Prepaid Expense Cards help Texas Christian University tackle post-season per diem challenges.

University seamlessly issues funds for 100+ cards during back-to-back travel.

The 2022-23 college football season was a thrilling one for Texas Christian University (TCU). After an undefeated regular season, the team clinched the Fiesta Bowl title on New Year's Eve 2022 and a week later, competed in the College Football National Championship.

Those post-season back-to-back games could've been a per diem logistical nightmare for the athletic department's finance group. But like the football team, they had the right plan and players in place for victory.

Stars of the Finance Department

Prior to the winning football season, TCU was already using CommercePayments® Prepaid Expense Cards for per diem expenses for its more than 500 student-athletes, as well as traveling coaches, trainers and other university staff.

"We support 22 sports teams and the prepaid expense cards bring a lot of value and benefits to our per diem expense program," said Bennett Askew, Senior Associate Athletic Director/Athletics Financial Officer.

Before switching to CommercePayments® Prepaid Expense Cards in 2016, the department used to provide per diem payments in cash - a practice that was not only tedious, but ripe for risk and fraud. The process included receiving a coach's funds request; obtaining approval; requesting funds from the bank; managing delivery of cash (sometimes by armed guard); counting the cash manually for each student athlete, coach/trainer and other traveling staff; and signing out funds to each individual.

When TCU was playing in its post-season games, a cash process would have made providing timely per diem payments nearly impossible - especially considering the university was closed for winter break. With the prepaid expense cards, TCU's athletic department could upload funds to the cards using an online portal, ensuring everyone had immediate access to their per diem during both their post-season trips.

Delivering a clutch play

In the post-season, the finance department faced a unique challenge. When teams play in Bowl or National Championship games, student-athletes' families also receive per diem allowances. Those additional funds for the players on the travel roster over two games would exceed TCU's credit limit with Commerce Bank. Additionally, Askew couldn't access additional funds from the university because it was closed for winter break.

"I contacted Commerce Bank and talked through the situation and our needs," said Askew. "They helped solve our problem. They really went above and beyond and saved the day for us."

A game plan for Expense Oversight

In addition to simplifying the per diem practice, the automation of prepaid expense cards helps Askew's finance department streamline processes and enhance reconciliation.

If a CommercePayments® Prepaid Expense Card is lost or stolen, TCU can instantly issue the card holder a new one and transfer the fund balance to the new card.¹ The cards also come with safety-alert features for identifying potentially fraudulent activity.

Whenever convenient, TCU can easily download reconciliation reports by card holder, sport, travel date(s) or any relevant data set. Additionally, the university can accurately manage the amounts given to each student-athlete and recoup any overpayments.

To learn more about what the prepaid expense cards can do for your organization, or to get started, visit www.commercebank.com/expensecard or reach out to [email protected].

CommercePayments® solutions are provided by Commerce Bank.

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