GSA SmartPay is designed to provide a wide range of payment products to customer organizations, not just the highly successful purchase, travel, fleet and integrated cards for which the program is best known. The Center for Charge Card Management therefore wants to encourage and support agencies that use the program in new ways to support delivery of their mission, while reducing costs and increasing transparency and accountability while enhancing internal controls.
--from David Shea,
Director of the Center for Charge Card Management
Innovation Award Nomination 2017
The Center for Charge Card Management (CCCM) will confer the 2017 GSA SmartPay 2 Innovation Award to recognize customer agency creativity in applying the GSA SmartPay Program to address a broader range of mission support challenges, to the organization that submits the most compelling new use of the program's products or services.
Solutions nominated (e.g., payment cards, stored value cards, foreign currency cards, declining balance cards, and electronic/cardless billing-payment- reconciliation) must be currently implemented, be in operations for two quarters or more, and have a tangible, significant impact (e.g., enhancing agency mission delivery, reducing costs, improving efficiency and transparency, increasing refunds, improving sustainability, increasing program spend and related benefits, etc.). Agencies are allowed to submit nominations for solutions implemented prior to FY 2017 as long as it was implemented under the GSA SmartPay 2 program, as well as solutions that have been previously nominated (but not selected) for the award. Previous GSA SmartPay 2 Innovation Award winning solutions are not eligible for re-nomination.
You may download the nomination form here.
- Download the form to your local drive and complete it by filling all the sections. Please, answer all questions. If you need additional space, create an addendum for the extra content.
- After completion, save the PDF file. Create an email with the subject line “2017 SmartPay Innovation Award Nomination” and attach the .PDF and any other documents.
- Send the email with attachments to Milton Vazquez at CCCM (contact information below).
- Once the nomination for your agency is received you will get a “receipt acknowledged” email.
The nomination period will close at 11:59 PM EST on Friday, June 23, 2017
We encourage your organization to apply for this award. We at CCCM are excited about the competition and wish everyone the best of luck. The winner will be announced the General Session of the 2017 GSA SmartPay Training Forum in Phoenix, Arizona.
Should you have any questions about the nomination form or the 2017 GSA SmartPay 2 Innovation Award in general, please contact Milton Vazquez at milton.vazquez@gsa.gov.
Innovation Award Winner 2012 (Dept of Energy – Single Use Cards)
Department of Energy – Single Use Cards
In 2012, the GSA SmartPay Innovation Award* was awarded to the Department of Energy (DOE) for their use of J.P. Morgan's Single-Use Accounts (SUA) electronic payment system that will better track individual purchase orders.
The Innovation Award recognizes customer agency creativity in applying the GSA SmartPay Program to address a broader range of mission support challenges. Each year, the award goes to the organization that submits the most compelling new use of the program's products or services.
The Department of Energy was presented the award for enabling one of their largest contractors, CH2M-WG Idaho, to use the SUA solution to make automated, electronic card payments to its vendors. CH2M-WG will no longer use a general account number for their charges, but rather a unique, one-time use, 16-digit account number that is assigned a credit limit to that payment amount. The account number is active for only a limited period and is electronically matched to a purchase order or contract information with purchasing controls embedded in the system. This allows vendors to receive payment faster, allows for better tracking of payments, and creates increased payment security.
DOE is the first federal agency to successfully implement the use of J.P. Morgan's SUA solution as a method of payment.
*The GSA SmartPay Innovation Award was created in 2009 to encourage new and innovative applications of the GSA SmartPay Program throughout the charge card community and was awarded annually. The goal of the award was to share best practices and lessons learned about how agencies were using carded and cardless solutions and products to address mission critical and operational challenges.
Innovation Award Winner 2011 (Department of State – Payment Cards)
Department of State - Payment Cards
Payment Card
Department of State
In 2011, the GSA SmartPay Innovation Award* was awarded to the Department of State for the Department of State Payment Card that was implemented in 2008 as a supplemental program under its GSA SmartPay Purchase Card Program. The Payment Card is a non-point of sale product, used for recurring supplies and services, such as courier services, domestic and overseas utilities, copier and general purpose paper needs and telecommunications.
Enhancing Value and Delivering Impact to Agency
The immediate goal was to decrease the quantity of paper invoices and processing times, reduce payment delinquencies, and streamline payment processes for recurring products and services. Payment Card features include restricting use to specific recurring products or services and maximizing use of online vendor payments.
Since implementation, the Department of State avoided more than $12.8 million in paper invoice transactions. Payment Cards have also allowed international end users to meet short payment credit terms, as required by some overseas utility vendors. This has eliminated late payment and delinquencies, resulting in substantial increase in user and vendor satisfaction.
Payment Cards have also allowed end users to maximize use of vendor online systems. Available information has significantly improved the ability of Department of State end users to manage Embassy properties, monitor trends, identify high energy users, reasons for high energy usage, and take immediate remedial actions.
Implementation Support
The GSA SmartPay contract bank has supported the implementation of the Department of State Payment Card program by making ongoing custom and static reports available through the bank's electronic acceptance system website. The bank also helped monitor Payment Card transactions and provided specific Payment Card training in Department of State-sponsored training workshops.
*The GSA SmartPay Innovation Award was created in 2009 to encourage new and innovative applications of the GSA SmartPay Program throughout the charge card community and was awarded annually. The goal of the award was to share best practices and lessons learned about how agencies were using carded and cardless solutions and products to address mission critical and operational challenges.
Innovation Award Winner 2010 (HHS – Declining Balance Cards)
Department of Health and Human Services - Declining Balance Cards
Innovative Solution Description
The 2010 GSA SmartPay Innovation Award* was awarded to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its implementation of the GO!card™ under the GSA SmartPay® Charge Card Program.The GO! card is a declining balance solution for HHS's transit subsidy program, which replaced a traditional paper check system for Federal government employees receiving transit benefits. The GO!card program is currently yielding an average of 15 percent in cost savings through budgeting and administrative process efficiencies.
Enhancing Value and Delivering Impact to Agency
A number of cost avoidance mechanisms have been integrated in the GO! card program, designed to reduce operational costs. Participants automatically receive subsidy benefits loaded directly onto the card, eliminating the need for manual distribution, vouchering, and administration processes. Additionally, because of digital processes inherent with the SmartPay2® system, HHS has the ability to reconcile transactions quickly and submit payment to banks within 10 days of transaction.
Prior to the implementation of the GO!card, HHS issued non-refundable paper fare media to employees. Nearly all unused funds were lost at the end of each month. However, with the GO!card, HHS has the ability to monitor actual spend, allowing card managers to lower subsidy amounts if the full amount is not regularly not used, thereby avoiding forfeiture of fare media and reducing operational costs by 25% or more.
The GO!card program has also enhanced internal controls and reporting; to mitigate the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse, HHS blocks all non-transit merchant category codes, eliminating the potential misuse of the card. Additionally, through establishing a data warehouse, the GO!card supports a robust data mining system for monitoring each transaction, and even for ad hoc reporting, providing card managers with complete internal controls to monitor the use of the card and to prevent misuse.
For HHS, the GO!card has done more than just automate offline processes. In support of Federal greening and sustainability initiatives, the GO! card has substantially reduced the amount of paper issued and paperwork associated with administering transit subsidy benefits. Not only has this helped reduce administrative costs, the GO!card! has reduced the amount of paper filed by more than 40,000 pieces a year!
Implementation Support
Managing the HHS transition from a paper media program to the GO!card required substantial support and training. With more than 1,800 successful public card program implementations, the GSA SmartPay contractor bank was ready to meet the challenge. As HHS was already utilizing services under the GSA SmartPay 2 master contract, HHS experienced a smooth transition to the GO!card program. Before, during, and after the transition, the GSA SmartPay contractor bank provided dedicated customer support, ensuring seamless, on time delivery of the new service.
*The GSA SmartPay Innovation Award was created in 2009 to encourage new and innovative applications of the GSA SmartPay Program throughout the charge card community and was awarded annually. The goal of the award was to share best practices and lessons learned about how agencies were using carded and cardless solutions and products to address mission critical and operational challenges.
Innovation Award Winner (Department of Commerce – Virtual Payment Cards)
Department of Commerce – Virtual Payment Cards
The Department of Commerce (DOC) implemented its Department Virtual Payment Cards, which allows DOC to pay UPS orders via GSA’s Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) Document Delivery Service BPA. This innovative solution improves operational efficiencies, reduces administrative costs and allows DOC to earn additional refunds.