November 30, 2008, marked the beginning of the new Travel Charge Card Program called Smart Pay 2 (SP2). Federal Government travelers are encouraged to apply for an individual Government charge card in order to pay for their travel expenses. The previous 10-year contract, also known as Smart Pay 1 (SP1), expired on November 29, 2008. Various individuals from my agency were extremely involved in the selection of our credit card vendor. As it turned out, the incumbent charge card vendor was awarded the new 10-year contract.
Internally, our credit card team conducted weekly meetings with the individuals from each section who were assigned to the project so that the conversion would be completed accurately and timely. In addition to working with the credit card vendor on a constant basis, we also worked with the E-Gov vendor and the travel management center (TMC) team to iron out the necessary steps so that the conversion was as seamless as possible for our travelers.
We created guidance and sent it to our travelers prior to the transition. Our agency contacts were kept informed of all updates and changes along the way. This was crucial for a successful transition. The guidance spelled out exactly what the travelers needed to do and contained other vital information such as when their new cards would be arriving and how to handle their travel during the conversion.
It was determined that our ETS would not be available for about three business days and also during the weekend of November 29 so that the ETS vendor could load the new credit card information. Once this was completed, various individuals within my agency were busy updating the travelers’ documents with the new account information.
The conversion was completed earlier than expected and was considered a success.
by Pam Morton
The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.