Government & public sector cards

Our government procurement cards and lodge accounts help government and public sector institutions reduce their purchasing costs and take control of their business travel expenditure.

Meanwhile, our pre-loaded card controls the expenditure of public sector organisations making regular, long-term payments, such as the direct payment of benefits.

Designed in conjunction with the Office of Government Commerce, our government procurement card helps you manage cash flow, improve supplier relationships and streamline your procurement process – and significantly reduce your paperwork.

Reducing administration

Payments are made with a simple card transaction, so you won't need an invoice or purchase order. Additionally, some transactions will generate reports that can be used for reclaiming VAT.

Easy to implement

Setting up a card payment system is straightforward. We’ll help you every step of the way and even provide training for your cardholders.

Managing payments will be made even easier through a unique additional service transaction data matching.

Transaction data matching

Our transaction data matching service makes it even easier for you to manage payments. It automatically matches your electronic orders with the corresponding electronic supplier invoices, and notifies your accounting system.

With transaction data matching you can process thousands of order payments in seconds and charge them to your procurement card. (Terms and conditions apply.)

• More on the transaction data matching service (PDF 36Kb)

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Key benefits

• Speedier VAT reclaim - use your card at any UK VAT-enabled outlet and you may be able to do away with invoices
• Global reach – use the card at 30 million outlets across the world
• Live payment information - with Cards OnLine you can view the latest transactions in real-time
• Improved business information - the Cards OnLine management reports will help you identify spending patterns
• Expenditure control – personalise the spending limits of each individual and influence the shape of organisation-wide expenditure
• High security levels – with chip and PIN for face to face purchases, NatWest Secure for online purchases, and corporate liability waiver insurance to protect against cardholder misuse

A government lodge account is an alternative to issuing cards for every user. Instead, business travellers are able to charge any air, rail, hotel and other travel costs to one central account, held with your travel agent.

This can give your employees greater flexibility and gives a wealth of useful management expense information.

Key benefits

• Straightforward reporting – one monthly statement covers all your travel expenditure – on paper or electronically
• Adherence to travel policy– a detailed report makes compliance with travel policy easier
• Interest free credit - up to 38 days
• Insurance included - corporate liability waiver insurance covers your business against employee misuse (terms and conditions apply)
• Free travel support - benefit from pre-travel advice, medical and legal advice when overseas and baggage delay insurance (Terms and conditions apply)

A pre-loaded card could be ideal if your organisation is paying disability benefits or other regular, longer-term payments.

Each pre-loaded card can be configured to match the individual needs of the cardholder – specifying payment limits and permitted categories.

You can also allow cardholders to supplement their allowance with additional personal funds. A pre-loaded card gives you control over expenditure and offers payment flexibility for an employee.

Key benefits

• Manage expenditure - shape organisation expenditure by managing the payment criteria for each individual card user
• Keep up to date - use real time payment and management information with Cards OnLine, our online reporting service
• Improved efficiency – no more paper based systems to run - all your recurring payments can be automated. Online reporting reduces the need for paper audit records
• Flexibility - the card is accepted globally, secondary cardholders can be established and the card can be personalised to reflect your brand
• Effective support from NatWest - we’ll help your business implement the programme, and provide ongoing support
• High security levels – with chip and PIN for face to face purchases, NatWest Secure for online purchases, and corporate liability waiver insurance to protect against cardholder misuse