Watchtower Purchasing Card Program

Cardholder User Manual

for Regional Building Committees

INTRODUCTION

It is important that the following guidelines be understood and followed. The Bank has an expectation that Watchtower will use reasonable security precautions to protect the credit cards. Watchtower has a duty to ensure that credit cards are kept secure and that those using the cards are properly trained in the use and protection of the credit cards. Cards should be treated as if they were cash and should be safeguarded as such. If Watchtower fails in that duty, then it may be liable for any fraud that is committed using the credit card.

RECEIPT OF CREDIT CARD

The bank will mail the credit card directly to the cardholder. The cardholder must call the bank to activate the card. Whenever the cardholder calls the bank, the cardholder must be able to answer the bank’s security questions. The security question answers are the last four digits of the cardholder’s social security number or an alternate four digit number and a password that may be, but does not have to be, the mother’s maiden name. The RBC should have requested this information from you when requesting a credit card for your use. If the cardholder has trouble activating the credit card, call the Treasurer’s Office credit card desk.

The “bill to address” and phone number tied to the credit card is the address and phone number the cardholder gave the RBC when the credit card was requested. The cardholder will not be billed or receive a credit card statement in the mail. The cardholder’s street address is in the bank’s computer system as the “bill to address” because some suppliers use address verification as a fraud prevention measure.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Important Telephone Numbers

• A. JPMorgan Chase Customer Service at 800-270-7760 (24/7).

• B. Treasurer’s Office credit card desk at 718-560-5000 extension 25490.

Call Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 am to 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Cardholder Responsibilities

• A. A cardholder is responsible for the security of the purchasing card. Keep the card in a secure location and keep the account number confidential.

• B. Credit cards are issued in the name of a specific person and RBC project.

• 1. Person—Embossed on the first line of the credit card is the name of a specific person. The card is for the exclusive use of the cardholder whose name appears on the card. It is not a community card that can be shared with others.

• 2. RBC Project—Embossed on the second line of the credit card is the name of the congregation that holds title to the Kingdom Hall under construction or renovation.

• a. Because the title holding congregation’s name is embossed on the face of the card, the card can be used in combination with the title holding congregation’s state sales and use tax exempt certificate, if any.

• b. The card is to be used only for the project embossed on the face of the card. It is not to be used to purchase materials for any other RBC project.

• C. If a card is lost or stolen, immediately call the bank to cancel the credit card account. Customer service can search on the cardholder’s name. It is not necessary to know your complete account number. However, it may be helpful to know or keep a record of the last four digits of your account number. If a cardholder feels that it necessary to keep a written record of the complete account number or a photocopy of the credit card, it should be kept in a secure location. When calling the bank, the cardholder should be prepared to answer the bank’s security questions such as mother’s maiden name or other provided password and the last four digits of your social security number or an alternate four digit number.

In addition, call the project credit card coordinator to inform him that your card was canceled. If a replacement card was issued, give the project credit card coordinator the last four digits of the new account number.

• D. Follow the RBC approval process as outlined in the Regional Building Committee Accounting Manual (S-100).

• E. The cardholder is responsible for obtaining a receipt for all purchases and returned merchandise. Depending on local arrangements, all receipts should be forwarded to the project credit card coordinator or to the project accountant.

• F. Within three to four days the cardholder must communicate to the project credit card coordinator all transactions (debit and credit) on the card so that the credit card coordinator via the Internet can monitor card activity for fraudulent transactions and expected credits. Depending on local arrangements, two common ways to do this are as follows:

• 1. Within three to four days cardholder forward receipt(s) to the project credit card coordinator.

• 2. Within three to four days cardholder e-mails transaction activity to the project credit card coordinator. If it is necessary to reference the credit card account number use the last 4 digits. Never e-mail the full account number.

• G. Under no circumstances should the card be used for personal purchases. If this happens, the RBC will determine if the person is qualified to use a credit card issued by the organization.

• H. Shred any discarded paperwork showing the credit card account number.

Card Limits

Spending Amount Limits

The RBC or their appointed project credit card coordinator determines the monthly credit limit of the card. If the monthly spending limit needs to be increased, the cardholder should contact the project credit card coordinator.

Merchant Limits

The JPMorgan Chase credit card can be used with any merchant that accepts MasterCard. However, use of the card at some merchants has been blocked. Credit card companies have assigned all suppliers a Merchant Category Code (MCC). Merchant category codes have been blocked for merchants that would not be used by an RBC. For example, airlines, hotel/motel, or car rental merchants are blocked. There are two exceptions for car rental merchants, Hertz Rent-A-Car and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Hertz Rent-A-Car is made available so that RBCs can use Hertz Equipment Rental to rent equipment such as a scissor lift. The card should not be used for renting vehicles due to liability issues should an accident occur. However, if a need exists and approval is given by the Service Department’s Kingdom Hall Desk to use a branch credit card to rent a vehicle, please contact the Treasurer’s Office—Risk Management for instructions regarding insurance.

If someone tries to make a purchase at a merchant whose MCC is blocked, the credit card transaction will be declined. This limits fraudulent use of the card should the card fall into the wrong hands.

If a legitimate credit card transaction is declined, the cardholder should call the Treasurer’s Office credit card desk at 718-560-5000 extension 25490 to determine why the transaction was declined. If the reason is a blocked MCC, the Treasurer’s Office can temporarily remove the block so the purchase can be completed and determine if the block should be permanently removed.

Fraudulent Transactions

It is important that any fraudulent use of the card be detected quickly. In some cases Watchtower may be required to absorb the cost of the fraud. If the bank suspects that transactions posted to your credit card account are fraudulent, they will freeze your credit card account. The bank will contact you by telephone to verify if the questionable transaction(s) is legitimate or fraudulent. This is one reason why it is important that up-to-date contact information is submitted to the RBC, which information is passed on to the bank by the Treasurer’s Office.

The project credit card coordinator or his assistant is required to use the Internet to monitor transaction activity for all cards assigned to a project. Receipts or an e-mail listing of transactions forwarded by the cardholder are compared to transactions posted online. If there is a transaction posted to the account for which there is no receipt, the project credit card coordinator or his assistant will call the cardholder.

• A. If the transaction is legitimate, remind the cardholder to forward the receipt or e-mail a transaction list to the project credit card coordinator.

• B. If the transaction is not legitimate, the cardholder should immediately do the following:

• 1. Call JPMorgan Chase Customer Service at 800-270-7760, to cancel the card and request a replacement card if one is needed.

• 2. If a replacement card is requested, the cardholder should ask the bank for the last four digits of the new credit card account number and provide that information to the project credit card coordinator.

Billing Discrepancies and Returns

When comparing receipts or an e-mail transaction list forwarded by the cardholder to transactions posted online to the credit card account, the project credit card coordinator may notice that the account was double billed or billed for the wrong amount.

When there is a billing discrepancy or a credit for a return has not been posted to the credit card account, the project credit card coordinator will contact the cardholder. The cardholder should try to resolve the problem in the following order:

• A. Communicate with the supplier. A supplier is able to credit your credit card account to resolve a billing discrepancy. In most cases, disputes can be settled directly between the cardholder and the merchant.

All suppliers have a right to resolve a problem with a purchase within a reasonable period of time, usually within two weeks of when the cardholder notifies the merchant of a problem. For example, when you receive either an incorrect or defective item, you must allow the merchant a reasonable amount of time to either replace the product, resolve the service issue, or issue a credit before turning the matter over to JPMorgan Chase Bank to resolve.

• B. As a last resort get the bank involved.

• 1. If the incorrect charge cannot be resolved with the merchant, the cardholder should call customer assistance using the telephone number listed on the back of the credit card. The project credit card coordinator cannot call the bank for the cardholder but can dispute a transaction online using Pay-mentNet. Disputed transactions must be submitted to JPMorgan Chase within 60 days of the statement on which the transaction appears.

• 2. If the cardholder needs assistance disputing a transaction with the bank or if the project credit card coordinator needs assistance disputing a problem online, call the Treasurer’s Office credit card desk at 718-560-5000 extension 25490.

• C. The cardholder should communicate to the project credit card coordinator that the problem has been resolved. If a credit is expected, the project credit card coordinator will monitor the account online to ensure the credit is received.

Cash Rebate

The organization receives a cash rebate from JPMorgan Chase Bank for all credit card purchases.

Card Not Needed

When a card for a specific project is no longer needed, inform the project credit card coordinator who will then inform the Treasurer’s Office credit card desk so that the account can be closed.

Payment of Credit Card Account

The cardholder will not receive a credit card statement and is not involved in paying the credit card statement. The RBC Finance/Accounting Department will handle the payment of the credit card statement.

WATCHTOWER PURCHASING CARD USER AGREEMENT

You are being entrusted with a purchasing credit card based on your need to purchase materials or services for projects approved by and under the supervision of the Regional Building Committee of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Inc. It is not an entitlement nor reflective of title or position. The card may be revoked at any time without your permission.

Activation and use of the card means that the cardholder has read and agrees to comply with the following:

• 1. I understand I will have proper approval before making a financial commitment on behalf of the RBC project to which my card is assigned.

• 2. I have read and will follow the guidelines in the Watchtower Purchasing Card Program Cardholder User Manual for Regional Building Committees. Failure to comply with this agreement may result in either revocation of my use privileges or other corrective action.

• 3. I understand that under no circumstances will I use the purchasing card to make personal purchases, either for myself or for others. Using the card for personal charges could be considered misappropriation of funds and could result in corrective action.

• 4. I agree that should I violate the terms of this agreement and use the purchasing card for personal use or gain that I will make reimbursement for all incurred charges and any fees related to the collection of those charges.

• 5. The purchasing card is issued in my name. I will not allow any other person to use the card or account number.

• 6. The purchasing card is the property of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. As such, I understand that I may be periodically required to comply with internal control procedures. This may include being asked to produce the card to validate its existence and account number

• 7. If the card is lost or stolen, I will immediately notify JPMorgan Chase by telephone at 800-270-7760 and the project credit card coordinator. If the project credit card coordinator cannot be reached, I will notify the Treasurer’s Office credit card desk at 718-560-5000 extension 25490.

• 8. Depending on local arrangements, I agree to forward all sales receipts to the RBC project credit card coordinator or the project accountant in a timely manner since they are part of the project’s permanent accounting records.

• 9. I agree to communicate all transaction activity within three to four days to the project credit card coordinator so that my transactions can be reviewed online. If the project credit card coordinator or an assistant contacts me about an unauthorized purchase, I will immediately report the unauthorized purchase on my account to JPMorgan Chase at 800-270-7760. If the project credit card coordinator or an assistant contacts me about an incorrect charge, I will attempt to resolve the problem with the supplier and, if unsuccessful, will notify JPMorgan Chase and the Treasurer’s Office credit card desk of any incorrect charges on my account within 60 days of the charge.

• 10. I agree to surrender the purchasing card immediately if my work assignment with the RBC changes, whether for voluntary or involuntary reasons.

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