How do applicants access their Card Application?

There are two ways to access a Card application:

1. Access Key and a URL Link
   • Card Applicants may be provided with a link to the application site and an Access Key, or;
   • Access Key(s) and the Card Application URL may be posted on their company’s internal Intranet site.
2. Email Invitation
   • Applicants will receive two emails from American Express, initiated by their Programme Administrator or Authorised Signatory via @ Work, inviting them to apply for a Corporate Card.
   • One email will contain a link to the application site, the other an Application ID to use as a key to log on and complete the application..

Once on the Card application site, Applicants will be instructed to enter their email address and Application ID or Access Key to begin their Corporate Card application journey.

Who will approve Card Applications?

Only an Authorised Signatory can approve Card Applications. Authorised Signatories are also the only User who can use the “Quick Send” feature in the ‘Send Applications’ tab as these are ‘pre-approved’ applications.

Should a PA inadvertently approve a Card Application it will be rejected, and an email sent to the Card Applicant advising the status. A new form will need to be submitted.

What Card products are available in Global Apply for Card for Customers to use?

Travel and Entertainment Cards: Platinum, Gold, Green Cards and Co-Brand are available.

Is GAFC mobile or tablet friendly?

GAFC will respond to and function on smaller screen resolutions like tablet and mobile, however, we don’t have a separate mobile only application.

When the Embossed Company name is on the Card, where does it draw from?

The system pulls the embossed company name on the Card from your American Express Basic Control Account (BCA) details.

Who do I contact if I need assistance?

If the PA receives any errors or has additional questions, they can contact the American Express PA Servicing Team.

If a request wasn’t processed successfully, the PA will receive an error message that states they need to try their request again.

Card Applicants are first directed to PA’s if they need assistance.

How many applications can PA’s send at a time from within GAFC?

PA’s can send up to 10 applications at a time by simply entering the applicants first name, last name, and email address. This will create a unique Application ID for each applicant that is automatically delivered to them via emails from American Express.

Once sent to the employee, how long do they have to complete an application?

Applicants will have 45 days to complete their application prior to it being cancelled by the system.

Are there any notifications sent to applicants to remind them to complete online?

The Card applicant will receive an email reminder to complete any non-started or pending application 3 days after application initiation, then every 10 days.

How do I create an Access Key?

Programme Administrators create an Access Key in the ‘Send Applications’ tab with a few simple steps:

1. Click ‘Create New Access Key’ on ‘Send Applications’ Tab
2. Choose the BCA for the Access Key
3. Set the options you would like associated with the Access Key 
4. Confirm and Create!

Are there any fields I can mandate in the application?

Yes, if you require Applicants to nominate their Pre-Approvers, Cost Center, Employee ID on Applications, including the length of the fields required, check the boxes for these items during the Access Key set-up process.

How do I use Customise Approvers section?

You have the option to nominate up to 3 Pre-Approvers, e.g. a Line Manager, Team Leader or Human Resource Rep, who will receive an email notification requesting they approve any Card Applications that are initiated for that Access Key.

Only once all the Pre-Approvers have provided their approval on the application will the Card Applicant be able to complete the form.

Card Applicants can also nominate Pre-Approvers if these are unique for each application.

You can choose to have no Pre-Approvers and only Post Approvers i.e. once the application has been completed an AS will be notified to approve the form in @ Work.

Does each PA need to set up their own Access Keys?

Not at all! All PA’s with permissions for a BCA will have full visibility to manage and use Access Key’s created for those BCA’s. You may only need one Access Key for each BCA. If a BCA has both Gold and Green Cards associated to it, you will need one Access Key for Gold and one for Green.

If you prefer you can create multiple Access Keys for a BCA if there are different Department and/or Approver combinations required. These Access Keys can be leveraged by all PA’s responsible for those departments and approvers.

How many Access Keys can a PA create?

There is no limit to how many Access Keys can be created for each BCA or by each PA. Developing consistent naming conventions and internal workflows will help your organisation optimise the number of Access Keys created.

Are Access Keys required to initiate applications?

No, not always. To initiate an application without an Access Key, the AS can select the ‘Quick Send’ option to send application(s) – a PA will NOT be able to use this feature as the application is already ‘approved’. The Card Application will be sent straight to American Express after submitted by applicant.

When does an Access Key expire?

Access Keys do not expire. However, if the PA who set up the Access Keys moves to a new role, or leaves the company, we recommend an active PA edit the Access Key to ensure all notifications stay within the group. We always recommend at least 2 PA’s register for GAFC to ensure all roles can be completed any time.

If we add new PA’s, will they be able to see existing Access Keys by default?

Yes, provided the new PA’s are set up with permissions at the same BCA level, new PA’s can access, use and maintain the Access Keys.

What Approval options are available?

When setting up the Access Key, the PA can choose either:

Pre- and Post-Approval, where both a Pre-Approver (up to 3) and an Authorised Signatory (Post-Approver) must approve the application.

Pre-Approval, where only a named Pre-Approver (up to 3) approves the application – at least one must be a registered Authorised Signatory on the BCA. Once the Applicant completes the application, it will go directly to American Express for processing.

Post-Approval, where there is no Pre-Approver, the AS must approve the completed application prior to submission to American Express. 

Quick Send, This is where the AS will have the option to pre-populate the employee fields (Employee ID & Cost Center). Once the AS initiates this type of application and the applicant submits the application, it will go directly to American Express for processing.

When will Pre-Approval applications route to AS’s for final review?

Applications requiring a Pre-Approval will route to the AS for final review in two situations:

• When Pre-Approval and/or Post-Approval are set up on the Access Key, or,
• The application is submitted via the Card Applicant Self-Initiated Link with an Access Key indicating Pre-Approval.

100% of Card Applicant Initiated Applications are routed to AS for final approval for validation purposes, regardless if the Access Key does not indicate a Post-Approval.

Do Post-Approval applications go to the PA automatically? What happens when there is more than one PA/AS?

Once completed, applications requiring Post-Approval appear in the To Do List tab for all AS’s with GAFC permissions under that BCA.

In addition, the PA/AS* who last edited the Access Key will receive an email notification that they have an application to review.

*By default, whomever created an Access Key or was the last to edit it will receive the email notification – this may be the Programme Administrator. This PA will need to advise the appropriate Authorised Signatory to access @ Work and complete the approval step.

Are there any applications that never go to the AS for final review and approval?

Yes – for Quick Send Applications and Applications initiated by a AS using Access Keys without Post-Approval selected.

What is Quick Send and when should I use it to initiate applications?

Quick Send allows the AS* to quickly initiate an application to an employee in the fewest possible steps.

1. Simply select a BCA and enter the employee’s first name, last name, and email, then review and submit.
2. Once the application is completed by the applicant, it will go directly to American Express for processing.
3. No Access Key or Post-Approval is required.

Use Quick Send when you want to quickly provide a Card to an employee without the need for an Access Key or additional approvals.

*Should a Programme Administrator who is not authorised to approve Card Applications use the Quick Send feature, the Card Application will be rejected by American Express. The Applicant will need to complete a new form for the appropriate AS to approve in @ Work.

How many Card Applications can a PA/AS initiate at one time?

AS’s can initiate up to 10 applications requests at one time through Quick Send. The Quick Send feature is only available to AS’s because it is a pre-approved application.

A PA may initiate up to 10 application requests at one time with an access key through “Send to Applicant”.

What are the different status’ for applications in GAFC?

GAFC Status’ include:

• Sent to Employee
• Pending
• Pre-Approver
• Pre-Approver Cancelled
• Pending PA Review
• Pending American Express Approval
• Approved by American Express
• On Hold by American Express
• Cancelled by American Express
• Declined by American Express
• PA Declined, and
• Application Expired

Can the PA review the Pre-Approval status? If so, where can the PA view this before Post Approval?

Yes, all Application statuses are tracked in the ‘Track Applications’ tab - even those that have been self-initiated by the Card Applicant. If there is a Pre-Approver, once they approve the application, the status will move to ‘Sent to Employee’.

If a PA cancels or rejects an application, will an email generate to the applicant? Is this real time?

Yes, the applicant will receive an email notification advising that the company has declined/cancelled their application within 15 minutes.

How will the PA know if an application has been rejected by American Express?

PA’s can view all application status’, including rejections, via the ‘Track Applications’ Tab.

If an application is rejected the PA will see the status: Cancelled by American Express or Declined by American Express.

There are no email notifications to the PA on the American Express decision of the application.

What kind of actions can PA make on a Card Application being reviewed?

PA’s can make the following actions on Card applications pending approval.

• Change delivery address from Residential to Business (unless company is set up on central card delivery).
• Change from or to Rush Card delivery.
• Edit some of the non-PII information on the application such as Employee ID or Cost Center.
• Route the application back to the applicant to correct fields with errors and include a note with details on what the applicant needs to correct.

AS’s only can make the following actions on Card applications

• Approve or Cancel (decline) applications one at a time or all at the same time.

What happens when an AS re-routes the application back to the applicant for edits using GAFC?

When the AS routes the application back by selecting the link that says, ‘Route back to Applicant’, the AS can enter comments as to why they are routing it back, and the applicant will receive the details in an email.

The applicant then logs in again using the details in their email, fix the errors, and re-submit to the AS for review. During this ‘reroute’ the status in ‘Track Applications’ will return to ‘Sent to Employee’ as the Card application is pending with the employee.

How do Applicants upload documents?

The Applicant can attach and upload via the Supporting Documents section of the application.

Can different Card delivery address locations be managed by creating another Access Key for the same BCA?

There is no option within the Access Key details to select Card delivery locations. Card delivery address locations are managed at the BCA level in the Central Card Delivery fields for the organisation.

If Central Card Delivery is ON, the applicant will be advised that their Card will be delivered to the Business Address.

If Central Card Delivery is OFF, the Applicant is advised that their Card will be delivered to which ever address they selected as their Statement/Billing address.

Can an applicant request an alternate delivery address for the Card?

Not currently.

What are the Card delivery address options for applicants?

Unless your company has arranged to distribute Cards centrally, the applicant can select either their Residential or Company address for Card delivery.

Is there any flexibility for PA’s to select the Card to be delivered to the Applicant if the current arrangement is configured to Central Card Delivery?

Not currently. This is on the Roadmap for a future enhancement so keep an eye out for updates.

How do we manage the Rush fee if the Company direction is to not allow Rush Card?

During the set-up of the Access Key, the PA won’t select the checkbox that states ‘Allow Rush Card Delivery’.

This will ensure the Applicant can’t select this option at all in the application form.

Can Applicants choose to Rush their Card delivery?

If your Company allows this, they’ll enable the selection to allow Rush Card delivery on the application form.

If the Applicant selects Rush Card Delivery they must confirm:

• acceptance of the Rush Card delivery costs,
• delivery Address: Home, Company, or Other

How quickly is a Rush Card received?

Rush Cards are sent 1-2 days after approval.

Will the PA be notified of the fee associated with the Rush Card Delivery selection in the initiate process?

All Rush Card delivery requests incur an additional fee. The PA is only notified of the fee if they select to Change to Rush Delivery in the ‘To Do List’. If the PA allows the Applicant to select Rush Delivery via Access Key set up, there is not a PA notification of the fee, but the Card Applicant will be advised of the fee during the application process.

For Post-Approval Applications, the PA can always change the Rush Card Status to or from Rush prior to final approval by the AS.

How do Applicants submit their completed application?

Once Applicants have completed all mandatory fields in the application, they will reach a review and submit screen. There they can review and modify fields if necessary.

Once finalised Applicants accept the Terms and Conditions and click the Submit button. A screen will then appear confirming that your application has been submitted.