American Express @ Work® Global Apply for Card (GAFC)


Programme Administrator(PA) / Authorised Signatory (AS)- Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

 

What roles are available in GAFC?

There are two roles:

 

Programme Administrator (PA) who can initiate* and track Card Applications.
Authorised Signatory (AS) who can approve Card Applications

 

*Excludes Quick Send function which can only be used by AS

How do applicants access their Card Application?

There are two ways to access a Card application:

  1. Access Key and a URL Link
    • Card Applicants may be provided with a link to the application site and an Access Key, or;
    • Access Key(s) and the Card application URL may be posted on their company’s internal Intranet site.
  2. Email Invitation
    • Applicants will receive two emails from American Express, initiated by their PA via @ Work, inviting them to apply for a Corporate Card.
    • One email will contain a link to the application site, the other an Application ID to use as a key to log on and complete the application.

Once on the Card application site, Applicants will be instructed to enter their email address and Application ID or Access Key to begin their Corporate Card application journey.

Who will approve Card Applications?

Only an Authorised Signatory can approve Card Applications. Authorised Signatories are also the only User who can use the “Quick Send” feature in the ‘Send Applications’ tab as these are ‘pre-approved’ applications.

Should a PA inadvertently approve a Card Application it will be rejected, and an email sent to the Card Applicant advising the status. A new form will need to be submitted.

What Card products are available in Global Apply for Card for Customers to use?

Travel and Entertainment Cards: Platinum, Gold, Green Cards and CoBrand are available. Currently Corporate Meeting Card (CMC) and Corporate Purchasing Card (CPC) are excluded.

Which types of identification documents are accepted on the application form(s)?

Information on accepted identification documents is provided at the start, and throughout the Applicant’s journey.

Once they have begun completing the application on the right-hand side of the screen under ‘Important Information’ they can select the hyperlink for ‘Learn more’ where they will be directed to additional details.

Do Applicants need to print off their Application and have an Authorised Signatory sign it?

No, the approval process is automated and fully online, there is no need for any paper copies or wet signature in this process.

Why do you collect Applicant’s Company email addresses?

This is used for servicing purposes by American Express.

Is GAFC mobile or tablet friendly?

GAFC will respond to and function on smaller screen resolutions like tablet and mobile, however, we don’t have a separate mobile only application.

When the Embossed Company name is on the Card, where does it draw from?

The system pulls the embossed company name on the Card from your American Express Basic Control Account (BCA) details.

Who do I contact if I need assistance?

If the PA receives any errors or has additional questions, they can contact the American Express PA Servicing Team.

If a request wasn’t processed successfully, the PA will receive an error message that states they need to try their request again.

Card Applicants are first directed to PAs if they need assistance.

How Card Applicants receive Applications to Apply

 

Can a Card Applicant initiate their own Card Applications?

Yes, The Card Applicant needs only the Access Key and URL to initiate the process.

You can store the Access Key (unique) and Application URL (common) via your internal Intranet or internal process. If the Access Key requires a pre-approval, the Card applicant will enter their contact information to kick-off the pre-approval process. The PA will always need to review applications completed in this fashion to ensure proper controls for your Card Programme are in place.

How many applications can PAs send at a time from within GAFC?

PAs can send up to 10 applications at a time by simply entering the applicants first name, last name, and email address. This will create a unique Application ID for each applicant that is automatically delivered to them via emails from American Express.

What happens if the Applicant didn’t receive their invite to apply?

Please have the Applicant check their ‘Junk’ or ‘Spam’ folders as emails are sent from a generated email tool. PAs can resend the Application emails via the ‘Track Applications’ tab.

Once sent to the employee, how long do they have to complete an application?

Applicants will have 45 days to complete their application prior to it being cancelled by the system.

Are there any notifications sent to applicants to remind them to complete online?

The Card applicant will receive an email reminder to complete any non-started or pending application 3 days after application initiation, then every 10 days.

Access Keys

 

What is an Access Key?

An Access Key is a unique code, created in @ Work, and each one is associated with a BCA for your company. The Access Key carries information about the BCA set up such as Product, Billing, and Liability Type, to the Card application. PAs can customise Approvers in the journey, mandate Cost Center, Employee ID, or even the length of the fields required.

How do I create an Access Key?

PAs create an Access Key in the ‘Send Applications’ tab with a few simple steps:

  1. Click ‘Create New Access Key’ on ‘Send Applications’ Tab
  2. Choose the BCA for the Access Key
  3. Set the options you would like associated with the Access Key
  4. Confirm and Create!

Are there any fields I can mandate in the application?

Yes, if you require Applicants to nominate their Pre-Approvers, Cost Center, Employee ID on Applications, including the length of the fields required, check the boxes for these items during the Access Key set-up process.

How do I use Customise Approvers section?

You have the option to nominate up to 3 Pre-Approvers, e.g. a Line Manager, Team Leader or Human Resource Rep, who will receive an email notification requesting they approve any Card Applications that are initiated for that Access Key.

Only once all the Pre-Approvers have provided their approval on the application will the Card Applicant be able to complete the form.

Card Applicants can also nominate Pre-Approvers if these are unique for each application.

You choose to have no Pre-Approvers and only Post Approvers i.e. once the application has been completed an AS will be notified to approve the form in @ Work.

Does each PA need to set up their own Access Keys?

No. All PAs with permissions for a BCA will have full visibility to manage and use Access Key’s created for those BCA’s. You may only need one Access Key for each BCA. If a BCA has both Gold and Green Cards associated to it, you will need one Access Key for Gold and one for Green.

If you prefer you can create multiple Access Keys for a BCA if there are different Department and/or Approver combinations required. These Access Keys can be leveraged by all PAs responsible for those departments and approvers.

How many Access Keys can a PA create?

There is no limit to how many Access Keys can be created for each BCA or by each PA. Developing consistent naming conventions and internal workflows will help your organisation optimise the number of Access Keys created.

Are Access Keys required to initiate applications?

No, not always. To initiate an application without an Access Key, the AS can select the ‘Quick Send’ option to send application(s) – a PA will NOT be able to use this feature as the application is already ‘approved’. The Card Application will be sent straight to American Express after submitted by applicant.

When does an Access Key expire?

Access Keys do not expire. However, if the PA who set up the Access Keys moves to a new role, or leaves the Company, we recommend an active PA edit the Access Key to ensure all notifications stay within the group. We always recommend at least 2 PAs register for GAFC to ensure all roles can be completed any time.

If we add new PAs, will they be able to see existing Access Keys by default?

Yes, provided the new PAs are set up with permissions at the same BCA level, new PAs can access, use and maintain the Access Keys.

How do the Approval Routings selected in the Access Keys work?

 

For Applications including Pre-Approvers, will the Approver receive an email alert in real time?

Yes, the Approver will receive an email within 15 minutes, and they can decision whether an employee is eligible to apply directly from the email, without needing a
@ Work ID.

What Approval options are available?

When setting up the Access Key the PA can choose either:

  • Pre- and Post-Approval, where both a Pre-Approver (up to 3) and an Authorised Signatory (Post-Approver) must approve the application.
  • Pre-Approval, where only a named Pre-Approver (up to 3) approves the application – at least one must be a registered Authorised Signatory on the BCA. Once the Applicant completes the application, it will go directly to American Express for processing.
  • Post-Approval, where there is no Pre-Approver, the AS must approve the completed application prior to submission to American Express.
  • Quick Send, This is where the AS will have the option to pre-populate the employee fields (Employee ID & Cost Center). Once the AS initiates this type of application and the applicant submits the application, it will go directly to American Express for processing.

When will Pre-Approval applications route to AS’s for review?

Applications requiring a Pre-Approval will route to the AS for review in two situations:

  • When Pre-Approval and/or Post-Approval are set up on the Access Key, or;
  • The application is submitted via the Card Applicant Self-Initiated Link with an Access Key indicating Pre-Approval.
    • 100% of Card Applicant Initiated Applications are routed to AS for approval for validation purposes, regardless if the Access Key does not indicate a Post-Approval.

Do Post-Approval applications go to the AS automatically? What happens when there is more than one PA/AS?

Once completed, applications requiring Post-Approval appear in the To Do List tab for all AS’s with GAFC permissions under that BCA.

In addition, the PA/AS who last edited the Access Key will receive an email notification that they have an application to review.

Are there any applications that never go to the AS for final review and approval?

Yes – for Quick Send Applications and Applications initiated by a AS using Access Keys without Post-Approval selected.

What is Quick Send and when should I use it to initiate applications?

Quick Send allows the AS to quickly initiate an application to an employee in the fewest possible steps.

  1. Simply select a BCA and enter the employee’s first name, last name, and email, then review and submit.
  2. Once the application is completed by the applicant, it will go directly to American Express for processing.
  3. No Access Key or Post-Approval is required as the Card Application is ‘pre-approved’ automatically by the AS initiating using Quick Send.

Use Quick Send when you want to quickly provide a Card to an employee without the need for an Access Key or additional approvals.

Application Tracking

 

How can a PA see where a Card Application is at in the process?

The PA can view applications in the ‘Track Applications’ tab for any particular individual in the system.

What are the different status’ for applications in GAFC?

Statuses include:

  • Sent to Employee
  • Pending
  • Pre-Approver
  • Pre-Approver Cancelled
  • Pending PA Review
  • Pending American Express Approval
  • Approved by American Express
  • On Hold by American Express
  • Cancelled by American Express
  • Declined by American Express
  • PA Declined, and
  • Application Expired

Can the PA review the Pre-Approval status? If so, where can the PA view this before Post Approval?

Yes, all Application statuses are tracked in the ‘Track Applications’ tab - even those that have been self-initiated by the Card Applicant. If there is a Pre-Approver, once they approve the application, the status will move to ‘Sent to Employee’.

If a PA cancels or rejects an application, will an email generate to the applicant? Is this real time?

Yes, the applicant will receive an email notification advising that the company has declined/cancelled their application within 15 minutes.

How will the PA know if an application has been rejected by American Express?

PAs can view all application statuses, including rejections, via the ‘Track Applications’ Tab.

If an application is rejected the PA will see the status: Cancelled by American Express or Declined by American Express.

There are no email notifications to the PA on the American Express decision of the application.

Application Review and Approval

 

How will an AS or PA know when they have applications to review?

The AS or PA who setup or last edited the Access Key will receive an email notification that there is a completed application to review.

When any PA/AS logs onto GAFC, they will see applications to review and approve in the To Do List.

What kind of actions can PAs make on a Card Application being reviewed?

PA/AS’s can make the following actions on Card applications pending approval.

  • Change delivery address from Residential to Business (unless company is set up on central card delivery).
  • Edit some of the non-PII information on the application such as Employee ID or Cost Center.
  • Route the application back to the applicant to correct fields with errors and include a note with details on what the applicant needs to correct.

AS’s only can make the following actions on Card applications

  • Approve or Cancel (decline) applications one at a time or all at the same time.

What happens when an AS re-routes the application back to the applicant for edits using GAFC?

When the AS routes the application back by selecting the link that says, ‘Route back to Applicant’, the AS can enter comments as to why they are routing it back, and the applicant will receive the details in an email.

 

The applicant then logs in again using the details in their email, fix the errors, and re-submit to the AS for review. During this ‘reroute’ the status in ‘Track Applications’ will return to ‘Sent to Employee’ as the Card application is pending with the employee.

Card Application/Card Delivery

 

Are there mandatory fields on the application and will the Applicant know there is an error with their application?

Yes, Applicants will be notified which fields are mandatory while they are completing the online Application. If there are any errors, messages will appear prompting the individual to provide more information or correct their entries.

Can different Card delivery address locations be managed by creating another Access Key for the same BCA?

Card delivery address locations are managed at the BCA level in the Central Card Delivery fields for the organisation. There is not an option within Access Key Details to select Card delivery options.

If Central Card Delivery is ON, the applicant will NOT be advised that their Card will be delivered to the Business Address.

If Central Card Delivery is OFF, the applicant is advised that their Card will be delivered to which ever address they selected as their Statement/Billing address.

Can an applicant request an alternate delivery address for the Card?

Not at this time.

What are the Card delivery address options for applicants?

Unless your company has arranged to distribute Cards centrally, the Applicant can select either their Home or Company address for Card delivery.

Is there any flexibility for PAs to select the Card to be delivered to the Applicant if the current arrangement is configured to Central Card Delivery?

Not currently. This is on the Roadmap for a future enhancement so keep an eye out for updates.

How do Applicants submit their completed application?

Once Applicants have completed all mandatory fields in the application, they will reach a review and submit screen. There they can review and modify fields if necessary.

Once finalised Applicants accept the Terms and Conditions and click the Submit button. A screen will then appear confirming that the application has been submitted.

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