Bank of America, the bank that issues MIT’s Travel Card, offers an Alerts program which helps the bank reach you in case they see unusual or suspicious activity that could result in a hold being placed on your card.

Once you sign up for the Alerts program, you can receive a phone call, email, or text message if the bank detects unusual spending. If the charges in question are yours, just confirm with the bank, and they will lift the hold on your card immediately.

VPF’s Tax and Global Operations team has created a handy reference for MIT administrators who process payments to individuals beyond regular semimonthly or weekly payroll.

VPF Accounts Payable processes more than 100 international wire payments per week in payments for goods or services or travel reimbursements to persons doing business with the Institute. These international wires are handled by Bank of America (MIT’s bank) which is required to address the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) guidelines before processing international wire payments.

Roberto Escobar loves many things about his job — especially learning new things and meeting new people. He joined VPF’s Sponsored Accounting unitin February after serving on the VPF Travel and Card Services team, where he processed travel expense reports and provided training to DLCs on travel policies and processes.

MIT recently revised its travel policy in an effort to address the challenges and rigors of international and complex domestic travel schedules.

VPF HR/Payroll is on hand to address tax treaty questions. The team is available by Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, to help students, faculty, researchers, and staff determine their U.S. tax status and complete required forms. Visit the Atlas Service Center website to set up an appointment via Zoom.