THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CREDIT CARD MERCHANT SERVICES

Transcription

1 THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CREDIT CARD MERCHANT SERVICES

2 (Published in the Journal Record December 17, 2014) NOTICE TO PROPOSERS Notice is hereby given that The City of Oklahoma City will receive electronic proposals at the OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK, 200 North Walker Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma until 4:00:00 p.m., on the 10th day of February, 2015, for the following: RFP-OCITY-011-MERCHANT CARD SERVICES The City of Oklahoma City and its Trusts have partnered with BidSync, Inc. to accept proposals electronically. You are invited to submit a proposal electronically through the BidSync system to supply the professional services, products, or systems specified in the electronic proposal packet. The City and its Trusts do not provide access to a computer to prepare electronic proposals or electronic proposal submission. Proposers must register with BidSync at in order to submit an electronic proposal. The City and its Trusts recommend potential proposers register and become familiar with the BidSync electronic proposal process in advance of submitting a proposal. There is no charge to the proposer for registering or submitting an electronic proposal to the City or its Trusts through BidSync. Instructions on how to get registered to propose through BidSync can be found on the City s website at A copy of the City Guidelines and Procedures for Professional Consultant Selection may be obtained from the Office of the City Clerk at the above referenced address. Proposals shall be made in accordance with the Notice to Proposers, General Instructions and Requirements for Proposers, Oklahoma Open Records Act and Confidential Information, and the RFP proposal packet, which are a part of the complete electronic proposal packet. A sample Non- Discrimination, Anti/Non-Collusion Affidavit and Vendor Registration form is attached for the Proposer s reference and will be completed prior to contract approval. By submitting a proposal for services, the Proposer certifies that they, and any proposed subcontractors, are in compliance with 25 O.S and participate in the status Verification System. The Status Verification System is defined in 25 O.S and includes but is not limited to the free Employment Verification Program (E-Verify) through the Department of Homeland Security and available at The City of Oklahoma City and its Trusts reserve the right to waive formalities, irregularities and defects in any or all proposals, except as otherwise required by law. The City of Oklahoma City and its Trusts reserve the right to: reject any or all proposals; to reject a portion of any or all proposals; to negotiate and execute or to not negotiate or execute a pricing agreement/contract with any proposer; and to solicit new or different proposals. The City of Oklahoma City and its Trusts reserve the right to negotiate and/or contract with one or more proposers for all or a portion of any proposal or proposed services. Proposals timely received electronically through BidSync in the City Clerk's Office shall be forwarded to the Requesting Department for the Selection Committee to open and review. The BidSync system does not allow proposals to be submitted after the 4:00:00 p.m. deadline, on the above mentioned date. There will be no exceptions to this policy.

3 MERCHANT CARD SERVICES SECTION 1 - GENERAL INFORMATION & INSTRUCTIONS INTENT: The City of Oklahoma City ( City ) is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to assist the City in achieving the following goals and services: Credit and debit card processing services Assist the City in implementing cost saving measures, such as enrolling City in special Utility fixed rate interchange, or assisting City charge a convenience fee or surcharge if City management elects to go that route Sale of new and/or refurbished equipment necessary for processing credit/debit transactions Assisting various City software vendors to either send communication to you directly, or indirectly through a 3 rd party during implementation or during life of the contract Configuring and deploying virtual terminals for initiating online transactions Maintaining PCI compliance Implementing point-of-sale equipment necessary to accept the next generation Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) cards in advance of the October 2015 deadline Training staff on taking EMV cards, equipment, virtual terminals, how to run reports on proposer s website, fraud prevention and business processes that may save money Providing online reporting including custom reports if needed Providing deposit settlements to City s bank account and invoicing City for fees The solution should improve the City s ability to efficiently and accurately conduct various types of credit card transactions, manage financial information, allow for integration into existing City operations, interact and interface with existing City systems, improve workflow, and maintain data security. The City s credit card functions occur at various locations throughout the City organization. The City is seeking proposals from organizations with a proven history of success within the credit card processing industry. The City intends to award one contract with a single vendor. This Request for Proposal (RFP) sets forth requirements for these services and solicits a detailed response from firms to include functional and technical requirements, implementation services, on-going software maintenance and support, and pricing. 3

4 GENERAL INFORMATION: The City accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover. A sample of processing volume is given in Appendix A. The City currently processes $62 million in card transactions per year across 17 different merchant accounts. Processing volume, number of transactions and average transaction amounts are provided in Appendix B. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO: a. First, electronically complete or acknowledge required instructions in the electronic bidding system; b. Second, submit a cover letter (a simple letter of submittal, typically sent by proposers); c. Third, attach a copy of any exceptions made to the requirements of this RFP; d. Fourth, respond to each numbered item in Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this document and complete Appendices C, D, E, and F (available as BidSync web form). The questions contained in the RFP should be repeated in the proposal with the responses and answers to the questions following. Any supplemental information thought to be relevant but not asked for by the City should be provided as an appendix to the proposal. e. It is the Proposer s responsibility to log into the electronic bidding system to monitor any addenda that may be issued during the process. A Proposer s proposal will not be accepted if all addenda have not been acknowledged by the Proposer through the electronic bidding system. If you are set up for electronic notifications through the electronic bidding system, you should receive a notification by when addenda are issued. f. Finally, The City of Oklahoma City will receive electronic proposals until 4:00 p.m. on February 10, Responses can be uploaded into the Line Item area of the electronic bidding system in one file or in different files clearly labeling what is contained in each electronic file. EVALUATION: Proposals will be evaluated by a committee based on the following: a. Service cost of the total payment solution that is most advantageous to the City b. Service cost of the total payment solution that is most advantageous to customers of the City c. Cost of conversion to new processor d. Quality and completeness of response e. Ability to provide responsive service f. Ability to meet current and projected service requirements over term of Agreement 4

5 The selection of a processor, as a result of this evaluation, is subject to the successful execution of a contract and other service agreements between the processor and the City. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: DATE EVENT 12/16/2014 Request For Proposal Approved by Council 1/19/2015 Questions due from Contractors 1/26/2015 Answers to Questions 2/10/2015 Proposals Due - 4:00 P.M. 2/27/2015 Identification of Finalists 3/16/2015 Finalist Interviews/Conference calls 4/16/2015 Selection Date 5/15/2015 Complete Negotiation of Contract COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS, STANDARDS AND PRACTICES: Proposals must comply with all federal, state, county, and municipal laws. Submission of a proposal shall be conclusive evidence that the Proposer has investigated and is satisfied as to the conditions to be encountered in performing the work. Failure to submit all required pricing information will result in the proposal being considered non-responsive. INSURANCE: Proposer must comply with insurance requirements in Appendix I. ADDENDA AND INTERPRETATIONS: If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, an addendum will be issued through the electronic system. The City is not bound by any oral representation, clarification or changes unless the same is provided to proposers in written addendum form. ALTERING PROPOSALS: Proposals cannot be altered or amended after the submission deadline; however the selection committee may request a clarification or additional information from any, some or all of proposers. RIGHT TO REJECT: The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to award the agreement/contract to the next most qualified respondent if the successful respondent does not execute an agreement/contract within 30 days after award of the proposal. 5

6 RIGHT TO EVALUATE PROPOSER S TOTAL COST OF CARD PAYMENT SOLUTION: The City reserves the right to evaluate which proposal is most cost beneficial to the City. Credit and debit cards are accepted via several different vendors (see Exhibit 1) who may or may not be able to interface directly to proposer s company. City software vendors may be unwilling to interface with proposer and instead insist on routing transactions through their preferred gateway which will have costs associated with it. City will consider these other vendor costs in scoring proposer s total card payment solution. City reserves the right to rescore proposals if additional costs, whether costs are directly or indirectly related to proposer, are identified prior to contract award. SECTION 2 CONTRACTOR MINIMUM STANDARDS Please provide evidence of your firm s ability to meet each of the following minimum standards: 1. CONTRACT Final Contract negotiated will reference RFP document, RFP response and incorporate General Terms and Conditions listed in the Appendix G of this RFP document. 2. EXPERIENCE Proposing company must have a minimum of ten (10) years experience in providing merchant credit card services. Please quantify the size of your customer base by providing the total dollar volumes and transaction counts by completing Appendix C (available as BidSync web form). 3. REFERENCES Proposer must provide a minimum of three (3) references from current credit card processing clients, of which two (2) of the references are from similarly sized or larger government sector clients. Include the name, title, company, processing volumes and a description of services provided, telephone number and address for each reference. Provide this information in Appendix D (available as BidSync web form). 4. PCI-DSS COMPLIANCE Proposer must provide evidence of PCI-DSS compliance, including evidence for any subcontractors you will be using in the payment solution that you propose. Please provide evidence of PCI-DSS compliance. 5. ELECTRONIC STATEMENTS Proposer must be able provide an electronic monthly summary report to the City Treasurer s office summarizing the activity for all merchant departments by name, with monthly sales, transaction counts and a breakdown of the transactions by all card types. It should also provide the number of monthly authorizations and any transaction services fees by category. 6. INVOICING 6

7 The proposer is required to send the City an invoice requesting payment on a monthly basis and allow the City 30 days for payment versus the practice of deducting fees from settlements due to the City. 7. DEDUCTING FEES FROM SETTLEMENT: The proposer will not be allowed to deduct fees from proceeds remitted to City. An exception to this would be if the amounts were collected by the proposer from customers as compensation for their website or payment clearing services but this practice would only be allowed if City management decides to go this route. 8. SETTLEMENT OF PROCEEDS The City requires that proceeds be paid to the City via ACH via merchant ID and with no deduction of fees. ACH will also contain reference to Merchant ID it is related to. Deductions for chargebacks is allowed. 9. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Please provide firm s most current audited financial statements. The most current audited financial statement must be no more than twelve (12) months old. 10. SERVER AND DISASTER RECOVERY Please demonstrate that firm has sufficient servers and backup capability to be able to process the City s transactions on a timely basis and without interruption. How much down time has your firm had in previous 12 months? What is the procedure for when primary servers go down? How often is data backed up? 11. NO VOLUME GUARANTEES BY CITY Transaction volume has increased from approximately $30 million six years ago to over $62 million per year currently as customers increasingly choose to pay by credit/debit. The amount of fees being paid have increased accordingly and the City reserves the right to control costs, change how we process, implement card acceptance at new departments while deactivating card acceptance at departments who may no longer need card processing services. The City asks proposers to submit proposals without limiting the City s ability to manage our payment solution by asking us to guarantee our volume. 7

8 SECTION 3 CONTRACTOR SERVICES Proposer must provide information, including responses to questions, regarding service capabilities as requested below. Responsiveness of Service 1. Describe how your company will provide customer service to the City during the life of the contract, if awarded: 2. Will a customer relationship manager be assigned to the City? 3. Please detail what your procedures will be with the City to resolve connectivity problems: 4. Please detail your procedures for deploying new merchant accounts: 5. Please detail training your company will provide over the life of the contract as it pertains to reviewing interchange qualification, how to use virtual terminals or on how to use point of sale terminals that the City purchases from you: Merchant Credit Card Processing 6. Describe your company s authorization method, list and describe alternative authorization methods. 7. The City currently receives authorization on all transactions in real-time, will proposer be able to accommodate? 8. What are your daily deadlines and how many days will it take for funds to be credited to our bank account for Visa, MasterCard and Discover? 9. Is the proposer able to accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover Card card types? 10. Do Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card network transactions settle together in a single lump sum? Explain how the settlements will appear on the bank statement, for the 3 aforementioned card brands for a single City merchant for a single day. 11. How will you work with the City to ensure that transactions qualify for the lowest interchange category? Please describe in detail. 12. What are the procedures to identify and correct duplicate transactions? Please provide details. 13. Are there limitations on the number of files/transactions: a. Number of transactions contained in a batch? 8

9 b. Number of files transmitted daily? Chargebacks 14. Are card chargebacks or other debit adjustments netted from daily proceeds, or are they debited separately? 15. How is the City notified of requests for chargebacks, by mail, fax or ? Online website functionality also known as Virtual Terminals 16. Does proposer provide website where card transactions can be entered directly into the proposer s website? 17. Does proposer provide a card swiper that can be connected to PC to enable swiping of card data directly into proposer s website? 18. Can voids or credits of transactions be performed online? 19. Can a centralized City administrator configure security for other City merchant users? 20. Please include charge for use of virtual terminals in Appendix E (available as BidSync web form). Online Information Reporting Services 21. Are reports or other information such as statements available via the Internet? Please itemize reports available and provide samples in an appendix to your response (or direct City to online sample reports). 22. Is reporting real-time and if not how long does it take for website to update? 23. Does your firm have the capability of providing reports segregated by each merchant for the previous 12 months? 24. Can a consolidated report be run for all merchants by month? 25. Do reports include Discover transactions for reconciliation and research purposes? 26. Can your website provide a download of historical information regarding transactions, refunds, and chargebacks by merchant into Microsoft Excel? 27. How many business days of transaction data is stored on the reporting system and available for the customer to access? 28. Describe the daily and/or monthly reconciliation reports available to City. Interface Processing PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SECTION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND FAILURE TO ACCURATELY COMPLETE THIS SECTION MAY BE CAUSE FOR REJECTION OF YOUR PROPOSAL. FAILURE TO DOCUMENT COSTS PURSUANT TO THE USE OF A 9

10 GATEWAY OR OTHER INTERMEDIARY DUE TO PROPOSER S INABILITY TO CONNECT DIRECTLY TO THE BELOW SOFTWARE COMPANIES WILL BE CAUSE FOR REEVALUATION OF TOTAL COST OF PROPOSAL. THIS SECTION IS CRITICAL IN IDENTIFYING AND DOCUMENTING PROPOSER S TOTAL COST OF THEIR PROPOSED PAYMENT SOLUTION. Exhibit 1: Software Interfaces Software Name Vendor Name Description inovah System Innovators Cash register software Parkeon Parkeon Parking meter software Tickets.com Tickets.com Event ticket purchasing website Spokies Sandvault Bike rental software Oklahoma City web service Oklahoma City Utility IVR transactions Vertex Self Service Portal Vertex Bus Svcs Utility website vendor 29. The City has historically interfaced transactions directly from software to processor without going through a gateway and incurring extra charges. Is proposer currently able to receive transactions directly from City vendors listed in Exhibit 1? 30. If you do not already interface with the above softwares, will your firm be willing to assist the above software vendors as well as other software vendors in the future write an interface directly to you and will there be a charge associated with this? 31. If proposer will not or cannot assist software vendors with interfacing directly, please list gateway or intermediary that will receive their transactions and then pass them on to you. 32. If a gateway or intermediary is used to pass transactions to proposer for any software listed in Exhibit 1 above, what is the cost per transaction that will be passed on to the City? 33. Provide a list of all payment gateways supported and address all fees for setup, monthly recurring charges and per transactions fees on the Appendix E Pricing (available as BidSync web form). 34. Describe the process to add additional third party gateways. Third-Party Processing 35. Explain your company s role in the credit card industry; are you an acquirer, processor, independent sales organization, member service provider, or other? 36. Do you rely on third parties to process your merchant credit card transactions? If so, explain and provide the years of service you have been doing business with them and describe your relationship with your third party processor. 10

11 37. Describe in detail how your services are integrated to/with third party software, websites and gateways? 38. Identify your payment gateway providers and the number of years you have had a relationship with them. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards 39. Describe your PCI-DSS compliance status and program? 40. How do you maintain your compliance with the PCI standards? 41. Is your organization and all of your contractors, subcontractors and third-party processors, in compliance with all applicable PCI DSS standards? Have you been certified as compliant by a qualified third-party assessor? Please name the assessor. 42. What is your role in supporting merchant PCI compliance and how do you help merchants maintain compliance? 43. Outline the security measures in place for the protection of data transmitted for processing. 44. Describe the security measures used to prevent unauthorized user access to the system or data. If applicable, please indicate if there has ever been a compromise to any credit card systems or application through a security breach. If yes, explain the process your company took to notify customers, the steps taken to protect the customer s data and the safeguards put in place to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Alternative Payment Services 45. Discuss optional and alternative payment services that you believe may help the City: a) Mobile Payments 1. Does your mobile service work on the iphone, ipad, Android Phones and/or Blackberry Phones? 2. What software (names and version numbers) is required to use your mobile reporting services? 3. How many customers do you have using your mobile merchant card processing product? How many transactions are you processing monthly? How many dollars are processed monthly? b) Automated Clearing House payments 1. Describe your ability to process one-time ACH payments and recurring ACH payments? 2. Do you provide assistance to City personnel in configuring the City s website to take ACH payments? 11

12 3. Do proceeds from ACH payments settle in the same lump sum as Visa, MasterCard and Discover card payments? 4. Is the batch cutoff time for ACH payments the same as Visa, MasterCard and Discover card payments? c) Electronic bill presentment 1. Does firm provide any electronic bill presentment services (for example sending out Utility bills electronically)? 2. What is the cost of electronic bill presentment services? d) Kiosks 1. Does firm provide remote payment services via kiosks? 2. Please detail kiosk solution and how or where kiosks would be placed. 3. Please detail costs associated with deployment of kiosks. e) Full-service: Please comment on whether your firm is a full service vendor that does all of the below services. There has been interest at the City of contracting with a vendor who does all of the below services: a. Paper bill print and mail b. Electronic bill presentment i. ii. Mobile phone payments c. Website construction that has better business processes hard coded into design, including fillable forms, etc. Implementation 46. Provide a detailed description of the implementation process, including testing and a suggested implementation schedule (with dates) assuming a contract is executed by July 1, Please address for each of the below transmission methods: a. Credit card terminals b. Virtual terminals c. City s website d. Various software systems listed in Exhibit Describe support provided after implementation. Equipment The City currently utilizes the non-emv compliant card terminals at the locations listed below and periodically these terminals have software or hardware problems. 12

13 Exhibit 2: Credit Card Terminals by Merchant/Location: Location # of Units Model Courts 3 Hypercom T4220 Animal Welfare 2 OMNI VX570 Parks Civic Center Administration 1 OMNI VX570 Parks Earlywine Acquatic Center 2 OMNI VX570 Parks Will Rogers Acquatic Center 2 OMNI VX570 Parks Civic Center Concession 3 OMNI VX Please recommend terminals that are EMV compliant considering what the City is using now. 49. Please give equipment quotes on Appendix F (available as BidSync web form) for your EMV compliant terminal equipment that the City may purchase and deploy. 50. Please describe how your company will assist in reloading software or replacing nonworking units with new or refurbished units along with pricing on Appendix F (available as BidSync web form). City s IT infrastructure Appendix H is an overview of the City s Information Technology infrastructure. 51. Is the City s IT infrastructure compatible with proposer s card payment solution? EMV As you may know, EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, a global standard for interoperation of integrated circuit cards (IC cards or "chip cards") and IC card capable point of sale (POS) terminals for authenticating credit and debit card transactions. Visa, MasterCard and Discover have announced plans to convert to these cards by October 2015 with a shift in liability to the merchant occurring at that time for merchants who do not comply. 52. How will proposer assist the City in becoming EMV compliant by October 2015? 53. Please give a short summary on what changes may need to be made to become EMV compliant by October Will Oklahoma City be able to purchase terminals that can read the old style cards and EMV cards, including dual, contact, or contactless/mobile chip acceptance and what is the cost per terminal? 55. Will proposer provide training to the City to train its employees on how to accept EMV cards and will turnkey training materials be provided? SECTION 4: FEES AND OTHER CHARGES 13

14 The fees and charges presented in this proposal shall remain in effect for one year with an option to renew on the same terms and conditions for four (4) year term of the contract with the exception of rates, fees and assessments established by sole source providers Visa, MasterCard and Discover networks. The merchant service provider shall notify the City thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of any change in Visa, MasterCard and Discover fees. Merchant service provider fees not identified in their original proposal shall not be considered at any time during the remaining tenure of the contract. Interchange Plus 56. The City prefers Interchange Plus pricing (see below table) and asks that you give Interchange Plus pricing on Appendix E (available as BidSync web form). Left column on Appendix E is designed to be completed by proposer. Middle and column on right is designed to calculate the total cost of your total payment solution over the 5 year expected life of the contract. 57. Give a short explanation of the Appendix E pricing structure here so that your pricing structure is clearly understood by the City. Exhibit 3: Descriptions of Common Pricing Models Model Name Interchange Plus Tiered or Bundled Fixed Cost plus Surcharge Model Description In this model the fees are transparent and clearly itemized on the statements. It may make the statements a little harder to read, but it is worth it since the City will know exactly what the interchange fees and the processor markup fees are. In this model you are offering three or four rates, often referred to as Qualified, Mid-Qualified or Non-Qualified. The processor determines what qualifies and what doesn t. Also known as differential pricing, this form is common with banks. In this model your firm typically charges a base rate. Your business gets a set base rate. Then the processor can adjust the fee with surcharges if your transactions cost more to process. Additional margin is typically built into these surcharges. 58. Has proposer detailed on Appendix E any Visa, MasterCard and Discover network fees that would be different from the published interchange rates of these companies? Cost Saving Initiatives Transaction volume has increased from approximately $30 million six years ago to over $62 million per year currently as customers increasingly choose to pay by credit/debit. The amount of fees being paid have increased accordingly. The City seeks a partner who will actively assist us in controlling soaring credit card costs. General Cost Saving Measures 59. Will proposer periodically review interchange qualifications with the City for each merchant to see if there are ways we can change how we accept payments so that we achieve less expensive qualifications? 14

15 60. Will proposer assist the Utility merchant to sign up for the Visa Utility Fixed Rate Interchange program, as they are now signed up through the current processor? Convenience Fees 61. Will proposer assist the Utility merchant and/or other City merchants in implementing a convenience fee on card transactions accepted through a payment channel offered as a bonafide convenience if the City asks during the term of contract? 62. Please explain in detail how you would assist the City in implementing such a fee if we so choose to do so. 63. Would the program be managed or unmanaged (see Exhibit 4 below)? Exhibit 4: Descriptions of typical convenience fee program structures Program Type Description Managed In a managed convenience fee program, convenience fees collected would be retained by the proposer to compensate proposer for the website and payment services the proposer provides. No invoice is sent to the City for merchants where this is implemented because the convenience fee is set at a level so that all card processing costs are paid for. Unmanaged In an unmanaged convenience fee program, fee is charged to customers of the City and forwarded to the City along with a monthly invoice. City will pay the invoice received but the convenience fee revenue received by City will be used by City to offset the invoiced expense on our books. Visa Government and Higher Education Payment Program The City to desires to recover 100% of credit and debit card acceptance costs for the City s Utility Department and is aware that while it is often said that Oklahoma is a nosurcharge state, the City s legal department has determined that the Oklahoma State Statutes provides a specific exemption for Utilities. 64. Utilities receives water, garbage and sewer payments and debit/credit card payments are currently accepted 100% electronically. Would proposer provide assistance necessary to enroll the Utilities merchant in the Visa Government and Higher Education Payment Program (and similar programs with MC and Discover) so that they may charge surcharges on transactions pursuant to that program? 65. If the State Statutes change so that other non-utility merchants are legally able to charge a surcharge in the State of Oklahoma, will proposer provide assistance necessary in enrolling those merchants in the Visa Government and Higher Education Payment Program (and similar programs with MC and Discover) so that they may charge surcharges on transactions in all payment channels (electronic, walkups etc.)? 15

16 66. Would the program structure in #58 and #59 above be characterized as managed or unmanaged (see Exhibit 4 for definition of managed or unmanaged)? Please elaborate. 67. Under the Visa Government and Higher Education Payment Program, would utilities merchant be able to charge a surcharge on card payments but not ACH payments in the same website payment channel? SECTION 5: APPENDICES A. City Card Acceptance by Brand B. City Card Volume by Merchant C. Transactions and Volume Schedule (enter data into BidSync web form) D. References (enter data into BidSync web form) E. Pricing (enter data into BidSync web form) F. Equipment Pricing (enter data into BidSync web form) G. General Terms and Conditions H. City Information Technology Environment Overview I. Insurance Requirements 16