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Summary

OCID:: ocds-h6vhtk-04dd47
Published by:: Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Authority ID:: AA20560
Publication date:: 12 March 2025
Deadline date:: -
Notice type:: Prior Information Notice
Has documents:: No
Has SPD:: No
Has Carbon Reduction Plan:: N/A

Abstract

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.

Full notice text

Prior information notice

This notice is for prior information only

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1) Name and addresses

STOKE-ON-TRENT CITY COUNCIL

Civic Centre

STOKE-ON-TRENT

ST41HH

Contact person: Agnes Ashun

Telephone: +44 1782237651

E-mail: agnes.ashun@stoke.gov.uk

Fax: +44 1782237651

NUTS: UKG23

Internet address(es)

Main address: https://www.stoke.gov.uk/

Address of the buyer profile: https://www.stoke.gov.uk/

I.3) Communication

Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address

I.4) Type of the contracting authority

Regional or local authority

I.5) Main activity

General public services

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement

II.1.1) Title

Electronic Bill Payment Services

II.1.2) Main CPV code

66110000

II.1.3) Type of contract

Services

II.1.4) Short description

- 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.

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

II.2) Description

II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

30162000

66172000

II.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS code:

UKG23

II.2.4) Description of the procurement

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.

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:

01/04/2025

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.3) Additional information

The procurement will be conducted as an open and competitive tender process, ensuring compliance with public sector procurement regulations.

This PIN serves as early notification to potential suppliers regarding this upcoming opportunity. Interested parties are encouraged to express interest and provide feedback on the proposed scope of services.

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice

10/02/2025

Coding

Commodity categories

ID	Title	Parent category
66110000	Banking services	Banking and investment services
66172000	Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services	Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services
30162000	Smart cards	Magnetic cards

Delivery locations

ID	Description
100	UK - All

Alert region restrictions

The buyer has restricted the alert for this notice to suppliers based in the following regions.

ID	Description
There are no alert restrictions for this notice.

About the buyer

Main contact:: agnes.ashun@stoke.gov.uk
Admin contact:: N/a
Technical contact:: N/a
Other contact:: N/a

Further information

Date	Details
No further information has been uploaded.