BMO Harris Bank P Card Program: Saving Your City and Town Time and Money

The League of Arizona Cities and Towns, along with BMO Harris Bank, is pleased to announce our partnership in offering a consortium based Procurement Card program to all AZ League members. P-cards have been widely used for many years by government organizations to reduce invoices, provide better controls than cash and checks, and in many cases generate a financial incentive based on program spend and performance.

This program is geared towards Arizona’s cities and towns and has some important benefits for your municipality.

General Benefits of BMO/League Program to Arizona Cities and Towns:

• No need to go through a lengthy and costly RFP process (an RFP was completed by City of Evanston, IL in 2017 thus allowing other government entities to join without having to do their own RFP)
• No fees for cards, implementation, program support, or use of online management tool
• No minimum spend requirements
• In addition to Pcard, participants can utilize Epayables, Declining Balance Cards, Virtual Accounts, Ghost Accounts, & Dept Cards
• All programs may earn an annual performance incentive paid directly by the League
• Receive a dedicated BMO support team
• Pick your statement payment terms (Grace Days of 7, 14, 21, or 27)
• Free access to Spend Dynamics, the online administration and reporting tool, allows the reconciliation of transactions with ease. Seamlessly integrate, reconcile and accurately code transactions into your ERP financial system. (manage accounts, establish program controls, create/schedule reports, etc) *no charge for receipt imaging
• Local advocate and representation from the League. Another benefit of this consortium is having a trusted resource administer the contract and serve as a liaison with the bank.  Your town, city, or county is protected knowing that the League acts as a contract manager on your behalf.  A prime example of this would be the League having negotiated that all participants earn the same rebate for their spend volume, so smaller programs are not penalized.  A consortium contract administered by a municipality may not receive this type of support.

Financial Benefits of BMO/League Program to Arizona Cities and Towns:

The League is pleased to offer a highly competitive incentive offer through the P-Card consortium. Our incentive calculation is based on your program’s spend volume and payment terms. The higher the spend volume the higher the revenue share back to your city/town.

There are NO "CLAWBACKS" with this program. i.e. no incentives taken away for not meeting minimum purchasing requirements per card, per month, or per year, etc.

We recognize there are several Pcard consortiums available within the state of Arizona. Please be sure to choose a program that is the best fit for “your” city/town. Depending on the spend volume of your program and payment terms, pricing can be significantly different.  Please see below examples, comparing the League’s/BMO Pcard pricing with other comparable consortiums.

The majority of Arizona municipality Pcard programs do not incur $15 million in annual spend volume. If your city/town Pcard program falls into this category (under $15 million in annual spend volume) you could be earning up to 30 additional rebate basis points with this program.

The examples below demonstrate that the LEAGUE/BMO Pcard consortium was designed to also benefit small to medium size cities/towns/counties, which would be the majority of municipalities in any state.

Example 1 & 2 are based on payment terms of 7 grace days

Example #1
* Numbers based on a spending tier of $60,000,000 - $69,000,000

Example #2
* Numbers based on spending tier $80,000,000 - $99,999,999

The LEAGUE/BMO Pcard consortium also offers up to a 10 BPTS bonus depending on your program’s average annual spend per account.

Additionally, ask about our special rates for opening a BMO deposit account that could be utilized for your monthly Pcard payment.

BMO's Association with the LEAGUE: BMO Harris Bank is an endorsed partner of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.  You’ve likely seen BMO in attendance at the League Annual Conference, as well as events for ACMA and GFOAz.  We offer a cost free payment card program designed specifically for cities, towns, and counties. The very positive endorsement of the program by municipalities is just one of the reasons why the consortium has grown to nearly 1000 entities in the United States with a combined spend volume of $375 million. As of November 2016, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns joined the consortium to serve as an anchor for municipalities in Arizona.

BMO is one of the top North American commercial card (MasterCard) issuers, and has a solid financial foundation with a Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.1 % and no receipt of TARP funding. BMO Harris Bank, headquartered in Chicago, IL, serves the United States markets in the Midwest, Florida and Arizona, with additional offices in 11 other states. There are about 50 BMO Harris Bank consumer branches located throughout Arizona, as well as a BMO Corporate Tower in downtown Phoenix.  We are involved with AZ local communities including the primary sponsorship of the Mesa-PHX Marathon.  When it comes to experience, our dedicated public sector team has a strong track record in creating successful card programs, including those at the federal, state and local governments, as well as educational and health organizations. Our success in delivering best-in-class programs stems from our commitment to a consultative approach with all of our clients, resulting in innovation and the best solutions to meet your needs today and into the future. BMO’s payment card program is designed for organizations wishing to maximize payment efficiencies and capitalize on significant cost savings.

For more information or to set up a meeting with us, please contact Kevin Noren at kevin.noren@bmo.com or 541-215-2006