Electronic Bill Payment Services

Description

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is seeking to procure a provider for electronic bill payment services that will allow residents to make payments at PayPoint and Post Office locations for council-related charges, including: - Council Tax - Housing Rent - Other Miscellaneous Payments Owed to the Council The selected provider must facilitate seamless payment processing, ensure timely deposit of funds into the council's bank account, and provide secure transaction reporting. Lot 1: The contract will involve the provision of an electronic bill payment service with the following key features: 1. Payment Processing at PayPoint and Post Office Locations: - Residents must be able to make payments at any PayPoint or Post Office location nationwide. - Transactions must be processed efficiently, ensuring minimal delays. 2. Transaction Rerouting: - The provider must ensure the rerouting of transactions is completed within 4 weeks of contract commencement without any disruption to customers. 3. Custom Reference Generation: - The council must have the ability to generate and manage unique customer references for each payment transaction. 4. Third-Party Card Printing Integration: - The provider must enable the council to use a third-party supplier to print bill payment cards as required. 5. Timely Income Management: - Funds collected at PayPoint and Post Office locations must be deposited into the council's designated bank account within 3 working days. - Income can be provided net of transaction fees. 6. Secure Reporting and Data Access: - The provider must supply a secure web-based portal for transaction monitoring. - Transaction data must be accessible in multiple formats, including: - Downloadable reports in .csv format. - Automated data transfers via SFTP. - Real-time or scheduled data access via API integration to enable seamless data exchange with council systems. 7. Scalability and Flexibility: - The solution must accommodate fluctuating transaction volumes. - Estimated annual volume: 215,000 transactions (125,000 PayPoint, 90,000 Post Office). The council wishes to continue fulfilling its current services to the same high standard, though recognizes the need to engage with the innovative providers within the market to better understand the wider offer which may be available in an ever developing digital service area. If you are interested in any further discussions regarding this notice please contact Gabriella.brown@stoke.gov.uk with the reference 'Electronic Bill Payments' where additional details can be discussed.