The Office of Finance has launched a new payment option for university suppliers called Virtual Pay, which is an extension of Marquette’s PCard program through U.S. Bank.
Like a “virtual credit card,” Virtual Pay provides another payment option for our suppliers to receive payment for the goods and services they provide. However, Virtual Pay has several advantages over ACH, check and wire payments.
Benefits for Marquette:
- More secure payments
- Automated payments and reconciliations
- Consolidated payables to help streamline the accounts payable process
- No change in how departments acquire goods and services; purchases will still be made through MARQetplace
- Increased rebate for the university, providing enhanced cash flow
Benefits for university suppliers:
- Faster payments
- Easier collections activities
- Note: There is a small fee paid by the supplier (similar to accepting a credit card payment), but most suppliers agree that the benefits outweigh the modest fee.
How it works:
- Virtual Pay uses a unique 16-digit account number that is assigned to a specific payment. It is electronically generated at the time of payment.
- U.S. Bank pays the supplier within 15 days; Marquette in turn pays U.S. Bank within the agreed upon payment terms.
- It’s important to know that Virtual Pay does not impact the way Marquette purchases goods and services, only the way suppliers receive payment from the university.
The Purchasing Department has been working with business managers across campus to introduce and train users on the new Virtual Pay option. U.S. Bank has also notified university suppliers via mail, email and phone.
If you work with suppliers and any of those suppliers have questions, please forward those questions to supplierinfo@marquette.edu.
Other resources available online (restricted to campus/VPN):
With questions, contact Jenny Alexander, director of purchasing.