Title
Office of Sponsored Programs - 500.17 - Prepaid Cards
Corresponding with:
Purpose
Prepaid cards allow business to be conducted more efficiently and effectively in specific situations. It is necessary to determine the acceptable circumstances to use this process and the methods by which they must be managed.
Policy Statement
The University has the ability to authorize access to funds for prepaid (debit and gift) cards for activities related to sponsored projects utilizing unrestricted University funds. Prepaid card expenses are reconciled to sponsored project funds once the cards have been utilized and the expenses are reviewed for allowability. Prepaid cards are strictly limited to the payment of study subject/participant incentives for sponsored projects. The request for prepaid cards must be authorized by the Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) or their designee.
The prepaid card process for use with research is owned by the University Controller (Finance) and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR); however, any advance involving a sponsored project require additional oversight by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
Expectations of Prepaid card management:
- All prepaid cards distributed within a calendar month must be reconciled by the 15th (or next business day) of the following month, unless required sooner for reporting purposes.
- Prepaid card issuance for sponsored programs is strictly limited to the payment of study subject/participant incentives.
- Funds advanced to external prepaid card systems should not exceed the sponsored project’s budget for the expense to which the prepaid cards will be reconciled upon distribution.
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I. Prepaid Card Advance Request
The Department requester, sponsored project's PD/PI, and research study teams are responsible for managing prepaid card use on sponsored programs. Requests to advance University funds to an external prepaid card management system must include all required documentation and may not exceed the available budget in the relevant account code. The prepaid card funding request is processed via a campus voucher payment to the external prepaid card management system. Once the voucher payment posts, the external prepaid card management system receives the funds and an advance is recorded on the chartfield funding the study.
II. Prepaid Card Payment Reconciliation
Reconciliation is the responsibility of the Department, PD/PI, and/or research teams managing study subject payments. Financial reconciliation of a prepaid card payment involves allocating the distributed payment amount from the recorded advance account on the study chartfield to the appropriate expense account. Only the amount distributed should be reconciled, the balance of amounts on cards not distributed should remain in the advance account code. Prepaid cards for study subject payments distributed throughout a calendar month must be reconciled by the 15th (or next business day) of the following month.
At the end of the sponsored project period, any unspent portion of the advance balance remaining in the external prepaid card management system must be returned to the University. Once the refund of the funds have processed from the external system, the remaining advance balance on the study chartfield will also be cleared.
Related Requirements
External Regulations and Consequences
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Contact Information
For questions regarding this procedure and its related operating standard, please contact SponsoredPrograms@unc.eduedu.
For questions regarding Pre-Award management or Post-Award administration, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Specialist (SPS).
For invoicing, reporting and other financial matters, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Accountant. OSP Staff assignments may be found in RAMSeS or on the OSP website.
History
History Table
| Date |
Description |
| 03/24/2025 |
Revised to reflect a standard on prepaid card management systems since Greenphire implemented |
| 07/11/2023 |
Revised to reflect new Tango system and retirement of Bank of America system |
| 07/01/2022 |
Revised to reflect new office name. |
| 09/05/2021 |
Released new operating standard and procedure. |
The operating standards in the Office of Sponsored Programs Operating Standards & Procedures Manual supersede any OSP operating standards, procedures and appendices previously included in the University Business Manual, a publication of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Division of Finance.