Aided schools should avoid as far as possible allowing their staff members to use their personal credit cards/Octopus cards to purchase on behalf of the schools because personal gains, such as the earning of reward points, may be involved in such an arrangement. However, under exceptional circumstances where it is unavoidable for the staff members to make payments by such means, aided schools should formulate relevant guidelines to deal with the situations. For instance, schools may stipulate that only school staff at an appropriate level shall be entitled to make payments using personal credit cards/Octopus cards on behalf of the schools; reward points so earned should be used to redeem coupons for use by the schools; and the reimbursement amount to the staff members should be calculated by deducting the rebates, etc. to ensure that the staff members would not obtain any personal gains from the purchases.
If aided schools consider applying for corporate credit cards in the name of the schools to meet their procurement needs, they must take note of the arrangements of annual fee and potential risks involved. In addition, the schools must seek approval from the Incorporated Management Committee regarding corporate credit card applications, and ensure that procurement using the corporate credit cards is intended for educational use, and that all benefits (including reward points) in this connection accrue only to the schools. Some banks provide credit cards that accrue no reward points or rebates. Schools may contact the banks directly for information on the procedures and terms of corporate credit card applications. The results of the applications are subject to the final decisions of the banks.
