchase Orders can be used for larger dollar value orders that exceed the transaction limit of the Bookstore Charge Card or for purchase that are pre-planned, defined, and coordinated in advance with management representative from the Bookstore. Examples include bulk purchases of books and course materials, graduation regalia, and special-order items.

PCards can continue to be used if desired, and Travel Cards continue to be discouraged to be used as they do not offer sales tax free purchasing.

A working team was formed that was comprised of School & Center representatives, Penn Purchasing, Penn Bookstore, and Business Services. The team worked to ensure the following objectives were in place for the developed solution:

Continued sales tax-exempted purchasing.
Flexibility on who can shop and pay for Bookstore merchandise.
Supportive of spontaneous or unplanned purchases.
Familiar administrative tasks to apply, issue and maintain purchasing mechanism.
Financial controls to ensure accountability and limit risk.
Flexible and scalable implementation that is determined by each School/Center.

Online Application

Training Information

Penn Bookstore Charge Card – 2 Year Certification

Online Card Application User Guide

Online Card Application Approver Guide

PaymentNet

PaymentNet Application Management System

Quick Reference Guide

PaymentNet Browser Support

Best Practices

Keeping your Card Safe

Minimizing Fraud